KTA Cook Islands Manureva kitesurf Paradise

Registration for this Event is now open and it will take us back to the most beautiful place in the World for Kiteboarding. We received a very warm welcome last year from the locals and had an amazing time there.

We hope that many of you will join us this year again for what will be another great KTA Event in an already great kiteboarding season.

Looking forward to seeing you all here.

For Full Event info and details on the area please click HERE!

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New zealand kiteboard magazine Issue 8

Jake Kelsick kicks off his new Column WAKE N JAKE making steezy easy with his instructional videos showing us how to hit the sliders, Kickers & slap stickers. Also on our pro tips team is Torrin Bright throwin down a kiteloop 360, and Cynthia Brown with a strapless backside 360 in her surfboard column STRAPLESS BRAH If you don’t know, you will know. We also showcase a reader session in DEAR DIARY TODAY I WENT KITEBOARDING Matty Taggart gives us the bro down on his recent trip to Alaska. If you have an epic session and great shots, email them in and we’ll make you infamous. For all you hipsters out there we have BUDDHA SAYS WHATS HOT our regular feature looking at the spiritual concept of attachment to gadgets and cool stuff. As Buddha say, ” Sell everything, and buy this stuff instead”

As always we have bucketloads of spray in the FROTH gallery highlighting action from around the globe just minutes after it happened! And NO WIND showcasing the many sports we take up when there is no wind dare I say, SUP, Surf, Wake, Cable, MTB, hoolaa hoop and more  Throw in all the regular features and you have issue 8 of www.NZkiteboardmag.com

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KTA China final report 2013 Tour Finals

Running from the 8 -12 May the KTA finals marked the second visit to Pingtan Island for the tour in what is regarded as China’s windiest location. Regular wind speeds of over 30kts are recorded over the winter monsoon season here and it’s so windy in fact that all of the island’s old traditional style stone houses need to have rocks placed on top of their tiled roofs to keep them in place when it blows.

The island is being trust forward as one of China’s economic development zones, which in the case of Pingtan due to its location gives it a focus on being the gateway into China for Taiwan. Which means for this formally somewhat forgotten part of the country it is now at full speed in its rebirth, with construction taking place at every corner that will turn Pingtan into a slick hi-tech business and commerce location over the next five years, something which even in the space of one year we could all see is moving at quite a pace.

Our hosts and sponsors for the event were the Management Committee of Pingtan Comprehensive Experimental Zone (the local provincial government) who provided not only the richest cash prize package of the season for the KTA China round itself at USD30,000 but also free accommodation and food for all the riders. This combined with our regular tour support and sponsorship from Cabrinha that adds an equipment prize table of USD15,000 worth of kit made this the richest KTA event ever. So as you might imagine this combination with the finals attracted a healthy slice of attention from riders far and wide. For the first time the KTA hit its max registration limit with 120 riders from 30 countries signing up well before the deadline date.

The event began with a formal but spectacular opening ceremony with all the riders lined up behind their country flags Olympic style, which with 30 this year formed an impressive sight. Speeches then followed to the thousands of people crowded onto the beach from a stage filled with the provinces top government officials, surreal but an amazing experience for us all once again and all topped off by a blast of fireworks to signal the event was underway. Well sort of as unfortunately day one was not to see any wind as it turned out.

Luckily though it did not stay this way for the whole week, although it’s fair to say that the wind did not live up to expectations for the location and unfortunately made things touch frustrating for the riders and hard work for the competition team.

Day two though greeted us with warm sunshine and a steady cross-offshore wind of around 16kts. So a tricky day for the freestylers who stayed firmly on the beach, but a high speed flat water heaven for the racers, who headed out to show the gathering crowds how we race kite style. With riders from New Zealand, Australia, the USA, Canada and Europe joining the Asia crew it was the largest men and women’s combined raceboard (RB) fleet we have seen that led off proceedings with the first of the week’s back-to-back races.

