Kiteworld Magazine

Where is your kite when you jump? Where is your weight when you carve? How much are you bending your legs when you rotate? People say this sport is easy; easier than many other board riding activities – at least when it comes to attaining a level of skill to be self sufficiently in control; master of your playground and able to venture forth... and back and forth. Kitesurfing is accessible, relatively quick to learn and offers enormously rewarding experiences as soon as you can hold your ground upwind. Escaping work, engaging with nature, bracing your legs against the challenging pull of the kite as it buffets in the gusts; why doesn’t everyone kite?! Kitesurfing is really not that easy to get good at, though. It takes as much thought, study, planning, theoretical…

CORE The Core X-Lite 2 is a single strut specialist kite for foiling that will partner perfectly with Core’s SLC foil that launched earlier this year. The X-Lite 2 features the all-new CORETEX 2.0, a triple ripstop canopy cloth with improved tear resistance, stiffness and durability. Furthermore the X-Lite 2 is ultra light weight and has a shorter anti-snag bridle system for enhanced water relaunch. Serious about foiling in all conditions? The X-Lite is available in a huge array of sizes! SIZES: 13.5, 12, 11, 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3 and 2m www.corekites.com CRAZYFLY CrazyFly launched their comprehensive 2022 product range in August, including kites, twin-tips and foils – all produced in their own factories in Europe and boasting an impressive three year product warranty. Making up the kite range are the five-strut,…

Surfing. That’s where it all started for me. Actually, the more accurate description would be waves. I am obsessed with waves. Surfboards, bodyboards, wave skis, kitesurfing, wing, foils, SUP; some vehicles have come and gone, some are enduring, but my desire to ride has been constant. Not that I don’t enjoy riding on flat water! TT riding on glassy offshore water can be epic and foil riding in six knots is awesome too, but if I had to choose one sport and discipline (and thank god I don’t) it would surely involve swell. Wave riding was a novelty in kiting’s early days. The kites didn’t really depower, drift or turn well and we had little idea what a kite wave board should be (with the benefit of hindsight we can obviously say…

KITEFOIL WORLD SERIES SARDINIA KITEBOARD GRAND SLAM 6 – 10TH OCTOBER, POETTO, CAGLIARI The IKA’s Kitefoil World Series mid-season event took place off the sunny coastline of Cagliari, with €25,000 of shared prize money up for grabs. The stakes were high and competitors were eager to battle it out in the turbulent mistral winds. 29 men and 13 women from 19 countries signed up for the event; some having travelled across the globe to make it. In December, the overall tour winners at the end of the five event season will be crowned IKA KiteFoil World Champions. The absence of the formidable Daniela Moroz meant that first position was all to play for in the women’s fleet. The Frenchies Poema Newland, Lauriane Nolot and Jessie Kampman took full advantage with the trio hotly…

Joining the racers who were still on the island of Sardinia the very next week after the KiteFoil World Series were those hoping for glory in the one-off annual world championship event that sees racers competing on very similar equipment, conforming to strict ‘box rule’ equipment specifications. The event marked the first ‘Worlds’ of the Olympic cycle in which kiteboarding will make its debut at the Paris 2024 Games. 89 men and 49 women were lured to what was by far the biggest kitefoiling fleet to ever assemble. To be in with a chance of winning, athletes must have a tremendous amount of stamina. By the end, the winners could have completed up to 40 races, each lasting between 10-30 minutes; potentially around 13 hours of racing in the space of…

Due to events being postponed or cancelled last year, the GKA decided that the Kite-Surf World Cup results from the Cape Verde event in 2020 would count towards the overall title race for 2021, along with the three events scheduled for this year. Carrying Cape Verde event wins forward were James Carew and Ines Correia, but Ines didn’t go on to compete this year. Her runner-up was Peri Roberts. Sylt, situated on the Northern coastline of Germany staged round one of 2021, delivering winds up to 28 knots on the first three days of the competition. Due to the messy wave selection, the judges decided to run a 70% strapless freestyle and 30% wave format, playing to the advantage of some riders. Brazilian shredder, Pedro Matos, had an impressive run, victorious…