Two kiteboarding events have been declared as prohibited by World Sailing ©World Sailing

Two kiteboarding events have been declared as prohibited by World Sailing as the dispute between rival bodies within the sport continues.

The first Junior Kitesports Freestyle World Cup, which is due to run from April 7 to 10, and the Kitefoil Silver Cup GP World Series from May 12 to 16 have both been improperly designated as world events.

They have also been found to have been in breach of Regulation 19.15(d), which deals with improper organising authorities as they were being run by the International Federation of Kitesports Organisations (IFKO).

Any athletes or race officials who choose to participate in the two competitions risk facing disciplinary action if they go on to compete in World Sailing sanctioned events.

“World Sailing received no assurances that the 1st Junior Kitesports Freestyle World Cup and the Kitefoil Silver Cup GP World Series will be run under the appropriate rules or standards for kiteboarding and therefore have listed the events as prohibited,” a statement from sailing’s worldwide governing body read.

The news follows the opening of a schism in the sport between the International Kiteboarding Association and the Portuguese-based IFKO, set up last October as a direct rival.

Having the "responsibility and duty to manage and to monitor the everyday running of the world's various sports disciplines" are cited as objectives on the IFKO website, along with obtaining International Olympic Committee (IOC) recognition and becoming a member of SportAccord.

Kiteboarding remains the subject of a dispute between rival governing bodies
Kiteboarding remains the subject of a dispute between rival governing bodies ©Getty Images

World Sailing chief executive Andy Hunt came down on the side of the IKA last month, warning the IFKO they do not have the right to seek to build relations with either the IOC or SportAccord, the umbrella organisation for world governing bodies.

The governing body have now taken the step to place the IFKO competitions on their prohibited list under the World Sailing Eligibility Code.

“To date World Sailing have developed the racing rules for freestyle, wave and speed kiteboarding, secured the introduction of kiteboarding to the Youth Olympic Games, supported the creation of the World Kite Tour and promoted recognised world championships through the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and separate World Cup events in the freestyle, wave and slalom disciplines,” the statement continued.

“World Sailing is committed to developing relationships with the IFKO to ensure the long term growth of the discipline.”