All eyes were on the KTA tours top RB riders Yo Narapichit Pudla (THA) and Ken Nacor (PHL) in the men’s fleet and Kathrin Borgwardt and Fon Benyapa Jantawan (THA) on the women’s side, to see how they would compare to the big names joining this event – Katja Roose (HOL), Nura Goma (SPN), Torrin Bright (NZL) and Climent Hermandez Alejando (SPN) to name a few. Certainly for the women’s fleet Roose was showing her world class level and dominated those first races, as she was to continue to do over the rest of the competition also. Both Borgwardt and Jantawan pushed again and again, but could not find the extra edge to get them passed Roose.

For the guys though a different but familiar story as Yo (Narapichit Pudla, THA) blasted away from start line in most races leaving the rest of the fleet well and truly in his wake. Yo has dominated the Asian RB class all season and even with the rest of the world in town, he still showed that he too was now a world level player. He did not however quite achieve a straight line of ‘bullets’ as Roose did, with Nacor and Alejandro both taking races off him, but overall from the shape of the racing as it unfolded there was never going to be any doubt of who be standing on top of the podium at the end of the week.

With 66 men and 9 women TT racers registered the KTA race team had elected for a staggered start with the women’s fleet leading off to add some control to the start line dash, for KTA’s most popular discipline. Chinese interest was high for the TT racing with two very local Pingtan and Xiamen riders in the mix. Both 13yrs old Jing Yue Chen and Xiao Cheng Deng had made quite an impact on their first appearance into the KTA during the 2nd round of the season as they both took podium positions, which they then repeated in the 3rd round. Chen was also the poster girl for the KTA China round so it was clear that all eyes in Pingtan were on her as she took to the water.

Although only racing one lap in comparison to the RB two lap races, TT is just as hard fought at every level. At the front of the fleet you will see riders dedicated to TT racing and every bit as competitive as the RB fleet, while a little further back you can witness the private battles of the new comers and the not so serious that make TT class racing the open door class for every kiter to be part of the KTA experience. At the top though for men the season’s battle royal continued with the Philippine, Norway, China mix as Jay Ortiz (PHL), Atte Kapel (NOR), Doque Delos Santos (PHL) and Xiao Cheng Deng (CHN) again locked horns. Unfortunately, for the TT class the wind that began its fade on their first day of racing was to in the end keep them off the water for the remainder of the event, leaving them to complete only for races – in those though Delos Santos was to take three wins and Kappel one, giving them the lead on the pack for this round.

For the women things faired a little better and being lighter they manage to pull out 7 races in total for the week. Chen on home water came ‘into her own’ and began to control the girls TT racing. Her season’s rivals though were not to let her have it all her own way as Anny Barlow (USA) and Rebecka Maudal (NOR) both took wins from Chen. Also guesting in the TT mix for China was a familiar RB face Kathrin Borgwardt, who showed she was equally at home on the small board and also took a top slot during the week. In the end though despite her young years Chen kept a cool head and brought home the gold for Pingtan and China – certainly a rider then to be looking out for in the future.

Following an overnight storm the KTA woke to a complete wind shift for day three and freezing conditions. It did however mean with the wind was back blowing onshore and getting up to around 20kts, meaning the freestylers could finally break loose. The men’s freestyle in particular was eagerly awaited with the likes of Victor Borsuk (POL), Nicolas Gambier (FRA), Michaeal Khromykh (UKR) ready to face off with the top Asian’s Ken Nacor, Yo Narapichit Pulda, Japan’s Hironobu Nakano and Vietnam’s Long Nguyen Duc.

For the women the medal hunt was on between the season leader so far Kristin Oja (EST), the UK’s Polly Crathorne, Aya Oshima (JPN) and Rachel Baglin (AUS). It was the women who took first heats out onto water and things looked good with the girls landing their passes and nailing the switches, but it was soon to become evident that the forecast was going to be right as wind speed begun to slowly fade. Not before however Oja again demonstrated she is the force to be reckoned with this season as she powered her way through to the finals that should have seen her up against Oshima. Oshima who has been improving round by round as the tour as unfolded was looking for that first win of the season, but it was a final battle we were robbed of in the end as the wind fell below 10kts in the early afternoon.

