Welcome to the first article of our IKO’s series covering all the aspects of the International Kiteboarding Organisation. You are new or familiar to the kitesurfing’s world or, you have probably heard or read about affiliated IKO kiteboarding centers or IKO certifications so let’s get started.
What is the International Kiteboarding Organisation?
Founded in 2001, the International Kiteboarding Organisation (IKO) is the world’s leading kiteboarding organisation and largest community with a strong network of 130+ affiliated kiteboarding schools in 38 countries, 4’000 active instructors and 410’000+ certified kiteboarders.
The IKO’s mission is to develop and promote the safe practice of kiteboarding by providing high quality courses through its affiliated centers and instructors following tailored programs to each levels, from beginners to advanced.
What are the benefits of the IKO certifications?
First of all, there are 3 categories of certifications:
- Recreational (for any kiteboarders)
- Pro (for instructors for will teach kiteboarders)
- Trainer (for examiners who will teach instructors)
Being IKO certified means that you know the basics of kiteboarding, how to control your kite, the gears and particularly the safety rules. This will help you being more confident while learning how to kitesurf. The instructors will make sure to adapt the lessons based on your level and progress.
Also, if you want to rent the equipment and go kitesurfing by yourself, the shop might require you to have an IKO Level 3 certification as it attests that you are an independent rider.
Where can I find an affiliated IKO center or instructor?
Holikite lists schools all around the world including affiliated IKO centers. In the search box, you can display all these schools by selecting the filter “IKO Certified”. However, as the information is added and edited by the schools themselves and the community, we invite you to double check on the IKO website if a school is still affiliated or not.
In the next articles of the series, we will be covering the different levels of certifications.