Windsport

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Land sailing

A windsport is any type of sport which involves wind-power, often involving a non-rigid airfoil such as a sail or a power kite.

The activities can be land-based, on snow, on ice or on water:

Ice boating - using a masted sail attached to a vessel with skates
Kite boating - sailing a boat in displacement or planing mode using a kite
Kiteboarding - using a power kite with a wheeled board while standing
Kite buggy - using a wheeled buggy with seats attached to a power kite
Kite flying - flight of a small airfoil by a standing ground operator using 1-4 flying lines
Kite jumping - brief acrobatic flight using a large kite
Kite skating - as for kite jumping but while using specialized skates
Kitesurfing - using a surfboard attached to a power kite
Land sailing - a masted sail attached to a land vehicle see also Land yacht
Sailing - navigating a boat with sail attached to a mast
Snowkiting - skiing/snowboarding under the power of a kite
Windsurfing - sailing using a masted sail attached via gymbal to a surfboard
Sailbiking using a power kite to pull a specialized bicycle(like land sailing)

Windsport activity may be regulated in some countries by aviation/maritime authorities if they are likely to interfere with other activities. Local authorities may also regulate activity in certain areas, especially on crowded beaches and parks.

[edit] Note

The following air sports are not classed as windsports because in these the participants actually leave the ground for long periods and many do not use the wind:

Gliding - use of vertically moving air to keep an aircraft aloft
Hang gliding - use of vertically moving air to keep aloft an aircraft with a flexible wing
Microlighting - flying a hang glider with an engine (also see ultralight aircraft)
Parachuting (skydiving) and base jumping - controlled descent of the operator under a large flexible canopy
Paragliding - soaring under a parachute canopy
Parasailing - hanging under a paraglider towed by a vehicle (boat, car, or snowmobile) in order to ascend (usually over water)