For the men the story was the same wind wise of course. The riders though began with so much promise and the battles we all had hoped for started to emerge. In the early morning strong winds Khromykh and Borsuk were displaying great skill and power in their mobes and passes as they headed smoothly through towards the final rounds. The top Asian’s were also on fire with Nakano as consistent as ever, seeming landing every move with minimal effort and Yo as always pulling out an insane combination or 5 just when it was needed. Only Long seemed to be struggling a little with the cold conditions, missing passes he sticks a thousand times over as numb fingers refused to catch the bar. In end however the wind was the left the master of the games and left the guys high a dry before they could complete their final rounds.

So a little disappointing for all concern that we did not even make it through a full single eliminator for the freestylers, the first time this has ever happened on the Asian Tour. On the positive side of things a valid result had still been achieved as enough rounds in total had been completed, although it did leave the rather bizarre outcome of four guys in 1st place, with two of the girls on 1st and two in equal 3rd.

The KTA competition team was determined as always to squeeze the most it could out the day and once again in lighting time set a new race course and managed to deliver another RB class race before the wind finally did disappeared completely. This meant once again the skills of the KTA rescue crews were back in action, something they had fine-tuned only the day earlier with a 40 TT rider rescue when the wind stopped completely in the space of 10 minutes during the final race of that day. The Pingtan finals where certainly proving to be a challenge to riders and race team alike, but everyone was meeting it fair and square and enjoying it to the max.

The last day for the KTA 12/13 Asian Tour, thankfully appeared with much warmer weather in tow, sadly though the wind was not choosing to come along with it. However, it did at least hold enough strength to allow a further blast of racing and thankfully with a Sunday beach crowd of thousands and a wind direction that allowed the race officer to set a ‘close to shore’ course, a great morning’s competition unfolded.

Both the RB and the women’s TT saw action, giving some riders the opportunity to consolidate their earlier positions, while others changed their fortunes and pulled themselves back up the rankings. For the RB men though it was still Pudla, Alejandro and Nacor who controlled the pack, while in the women’s fleet Roose remained dominant over Borgwardt and Jantawan. For TT though it was Chen all the way as she put in some crushing wins to seal the deal on a much loved local home win for China.

Still in the end this was Pingtan and what do you do in Pingtan when the sun is out and the wind has gone – the KTA is in town and thousands of people are crowded onto the waterfront to see the action? Well its easy you teach them how to dance!

Yes once again the KTA dance and this time crowd singing phenomena erupted and the atmosphere for day and for the whole event was left on a fantastic high with riders and locals joining together to enjoy an afternoon in the sun.

What an event then from bikini’s to snowboard jackets and back again. A challenging event to end an amazing KTA season, one with many new friends made who we all hope to see again next season for the KTA 13/14 Asia Tour – see you then ……….

Special thanks to all our sponsors and partners listed below who help make the KTA events happen, not a chance it would be this cool without you all.

KTA China Event Results

http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-china-rb/
http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-china-tt/
http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-china-freestyle/

Asian Freestyle Championship

http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-overall-asian-champion/

KTA Asian Kiteboard Championship Tour Results

http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-overall-rb/
http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-overall-tt/
http://www.kiteboardtour.asia/result-and-ranking/kta-2013-overall-freestyle/

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IKA Kiteboard Course Race World Championships 2013

We are very excited to announce that the online registration is now open for the IKA Kiteboard Course Race World Championship 2013.

We have been working on this event for well over a year now and it will truly be a 6 star event. Organised by KTA and hosted by Kingbay in Boao, Hainan Island, China (biggest property development company in Boao)

Kingbay will be offering free food and accommodation in their newly opened 5 Star Hotel, as well as free airport transfers from Haikou. Please check out the event website for all the relevant information. King Bay have also kindly agreed to offer all riders one weeks free warm up time, including all of the above mentioned benefits and 2 days after the event to relax.

This will be an amazing event and one for sure not to be missed.

Your local organizer for this event will be Kite Surf China, who you can contact for any information you require.

David Chen
Kite Surf China
www.kitesurfchina.com
Email: worlds2013@kiteboardtour.asia
Phone: +86 139 764 73374

Looking forward to seeing you all here.

For Full Event info and details on the area please click HERE!

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Join NKTV for yet another epic season of ridiculous bumping, jumping, traveling and team shenanigans.

We’re kicking off the season with Episode 1-Naish DNA…Watch killer airs and crazy sweet tricks as loads of adrenalin are unleashed on the South African sea by the Langeree & Richman siblings and “The Boss” during their recent trip to the RedBull King of the Air Contest.

Strap in, watch and get stoked as the Naish team takes kiteboarding on endless adventures to newly charted territories around the world with style.

Title: Naish DNA
Producer: Naish
Director: EyeForce (vimeo.com/eyeforce)
Riders: Kevin Langeree, Jalou Langeree, Robby Naish, Shawn Richman, Jesse Richman
Equipment: Boards-dub, Monarch, Global / Kites-Torch, Park / Harnesses-KL Pro, Mafia, Mission 3D

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PKRA footage courtesy of Seventh Frame (7f.tv)
Thumbnail photo by ydwer.com

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KITESURF.COM web site online shanon best new kites...

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Lake and Smunty Win the Mini Kiteboard World Cup

The final day of competition at the MINI kiteboard world cup on the Riviera Nayarit had great conditions. The thermal wind picked up to about 15 knots and two races were run. The first race was won by Bryan Lake and Julien Kerneur won the second race. On the women side, Smunty won the first race and Arroyo won the second race. After the races Kevin Langeree and Alex Pastor put on a great freestyle show in front of the Hard Rock Hotel Vallarta. The day wrapped up with a beautiful prize ceremony crowning Bryan Lake and Smunty as the winners of the Slalom and Langeree and Smunty won the freestyle.

The slalom course was set up with long legs and four marks to push the riders to their maximum speed, while rounding the marks at full speed. The wind was a steady 15 knots and riders were riding their 11 and 13 meter kites. The first race was run in a quarterfinal, semifinal and final format with the top three riders advancing to the next round. Once again all the favorites advanced to the final. Lake had a great start along with Kernuer, Lake just seem to have more speed and reached the mark first. Adam Koch came back strong and overtook Kerneur to move into second. The two battled all the way to the finish line but Koch won the exchange and got his best finish of the event. Lake stayed in front and won his fifth consecutive race.

The final race of the event was set up with two half feet semifinals and an eight-man final. All three races were extremely exciting with all the riders pushing each other right from the start. Once again all the top riders made it into the final and had to prepare for a very competitive eight-man final. All the competitors were within meters of the start line when the green flag went up and were already going full speed to the first Mark. Brian Lake and Adam Koch arrived at the mark first but Bryan hit a wave and kart wheeled into Adam and they tangle kites, Bryan was disqualified and Adam given a redress. Julien Kernuer went on to win his first race followed by Adam Withington who got a second place finish.

“Slalom is a relax approach to competitive racing, going full speed, touching kites and being fair play. No harm, no foul approached to close racing” – Bryan Lake

After six races Brian was first, Julien was second and Adam Whitington was third.

The women’s races were once again very close Smunty kept on winning and solified her lead in the overall points ranking. Arroyo was still extremely consistenet and won the last race giving her a scond overall. Jessica Whitington’s second-place finish in the first race of the day put her in third overall.

Alex pastor and Kevin Langeree came out before the closing ceremony to put on the freestyle exhibition. There were both landing technical handle passes like the back mobe’s and flat 3’s, while also doing some old-school moves. The large crowd on the beach cheered them on every time they landed a move.

“It is great to show the public the latest moves and big air tricks that are really fun to do” -Kevin Langeree

After a full day of kiting it was time to reward the winners of the MINI kiteboard World Cup in Riviera Nayarit. It was a great ceremony on the beach with all the riders coming to cheer on winners and for the winners to claim their trophies and prizes.

Daily Pictures

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The Slalom course was setup with 5 marks that were close together to force the riders to really focus on the jibing. The quarter finals ran smoothly with all the top riders advancing into the semifinals. The first semifinal was won by Adam Koch and the second by Bryan Lake. The Final was close with all the riders being perfect at the start. A tight group gathered at the start and Lake pushed to the front with a perfect start. Koch was second followed by Kerneur and Withington. After the 3rd mark Koch crashed and Julien and Withington were able to pass him. Lake won, followed by Kerneur and Withington.

