Here is a little teaser for the up and coming release of the Ripslix/Steez free ride project kiteboarding movie that will be dropping later in 2012.
Aiming to release in may, this longer DVD style edit with follow Tom Court, Aaron Hadlow, Sam Light and James Boulding through their year in 2011. See them hitting some amazing spots around the world and rocking some international competitions...
Only the best of kitesurfing world videos
Mar 31, 2012
2012 PKRA Morocco – Day 3
Day three of the Dakhla Kiteboarding World Cup brought the continuation of consistent wind matched with the area’s favorable flat water and wide-open beach. Motivating riders to push the limits at every opportunity, the new judging system provided an interesting day of learning adapted to the fresh way of competing.
Competitors, therefore, attempted and executed their very best tricks and most powered maneuvers. With Robinson Hilario, Liam Whaley, and Stefan Spiessberger initially advancing in the early afternoon’s first heats, others such as Marc Jacobs and Kevin Langeree competed in especially close encounters.
As the day progressed, the competitors continued to execute memorable maneuvers, from a Front 15 and a Double S-1 to a rare Slim 7. On average, riders completed 10 tricks, with the highest single score of the day earned by Pastor, who executed a 315 rated at 9.1. In the day’s final heat, with the sun nearly departed and the wind holding on, Youri Zoon and Alex Pastor battled it out – Pastor attained an impressive average of 7.8 points per trick, which translated into the eventual win. Zoon averaged 7.0 per trick. Marc Jacobs and Alberto Rondina also competed in the loser’s final heat with a difference in scores of only 0.5.
The women finally had their first chance to compete on this day in the later hours of the afternoon. Bruna Kajiya won the final single elimination, while Karolina Winkowska executed the highest scoring women’s trick of the day – an 8.8 Back Mobe. One of the biggest upsets of the Dakhla tour stop so far played out between World Champion Gisela Pulido against newcomer Manuela Jungo. Pulido lost the heat to Jungo, who displayed incredible determination and skill in a challenging 7 minutes of competition. Reflecting on the heat, Manuela commented that she had come well-prepared and made a point to complete the full 7 maneuvers for the best chance of winning.
The first stop of the 2012 PKRA will continue tomorrow with similar conditions expected. Spectators look forward to the highest possible level of skill, with competitors spending the 4th day in Dakhla in full competition mode.
Mar 30, 2012
Small Summer Fun; Strapless Kitesurfing!
This summer in West Oz Ryland Blakeney, Jake Gordon and Glenno sharing a strapless sesh and a camera.
Kiteboarding proves to be ready for the Olympics 2016
IKA News:
The ISAF kiteboarding format trials wrapped up last Sunday in Santander, Spain, which will be host to the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship. The original task - finding a racing and event format that shows kiteboarding at its best - was completed quickly with a great outcome that will give the sport another boost. The new format is made for fleets of any size, but adds spectacular elements and a medal race series in elimination, which will add all the drama that other sports have - this is the way how heroes are made.
The even more important task - to showcase that kiteboarding is mature and ready for the 2016 games - was also handled with bravery. The ISAF evaluation panel as well as ISAF president Goran Petersson and vice president Teresa Lara were impressed by performance and professionalism - and well noticed the excitement that kiteboarding is able to create to bring a completely new audience into the sailing family. This is especially true for all the kids in the emerging nations - kiteboarding equipment is the most affordable one of all Olympic classes equipment, it can be bought in every shop on every beach in the world, and it does not require expensive infrastructure, neither harbors nor in terms of travelling as it can be taken as normal luggage on any plane.
The ISAF equipment committee representatives had a detailed look at the equipment and class rules - many boards were measured and weighted, and it was definately a surprise that such high performance can be achieved with equipment that has a total weight of slightly more than 10 kilogram - ready to sail, including board, kite, fins, bars, and wetsuit.
The event kicked off with discussions about the formats to evaluate - luckily there was not wind on the first day. A lot ideas were exchanged and finally a list of 7 formats agreed to be tested, varying from standard windward/leeward course racing to downwind slaloms with jumps like in supercross.
