Kiteboarding will replace windsurfing at the Olympic sailing competition for the 2016 games in Rio.
The ISAF Council's vote will be a blow to New Zealand medal hopes. They have a rich history in the event, including Barbara Kendall winning three medals and Tom Ashley claiming gold at the 2008 games.
An evaluation group was appointed in November 2011 to examine kiteboarding formats, with the board events for Rio defined as "windsurfing and/or kiteboarding".
The evaluation group recommended that kiteboarding be included in the ISAF event family including the ISAF Sailing World Cup and the ISAF Sailing World Championships but the council went one step further and selected kiteboarding for the Olympics as well.
The events to be contested at the 2016 Olympics have been confirmed as:
