Kite · Take-off
1998
The first kiteboarding world championship
On Maui some 25 riders take part in the first kiteboarding contest; Flash Austin wins.
25riders
At the first kiteboarding world championship, Maui, September 1998
In September 1998 Maui hosted the first competition for the new sport. It was billed, half as a joke, as the kiteboarding world championship. About 25 riders took part; according to one history, all the big names in kiteboarding were there.
The organiser was Joe Keuhl, whose name also appears as Koehl. Flash Austin won. Robby Naish, Elliot Leboe and Lou Wainman were among the riders who helped drive the popularity of the event and the sport.
The sources give no disciplines or results beyond the winner. What mattered was the signal: two years after the first demonstrations off Maui, kiting had a contest and a champion.