The 18 sailors from 10 nations and 4 continents read like the who is who of the international racing scene: course racing world champion Johnny Heineken, Slalom World Champion Damien Leroy, World Champion Steph Bridge, European Champion Katja Roose were accompanied by many national champions. And everybody more than keen to showcase our sport - this time not to win a regatta, but to win all of us some medals for Rio de Janeiro.
With sunshine and warm temperatures the wind arrived on the second day then - just enough to get the fleet out in 6-8 knots to complete the formats that are well known - course racing on a windward/leeward and slalom. This order was chosen to give ISAF a baseline on what sailing knows about - racing around marks. The upcoming days were planned to head over to new formats that have never been run before and see if there is something better or if it is better to stick what we have.
Some of the sailors were equipped with GPS devices to keep record of the upwind and downwind speeds, and it turned out that the racing equipment goes upwind with app. 15 knots and downwind with app. 25 knots - in 6-8 knots windspeed this means four times the speed of the wind and is a performance formerly known only by multi-million-dollar Americas Cup yachts.
Day 3 kicked of with more wind and a new format called enduro - a short upwind leg and a downwind slalom with a jump on the way to the finish line. This format gave quite some excitement, but was missing some tactical options, however the spectators on the beach appreciated the jumping and that it is easy to follow who is leading.
The wind constantly increased for the next formats to be run, and the race committee had a hard time to change all the marks in record braking time while keeping track of the wind speeds, course lengths and angles. The next format to be tested was a box course - pretty much standard course racing but with two short reaching legs to make it easier understandable and also test additional (speed) skills.
This was a good one, up to the next: windward/leeward with two gates. Tactically challenging, but hard to understand for spectators as the fleet completely separates and it is impossible to tell who is in the lead. Sailing wise great, but not good for spectators.
The biggest surprise at this stage - the wind had picked up to 18 knots and the water was getting rough - was that all sailors still were on the same equipment than when they came out in the morning in 6 knots. After all the discussions about the class rules and the limitation to maximum 3 kites this proved to be unneccessary - everybody felt comfortable on the big kites and it looked like the sailors can hold on to one kite for the full wind range of the Olympic sailing competition.
Around 1600 in the afternoon - with still 16-18 knots on the course and 1-1.5m rolling swell - the last format on the list was tested. A windward/leeward double gate course, but with a reaching start at the top and run in heats of six sailors. The starts were exciting, if sailors are fighting for the best line with board speeds of 30 knots, the downwind and upwind parts were tactical with a lot of position changes, and the final reach produced quite some photofinishes. For those that have seen the Americas Cup World Series Course - this is pretty much what it is. The same excitement, but for a fraction of the costs.
The additional thrill of this course that it would be run in elimination series - instead of a medal race, a series of heats with the top 16 would be held, with the last 2 eliminated after each heat, until the final four heat - the winner takes gold, the last one gets only a sorry. Finally in sailing, a story can be told with all the excitement and drama that other sports have, this is the way to build heroes.
The remaining two days were meant to finetune the courses and prepare the reports, however on day 4 the breeze kicked in at late afternoon and some racers headed out from the harbor to the race courses of the multihulls and skiffs to battle them - well appreciated by the sailors of the other classes to showcase different kinds of high performance sailing.
The final outcome of the evaluation trials is to hold fleet racing on a new box slalom course, adding equipment handling skills to the required tactical sailing plus having reaching legs for better spectator understanding, and a short track course for the new medal race series, with the winner taking it all.
In the later evening and on Sunday the trials finally came to an end - with another discussion between the ISAF evaluation panel and the sailors how to progress from here to get kiteboarding into the Olympic Games 2016.
The options on the table are:
- windsurfing only
- kiteboarding only
- team events of both sports
Lets hope ISAF is taking a wise decision in the interest of the sport - the International Olympic Committee is watching us, and we hope that sailing got the message to bring new and young sailors into the sport, especially from emerging nations. The best to do so is surely through kiteboarding. After this week in Santander no one has a doubt about that.
The ISAF kiteboarding format trials wrapped up last Sunday in Santander, Spain, which will be host to the 2014 ISAF Sailing World Championship. The original task - finding a racing and event format that shows kiteboarding at its best - was completed quickly with a great outcome that will give the sport another boost. The new format is made for fleets of any size, but adds spectacular elements and a medal race series in elimination, which will add all the drama that other sports have - this is the way how heroes are made.
