01
Register and pick a class
Individual, crew of three, or both classes at once. Buy the Haitian-styled kite with entry, or bring your own single-line kite.
02
Fit and inspect
Frames, lines and blades are checked and sealed at the tech tent. Unsealed hardware does not reach the field.
03
Fly the heat
Four-minute heats, two to four kites per sky. Cut a line and you advance; touch the ground and you are out.
04
Recover and score
Runners bring down the cut kites, marshals confirm the cut, and the ladder updates before the next bell.
Entry classes
Enter as one, or enter as a crew
The founding edition runs two classes. Individuals fly their own bracket to a single champion. Teams of three share a lane block and a clock: cuts by any member count to the crew, and a team survives while one kite stays up. Any competitor may enter both classes — the same kite flies both draws, they are scheduled so they never clash, and both purses are open to you.
| Entry class | Competitors | Lanes | Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Individual | 1 | 1 | Double elimination to a final of four |
| Team of three | 3 | 3 | Crew survives while one kite flies |
| Both classes | 1 | 1 + 3 | Register for both; draws never clash |
The rulebook in brief
Kite
Single-line only. Haitian-styled frame recommended; maximum span 90 cm, maximum tail 2 m.
Line
Championship-issued line only. No abrasive or glass-coated line of any kind.
Blade
One sealed blade per kite, issued at the line and returned after the heat.
Heat
Four minutes. Two to four kites per sky, one competitor per lane.
A cut
The other line parts while your kite stays airborne. Confirmed by two marshals.
Out
Your line parts, your kite touches ground, or you cross into another lane.
Recovery
Trained runners only in open classes. Youth lanes: the finder keeps the kite.
Stop
A single marshal whistle grounds every lane immediately. No exceptions.
Safety & waivers
A bladed sport, run like one
Blades are supplied, sealed and fitted by marshals at the line — never brought in, never carried off the field. Everything else is procedure, and procedure is not optional.
—Blades supplied, fitted and collected by certified marshals — never brought, never taken home.
—Spectators behind a fixed rope line, upwind of every lane and outside the drop zone.
—Trained recovery runners only; no public chasing outside designated youth lanes.
—Helmet, gloves and eye protection issued with every entry and mandatory on the field.
—Signed waiver, medical form and a safety briefing before any competitor reaches the line.
—Medics on field, a wind ceiling enforced, and a single marshal whistle stops all lanes.
Never permitted, anywhere, at any time
✕Abrasive, glass-coated or metal-cored line (cerol, manja) — instant disqualification.
✕Bringing your own blade onto the field, or removing an issued one.
✕Dual-line and quad-line kites in any class.
✕Chasing a fallen kite outside a designated youth lane.
Certified kite specifications
What makes a kite legal
Every kite passes the tech tent before it reaches a lane. The Official Kite Package is certified by definition; a kite you build or bring must meet the same numbers. Certification is free and takes about five minutes per kite.
| Specification | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Line configuration | Single line only |
| Maximum span | 90 cm tip to tip |
| Minimum span | 45 cm tip to tip |
| Shape | Haitian hexagonal recommended; any single-line shape within span |
| Maximum tail length | 2 m from the tail bridle |
| Frame | Wood, bamboo, palm rib or fibreglass spars — no metal |
| Cover | Paper, tissue, ripstop or mylar; artwork unrestricted |
| Bridle | Three-point Haitian bridle or equivalent; must hold under load |
| Flying line | Championship-issued only — collected at the tent, returned after your last heat |
| Blade | Championship-issued and marshal-fitted only. Never brought, never removed |
| Maximum weight | 220 g rigged, without line |
| Identification | Registered competitor number visible on the cover face |
Certification
Certified kites carry a sealed tag
—Bring the kite to the tech tent on your arrival day, or any morning before your heat.
—An inspector measures span, tail, weight and bridle, and checks the frame for metal.
—A numbered seal is fitted to the spine. Break the seal and it must be re-certified.
—Certification is free, takes about five minutes, and covers a spare kite as well.
Not certifiable
✕Dual-line and quad-line kites of any size.
✕Abrasive, glass-coated or metal-cored line (cerol, manja).
✕Metal spars, weighted tips, or any hard object in the tail besides the issued blade.
✕Kites carrying advertising that conflicts with a sponsor's category exclusivity.
Code of Sportsmanship
Cut the line, not the person
Every registered competitor, crew captain, official and volunteer signs this. It is short on purpose, and the Head Judge can act on any clause on the day.
01
Fly the kite, not the competitor
Contact with another person, their line at the ground, or their equipment off the field is never part of the sport.
02
Accept the call
Marshals are final in the moment. Disagree in writing within thirty minutes; never on the lane.
03
Return what is not yours
Cut kites go to recovery marshals in open classes. Keeping another competitor's kite is theft, not tradition.
04
Respect the country
You are a guest of the host city. Its laws, its customs and its people come before the bracket.
05
Help a beginner
Half the field will be first-timers. Lend a spar, show a knot, and the sport survives another generation.
06
No blade off the field
Carrying an issued blade past the lane perimeter ends your championship immediately. No appeal.
Breaches are handled by the Head Judge: a warning, a forfeited heat, or removal from the championship and the world ladder. Serious breaches are reported to the competitor's national federation.
World ladder
Cuts are counted. Names carry.
Every sanctioned heat feeds a world ladder: cuts landed, cuts survived, kites recovered, time held. Qualifiers through 2026–27 seed the championship draw, and your ladder position lives on your Timl profile between editions.
·One point per confirmed cut; two for a cut in a final.
·Time held counts as a tiebreak, measured in whole seconds.
·Team points accrue to the crew and to each registered competitor.
·Sanctioned qualifiers carry full ladder weight; exhibitions carry none.
| # | Competitor | Country | Cuts | Held |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 2 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 3 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 4 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 5 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 6 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 7 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
| 8 | Open qualifier seat | — | — | — |
Ladder seats open with the qualifier calendar. Seeds are published eight weeks before the first bell.
Federations: mark up the draft
A format nobody outside has reviewed is not a sport. Send amendments to rules@kitewars.com and they are logged into the next draft.