The women side was shorthanded when Withington and another kiter were disqualified for being in the triangle before the start. This left the door open for Smunty and Raquel Arroyo to make a run at the podium. Veronica was also able to improve her rankings and finished 3rd in the womens fourth race.

With the wind blowing a steady 15 knots the race director decided to start the freestyle competition. The format was a mix of old school and new school. After a quick round of trials to work the ladder down to the top 12, it was time to start the show. Tapia, Molk and gonzalez were the stand out of the first round landing nice slim’s, 313’s and BJ’s. The next round the top four men Langeree, Pastor, Kerneur and Racca were the precedes and riders to beat. Kerneur Opened the round with some great handle passes, Board off’s and 1440. Next Kevin started the heat with a massive flat 3 and some nice old school tricks. Racca came out and landed some technical passes to move into the next round were he met Alex Pastor who also won his heat.

The semifinal between Langeree and Kerneur was really entertaining, with their mix of old school and technical handle passes, Kevin won with his perfect back mobe and flat 3 and advances to the final. Racca put on a good show but Alex was too good for the 12 year old and also advanced to the final with a flat 5 and solid front blind. During the final the wind was getting lighter and Kevin used his 17m kite to land some good old school and new school tricks to win the single elimination. In the losers final Racca was very technical but did not land enough Old school tricks to defeat Kerneur.

The women freestyle was between Smunty, Withington and Nuessex. The heat was extremely close and Smunty and Nuessex had to go another heat to decide the winner. In the end Smunty got a back roll kite loop in to get the edge and win.

Langeree and Smunty win the Freestyle in Mexico

Sunday will be the last day of the MINI kiteboard Wolrd Cup in Mexico on the Riviera Nayarit. Many more slalom races will be completed and winners will be chosen. Lake and Smunty have a commanding lead but things can still change.

Daily Pictures

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kiteboard News Lake and Smunty keep winning at PKRA Mexico

cked in and two full slalom ladders of men and women were run at the MINI kiteboard World Cup. Bryan Lake won both of his finals on the men side and Smunty and Withington each won one final. The course was setup by the race director with shorter legs and more marks to make the course more technical.

The first slalom ladder started in the building thermal winds and riders needed to use their bigger kites to get off the beach in the on-shore winds. The first round was run with no upsets and the top riders advanced. The first semifinal Adam Koch and Gunnar Biniasch both crossed the line early and were disqualified and the race was rerun without them, giving two unseeded riders a chance at a final. The ladders were setup with six riders in the final and semifinal. This made the start more challenging because riders really wanted to be ahead of the pack before the start, so that they could have more room at the first mark and the lead. The final was won by Bryan Lake who was perfect right from the start. Julien Kerneur from France tried to challenge him but Bryan was too strong.

For The second slalom ladder the wind had picked and some riders decided to go down to their 11 and 13 meter kites. This time all the starts were perfect and no one was disqualified. All the riders were getting their timing better on the starts and started pushing each other. The final had all the top riders except Koch who broke a line on his way to the starting line, they were all within meters of the start line when the green flag went up and the race was on. It was a close battle to the first mark with Kerneur and Lake battering for the lead, in the end it was Lake who took the win with Kerneur second and Whithington third.

The womens racing was very exciting with all the girls getting a better feel for the course and starts. It was too close to call right from the start with a tight race to the first mark. After a few exchanges it was Warenka Smunty who won the first womens final. The second final was won by Jessica Withington was on fire with her 17m kite and dominated the whole race.

Kevin Langeree and Alex Pastor put on a great display of freestyle close to the beach while the racers were on the water. The light winds did not stop them. They both put up their 15m kites and played on the kickers and flat water in-between the waves. A few more knots are still needed to run the freestyle, but the conditions are perfect for the light wind Slalom.

Daily Pictures

Saturday should be very exiting with more Slalom racing and freestyle on the Riviera Nayarit.

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