The even more important task - to showcase that kiteboarding is mature and ready for the 2016 games - was also handled with bravery. The ISAF evaluation panel as well as ISAF president Goran Petersson and vice president Teresa Lara were impressed by performance and professionalism - and well noticed the excitement that kiteboarding is able to create to bring a completely new audience into the sailing family. This is especially true for all the kids in the emerging nations - kiteboarding equipment is the most affordable one of all Olympic classes equipment, it can be bought in every shop on every beach in the world, and it does not require expensive infrastructure, neither harbors nor in terms of travelling as it can be taken as normal luggage on any plane.
The ISAF equipment committee representatives had a detailed look at the equipment and class rules - many boards were measured and weighted, and it was definately a surprise that such high performance can be achieved with equipment that has a total weight of slightly more than 10 kilogram - ready to sail, including board, kite, fins, bars, and wetsuit.
The event kicked off with discussions about the formats to evaluate - luckily there was not wind on the first day. A lot ideas were exchanged and finally a list of 7 formats agreed to be tested, varying from standard windward/leeward course racing to downwind slaloms with jumps like in supercross.
The 18 sailors from 10 nations and 4 continents read like the who is who of the international racing scene: course racing world champion Johnny Heineken, Slalom World Champion Damien Leroy, World Champion Steph Bridge, European Champion Katja Roose were accompanied by many national champions. And everybody more than keen to showcase our sport - this time not to win a regatta, but to win all of us some medals for Rio de Janeiro.
With sunshine and warm temperatures the wind arrived on the second day then - just enough to get the fleet out in 6-8 knots to complete the formats that are well known - course racing on a windward/leeward and slalom. This order was chosen to give ISAF a baseline on what sailing knows about - racing around marks. The upcoming days were planned to head over to new formats that have never been run before and see if there is something better or if it is better to stick what we have.
Some of the sailors were equipped with GPS devices to keep record of the upwind and downwind speeds, and it turned out that the racing equipment goes upwind with app. 15 knots and downwind with app. 25 knots - in 6-8 knots windspeed this means four times the speed of the wind and is a performance formerly known only by multi-million-dollar Americas Cup yachts.
Day 3 kicked of with more wind and a new format called enduro - a short upwind leg and a downwind slalom with a jump on the way to the finish line. This format gave quite some excitement, but was missing some tactical options, however the spectators on the beach appreciated the jumping and that it is easy to follow who is leading.
The wind constantly increased for the next formats to be run, and the race committee had a hard time to change all the marks in record braking time while keeping track of the wind speeds, course lengths and angles. The next format to be tested was a box course - pretty much standard course racing but with two short reaching legs to make it easier understandable and also test additional (speed) skills.
This was a good one, up to the next: windward/leeward with two gates. Tactically challenging, but hard to understand for spectators as the fleet completely separates and it is impossible to tell who is in the lead. Sailing wise great, but not good for spectators.
The biggest surprise at this stage - the wind had picked up to 18 knots and the water was getting rough - was that all sailors still were on the same equipment than when they came out in the morning in 6 knots. After all the discussions about the class rules and the limitation to maximum 3 kites this proved to be unneccessary - everybody felt comfortable on the big kites and it looked like the sailors can hold on to one kite for the full wind range of the Olympic sailing competition.
Around 1600 in the afternoon - with still 16-18 knots on the course and 1-1.5m rolling swell - the last format on the list was tested. A windward/leeward double gate course, but with a reaching start at the top and run in heats of six sailors. The starts were exciting, if sailors are fighting for the best line with board speeds of 30 knots, the downwind and upwind parts were tactical with a lot of position changes, and the final reach produced quite some photofinishes. For those that have seen the Americas Cup World Series Course - this is pretty much what it is. The same excitement, but for a fraction of the costs.
The additional thrill of this course that it would be run in elimination series - instead of a medal race, a series of heats with the top 16 would be held, with the last 2 eliminated after each heat, until the final four heat - the winner takes gold, the last one gets only a sorry. Finally in sailing, a story can be told with all the excitement and drama that other sports have, this is the way to build heroes.
