Kite Board Championships 2nd to 6th July 2008
World kite surfing champion Aaron Hadlow.
From July 2nd to 6th the Telefónica Movistar Kite Pro World Kiteboard Championships 2008 took over the beaches of Tarifa, Cádiz, bringing the best kiteboarders on the planet to Andalucia for the third year in a row.
And the winners were...
Gisela Pulido from Catalonia who celebrated her victory over the Polish surfer Karolina Winkowska.
Kevin Langaree from Holland took all in the men’s championships. He faced tough competition from Aaron Hadlow, who came in second. Also, a native of Málaga, Álvaro Onieva, won third place and received much praise and support by the local community for this achievement.
The Professional Kiteboard Riders Association was created in 2002 and organises this prestigious, world-famous competitions which involves 10 different events held throughout the year. This year Tarifa will be home to the fifth event in series that literally circles the planet.
Tarifa is the Professional Kiteboard Riders Association headquarters since 2006 and definitely a favourite for professional kiteboarders thanks to excellent wind conditions and a fantastic ambience – especially during the summer months.
This year the Kitboard Championships will have both men and women competing in Freestyle and Best Trick categories and will include such international greats as Aaron Hadlow (current World Champion), Ruben Lenten, Kevin Languere and Youri Zoom. Also a native of Málaga Álvaro Onieva, winner of the Spanish Championships, will be leading the Spanish contingent this year.
It’s all happening in Tarífa from Wednesday the 2nd of July until Sunday the 6th of July with most competitions taking place between 11:00 in the morning and 5:00 in the evening with meetings and auxiliary events before and after.
kitesurfing
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| Tarifa, Costa de la Luz,
kite surf. |
Kite surfing
is the one of the latest extreme sports, involving racing over water
on a surfboard propelled by a kite. Experts can achieve speeds of
80km per hour and leap into the air to perform somersaults and manoeuvres
up to 40m from the water's surface.
Kites range
in size from 5 square metres to 15 square metres and are used depending
on the wind conditions. A small entry level kite costs 500 Euro
and a top brand large kite can cost around 2000 Euro. The small
boards cost about 700 Euro and the harness about 150 Euro.
The sport can
be quite dangerous, and for this reason the kite surfer and the
wind surfers and the bathers and separated by buoys in popular sporting
areas such as Tarifa. The special danger of kite surfing is potentially
being carried out into the Atlantic on a strong "levante" wind.
Unlike Wind surfing if something happens the board is to small to
support a person.
A three-day
course at one of the many licensed schools costing around 250 Euros
should be enough to let a beginner "fly solo".
THE RED BULL SKYRIDE TARIFA
This annual event takes place at Playa los Lances, Tarifa, during the week leading up to the 1 May holiday. Here the best kite surfers from all over the world gathered to pit themselves against the levante (east) and the poniente (west) winds. A week of action, competition and exhibitions during the day, and partying and fun at night. Thousands of spectators attend.
A typical recent Skyride event
The contest took place on the Los Lances beach in Tarifa (Cadiz), with 32 male and eight female participants. The programme had three disciplines:
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Freestyle: surfing in front of judges and being scored according to performance
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Hang Time: to find who can stay in the air longest
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Best Trick: scored according to the best and most complex manoeuvre
Overall winners were Hawaiian Robby Naish and Spaniard Jaime Herráiz (‘Oru’), with Naish coming first in the Freestyle section and Valencian ‘Oru’, who now lives in Tarifa, starring in the Best Tricks section. Rookie of the year went to Jose Luengo from Sevilla, who will also be invited to participate in the Red Bull Skyride in Maui (Hawaii) next October. From the ladies section, overall winner was Julie Prochaska (USA) followed by Caroline Duby (France) and Silke Gorlot (Germany).
One of the highlights was the challenge to cross the Strait of Gibraltar from Tangers to Tarifa. Eight of the world's best kite surfers participated. First was Briton Mark Shinn, with a time of 1h 15 minutes, followed by Robby Naish, Mauricio Toscano (Mexico), Eduardo Bellini (Spain) Don Montague (Canada), Max Bo (Italy), Sebastian Cattelan (France) and Raschid Russaffi (Morocco). The race was spectacular, with an accompanying cavalcade of jet skis, boats with other fly surfers on board to offer help if needed, and a helicopter acting as an eye in the sky.
bwin Kitesurf Pro Competition 2006
Aaron Hadlow wins the mens freestyle at the Tarifa BetandWin 2006 Kite Surf competition to confirm his place as the 2006 PKRA world champion despite the outstanding tour stop in Brazil. Aaron was also the 2005 PKRA world champion.