The remaining two days were meant to finetune the courses and prepare the reports, however on day 4 the breeze kicked in at late afternoon and some racers headed out from the harbor to the race courses of the multihulls and skiffs to battle them - well appreciated by the sailors of the other classes to showcase different kinds of high performance sailing.
The final outcome of the evaluation trials is to hold fleet racing on a new box slalom course, adding equipment handling skills to the required tactical sailing plus having reaching legs for better spectator understanding, and a short track course for the new medal race series, with the winner taking it all.
In the later evening and on Sunday the trials finally came to an end - with another discussion between the ISAF evaluation panel and the sailors how to progress from here to get kiteboarding into the Olympic Games 2016.
The options on the table are:
- windsurfing only
- kiteboarding only
- team events of both sports
Lets hope ISAF is taking a wise decision in the interest of the sport - the International Olympic Committee is watching us, and we hope that sailing got the message to bring new and young sailors into the sport, especially from emerging nations. The best to do so is surely through kiteboarding. After this week in Santander no one has a doubt about that.
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Mar 29, 2012
PKRA - Dakhla, Marokko
Dakhla Kiteboarding World CupMar-28-2012 - Apr-01-2012
Dakhla Morocco is once againg coming back on the PKRA 2012 Kiteboarding World tour, after is magic success of 2011. In 2011 the dakhla attitude camp lagoon, proved to have nearly perfect freestyle conditions.
Riders love the riding conditions at this new hidden kiteboarding paradise.
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/prokitetour
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/PKRA-World-Tour/127400413970019
www.prokitetour.com
[from Hanglos.nl]
Royal Factory Racing Camp 1.1
Factory Racing organizes training camps. Pushing each other is the only way to improve. Come training with us.
facebook.com/groups/238853596138362/
Mar 28, 2012
Ben Wilson’s thoughts about kitesurfing and the KSP tour
Ben Wilson speaks about his vision of kitesurfing, the KSP tour and why he doesn’t compete on the KSP Tour…
I’m constantly getting asked why myself and why none of our BWS team riders are competing on the Kite Surf Pro tour. So here’s my view…I’m only speaking for myself here, all of our team riders make their own decisions and are not pushed by BWS to do or say anything they don’t want to.
Kite surfing is a very subjective sport. Somebody may completely hate one thing and the next person completely love it, but that doesn’t make either person right or wrong. It’s just a difference of opinion and that goes on with anything you do in life, no matter what – some people will love it and others will hate it.
The best thing about kite surfing is that it doesn’t matter how you ride, as long as you’re having fun, especially when you’re only involved in kiting to enjoy the thrill of it. That being said, companies and athlete’s have a responsibility that goes along with their professional positions to showcase the sport in a certain way.
In terms of the KSP, I applaud them for stepping up and going for what they believe in and like any sport you have to start somewhere. However the place where you start can really affect the outcome of what you’re trying to achieve and I think the KSP is making the wrong call in terms of how they are presenting kitesurfing to the Surf industry.
Right now I believe kitesurfing needs to be nicely packaged in the form of content like we see from the TDZ crew. These guys are at the forefront of the sport and their kiting is at a level where once shown the videos, surfers are automatically blown away in comparison to what we see from the KSP. This is what will get surfers involved and grow our sport.
It guts me to see a live web cast where you can barely see what’s going on, then some guy on a kite being ripped down the line way out on the face of the wave being tweeted to the ASP saying “watch this”. Stuff like this just takes us a step back every time.
It’s not that I’m looking for personal credibility of the surf world so I feel like our vision is in the right direction. It’s that the more surfers we get into kiting, the more the level of riding ability will go up and then we’ll be able to have a really sick tour. Imagine what it would be like to get some of the innovative young surfers on a kite, that’s when kiting will go to the next level.
My vision has always been to bridge the gap between kiting and surfing, as I believe the kite is the ultimate extension to surfing and that has been my driving force ever since the beginning.
I don’t look at kitesurfing as a new sport, I look at the kite as an accessory to surfing and surfers, and this is what I preach to surfers. I get just as excited seeing someone new get into kitesurfing, as what I do when having a session myself. Because kiting makes me feel good and I want other people to know how good it can be, especially if you are already a surfer. We ride the same boards that we surf; it’s the inspiration and vision of BWS.
Look, at the end of the day I don’t care how anyone rides, as long as they are having fun. But I do care about how the athletes and industry are showcasing kitesurfing. As this is paving the way for the future. Not only for the athletes, but for the companies which in return build the products for consumers.
Although I believe competition is an essential part of any sport’s growth I personally feel the KSP is showcasing its competition in the complete opposite way that I believe will capture the interest of surfers. Therefore I’m not involed as it’s not inline with my vision.
Ben Wilson
Text originally publish on BWS website.
Salih Alexander Cakir
Salih Alexander Cakir is a 30 year old kiteboarder and windsurfer from Turkey riding currently with Cabrinha Team. Take a moment and watch his recent video.
Arild is back in Sweden
Arild is back home in Sweden and getting some spring surf Scandinavian style! The edit starts of with a few waves on the Swedish Corner in Cape town SA to finish of with a bitt of Viking surf on the west coast of Sweden.
Mar 27, 2012
Olympic Format Trials for Kiteboarding
Here is some footage of the racing during the Olympic format trials over the past few days held in Santander, Spain, along with some shots of riding with Johnny Heineken and Damien Leroy off the spectacular Spanish coast:
There was a lot of great racing in different formats alongside olympic class sailing skiffs and multi-hulls, and excellent discussion each day on the ramifications of making kiteboarding an olympic sport.
Everyone who participated feels strongly about this opportunity and believes in the cause. After much discussion with riders from different countries, many believe bringing kiteboarding to the olympics would benefit many aspects of our sport, including protecting launches in countries where they are threatened and making it a more recognized sport.
Please pass the word and support the cause!
Adam Vance
Member, Canadian Kiteboarding Association
There was a lot of great racing in different formats alongside olympic class sailing skiffs and multi-hulls, and excellent discussion each day on the ramifications of making kiteboarding an olympic sport.
Everyone who participated feels strongly about this opportunity and believes in the cause. After much discussion with riders from different countries, many believe bringing kiteboarding to the olympics would benefit many aspects of our sport, including protecting launches in countries where they are threatened and making it a more recognized sport.
Please pass the word and support the cause!
Adam Vance
Member, Canadian Kiteboarding Association
How to: Un-hooked backhand bottom turn
Ben Wilson explains the foundation of doing one of his favourite turns and why it's important to do it Un-hooked.
Punta Preta / Cape Verde / Kitespot Introduction with Mitu Monteiro
If you wanna ride with Mitu, check out the tours and clinics to Sal / Cape Verde with KiteWorldWide: kiteworldwide.com/destinations-tours/caboverde/
There will be more of these videos introducing all spots on the island, stay tuned!
Special thanks to Gleiten.TV for the the production of this video. Riders: Mitu Monteiro, Stefan Permien and more.
There will be more of these videos introducing all spots on the island, stay tuned!
Special thanks to Gleiten.TV for the the production of this video. Riders: Mitu Monteiro, Stefan Permien and more.
Mar 26, 2012
SLINGSHOT PRESENTS: WOODGRAIN
This is a short clip from the crew at Slingshot featuring a little behind the scenes from their 2012 photo shoot…
Expect some pretty amazing home made slider action and plenty of wakestyle, not to mention a thong, and not the kind you wear on your feet!
Kiteboarding Format Evaluations
Some of the kiteboarding action at the 2016 format evaluations in Santander, Spain.
Bikini Island - Puerto Rico Kite Sessions
After arriving to a private island loaded with Reef girls, we had an epic day of freeriding the crystal clear water with the beautiful ladies' support. Tons of fun to be had in this first volume of PR kite sessions.
Mar 25, 2012
Spring Healthy Diet - Before, During and After Kitesurf Sessions.
The spring is finally here and we spend much more time outdoors pracitsing sports or relaxing. It is important to look good but it is far more essential to feel good, healthy and energetic. Have a look at the few tips from dietitian that will help you maintain a lean look and feel better before, during and after spring and summer kitesurf sessions.