The event . was held at Valdevaqueros Beach from Tue 5th September to Sunday 10th September 2006 with competitors from 15 different countries taking part. The event was based at the rustic beachfront Hotel Valdevaqueros (GPS: 36.06685N & 5.67805W) just north of Tarifa town CN 340 km 75,5.
The event was the eighth of nine stations in the PKRA (Professional Kite Riders Association) World Cup 2006.
(Isla de Coche Margarita; Venezuela, Knokke- Heist; Belgium, Portimao; Portugal, Cabarete; Dominican Republic; Fuerteventura Spain, St metre-Ording; Germany, Iles de la Madeleine; Quebec, Tarifa; Spain, Joao Pessoa, Brasil.)
World champion Aaron Hadlow of Great Britain confirmed his position by wining both the singles and the double elimination freestyle competitions at Tarifa. In second place was the Dutchman Kevin Langeree. Bruna Kajiya of Brasil won the women's singles on day one with Ania Grzelinska and Karolina Winkowska of Poland also on the podium.
Other favourites like Spanish duo, Alvaro Onieva and Cesar Portas, and the world's best female kite surfer, Kristin Boese were disappointed not to stand on the podium.
Of the 32 men competitors twelve were seeded from the PKRA world ranking; Rui Meira (pt), Aaron Hadlow (uk), Alvaro Onieva (es), Cesar Portas (es), Cristain Holley (es), Etienne Lhote, Kevin Langeree (nl), Mikael Blomvall, (se), Petr Tyushkevich (ru), Randy Hereman (nl), Reno Romeu (bz), Youri Zoon (nl) and four 'wildcards' chosen by the organizers; Joe Ciastula, Jaime Herraiz (2005 Champion), Alex Pastor (es), Sergio Perera (es). The remaining 16 places being made
up from the open entrants who qualified from the heats held on the Tuesday.
The freestyle competition itself took place from Wed 6th to Fri 9th. This is the classic discipline of the PKRA World Tour. The 32 men (and 16 women) kite-riders will compete in one-on-one duels. Judges awarding points for Technical Difficulty, Height, Smoothness, Power, Style, Variety, and Innovation.
Men's round one of the singles knockout consists of 8 groups of four riders with two riders from each group going through to the next round. The fifth round is the final two riders. For the women round one if four groups of four.
The double elimination is a second chance for all who had to exit the singles at an early stage to take on the best again after a laborious ride through several heats.
Due to changing wind conditions the competition was stopped a few times but overall the weather was not an issue for the organizers as the knockout competition was almost completed by Friday leaving only the men's double final to played out on Saturday morning.
Even more spectacular was the big air tricks competition starting at 13.00hrs on Saturday and lasting two hours. About 1000 spectators watched the free event from the beach as the flying Dutchman Kevin Langeree jumped up to 15m securing first prize. In this format the height of the jumps made of 70% of the rating. Alex Soto was second and local hero Jaime Herraiz third. Jaime was the freestyle winner in 2005 and second in 2003 (see below). Disappointingly only a spectators for the award ceremony at 19.00hrs On Sunday afternoon there was a exhibition Slalom event.
As each year this event gains more interest in Tarifa as a spectator sport. The organizers should seriously consider making make more facilities available for the spectators such as organized parking and handout information. Many spectators found it impossible to understand this complex competition.
Robbie Naish the sports veteran from Hawaii does not compete in person any more however he was in Tarifa again in spirit as five of the men competitors chose his boards. This was only surpassed in popularity by 'North' with seven riders electing them.
As a special highlight away from the beaches will be a concert on Friday evening (22.00hrs) in Tarifa Bullring by Ojos de Brujo concert. This nine-member group from Barcelona mixes flamenco with rumba, Indian rhythms, and easy-going drum'n'bass grooves - an unforgettable party night is guaranteed!
For daily news updates, scores, and photos, check out the BWIN.COM KITESURF PRO (Official Site).
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