Breakfast
How many times did we wake up feeling tired and sleepy and headed straight to the kitchen for a piece of yesterdays cake and a cup of coffee. This is not the healthiest option and there are plenty of other ideas available that will keep you full and energetic for the rest of the long day.
Try having some dark bread toast with cottage cheese and a glass of orange juice or a serving ofmuesli with some strawberries. You can even blend together some fruit with a bit of yoghurt and honey to make a tasty and healthy smoothie.
You will need:
1 cup frozen strawberries
1 banana
1/3 cup honey
1 cup skim or nonfat milk
½ cup plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 banana
1/3 cup honey
1 cup skim or nonfat milk
½ cup plain or vanilla low-fat yogurt
If you don’t like milk add some orange juice instead.
Lunch
How about eating a salad? They are one of the easiest meals to make. You don’t need to cook nor lots of ingredients and it is definitely a healthy lunch! The basis to a delicious spring salad is lettuce or spinach, tomatoes and cucumber. Then all you need to do is add some extra ingredients such as tuna, an egg or some olives and finish by adding a bit of salad dressing. Alternatively, you could mix together someavocado and greek yoghurt or chickpeas or hummus and cous cous and use as fillings for some pitta breads. Have alongside a banana and you’ll be fuelled for the afternoon.
Snacks
A piece of fruit is always the best snack, however sometimes you just need something more consistent especially if you have been surfing for two hours. Instead of reaching for the chips or chocolate bar, grab a handful of nuts, almonds or some dried fruit like raisins. Most hunger is caused by dehydration, so be sure to drink plenty of water during the day.
Dinner
Rice and pasta are sure to fill you up after a hard day’s kitesurfing. Try brown rice and wholemeal pastafor a change. Throw some chicken and vegetables in and don’t forget a little bit of Parmesan. Another healthy option is baking a sweet potato and having it with salmon or tuna and a side salad.
ISAF KITEBOARDING OLYMPIC TRIALS: DAY-4
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As we walked down to the sailing center at about 8:30am for the morning meeting, the temperature outside was like I was back home in Florida! Blue skies and incredibly warm, A beautiful day! We sat down and spent a few hours in the meeting room talking about new course ideas and fine-tuning courses we had tried. Narrowing it down to three great courses. As the day was looking like there would be no wind we had a gear presentation at the sailing center for everyone to see and ask questions.
After lunch most of the boat classes headed out as the wind was blowing 6 knots. Mainly to put a show on for the president of ISAF who had just flew in to see the whole event. A few riders and our incredible kite crew of ISAF guys and IKA people got together and we went out to ride with the group of sailboats. It was quite an honor for me as I sat down on the boat with the president.
I explained our equipment in Kitesurfing, talked about racing and tackticks and shared my passion and love for our sport. A remarkable experience for me and a few other riders to have such a incredible experience. We raced a few fun races and headed home. I cannot tell you how great of a day this was for our sport and for myself. I am honored to have had this opportunity. Thank you to all the IKA guys, Gebi, Marcus, Bruno, everyone for making this happen. All the ISAF evaluators and everyone who has been helping Thank you. Lets see what happens now! Damo
After lunch most of the boat classes headed out as the wind was blowing 6 knots. Mainly to put a show on for the president of ISAF who had just flew in to see the whole event. A few riders and our incredible kite crew of ISAF guys and IKA people got together and we went out to ride with the group of sailboats. It was quite an honor for me as I sat down on the boat with the president.
I explained our equipment in Kitesurfing, talked about racing and tackticks and shared my passion and love for our sport. A remarkable experience for me and a few other riders to have such a incredible experience. We raced a few fun races and headed home. I cannot tell you how great of a day this was for our sport and for myself. I am honored to have had this opportunity. Thank you to all the IKA guys, Gebi, Marcus, Bruno, everyone for making this happen. All the ISAF evaluators and everyone who has been helping Thank you. Lets see what happens now! Damo
Mar 24, 2012
KTA Thailand 2012
The third stop of the 2012 Kiteboard Tour Asia tour finished. Check some of the footage of the last 3 days of competitions at the Pak Nam Pran beach, Pranburi Thailand.
Day 4
Day 5
Day 6
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