Kiteboarding Apr-May-11

Snowkiting experienced steady growth in the past decade, and as the sport's popularity increased, so has the number of events held in the United States and Canada. Most events focus on demos and free-riding, but a few have become quite competitive — including those featuring freestyle and racing disciplines such as course racing and long distance as well as winduro events, where riders race in mountainous terrain. With the number of participants, skill levels and enthusiasm for snowkiting events on the rise, a small group of dedicated volunteers created the North American Snowkite Tour in the fall of 2010. The idea of a unified snowkite tour is not new, but NAST is looking to organize something bigger than previous incarnations. Large tours like the X Games help promote action sports…

In spite of her appearance, Oregon kiter Trisha Smith is a self-described “tough chick.” And we're not arguing with her. Even though Smith learned to kite just three years ago, she's already a force within the sport. Since 2008, Smith has traveled the world, rubbed elbows with the sport's top riders and business leaders and helped develop one of the world's leading snowkite events. Now, as the newly hired West Coast sales rep for Best, Smith sits poised to play an even bigger role in shaping our sport. We spoke with Smith to find out how she managed to pull off so much so quickly. Kiteboarding: You used to be a snow skier. How did you get into kiting? Trisha Smith: I started skiing at 2 or 3 years old.…

Also known as the Gulf of California, the Sea of Cortez in Mexico is renowned for its vast array of sea life. In fact, Jacques Cousteau, the famous French diver, called the Sea of Cortez the “world's aquarium” and the “Galapagos of North America.” The interaction of natural elements also makes the Sea of Cortez a kiteboarder's dream. Over the past three years, I've traveled all across the United States following my kiting passion, and the Sea of Cortez is by far my favorite spot. With cool water surrounded by huge expanses of desert, the temperature differences generate super consistent wind. Plus, the sea is sheltered from the Pacific by the Baja California peninsula, so you'll always find plenty of calm, flat water to ride. While there are a variety…

Mauritius, Peru, Indonesia — each of these countries offer amazing waves. However, most of the top surf breaks in these places are left-handers. It's odd, but in these wave-rich locales, there seems to be a shortage of equally perfect right-handers. As a regular-foot, this puts me at a slight disadvantage, as I have to decide whether I should ride goofy-foot or go backside on a left-handed wave. So, it's no surprise I'm extremely stoked whenever I travel to a destination with an abundance of rights. During a trip to the Philippines for an F-One instructional camp in Boracay in January, I was told about a secluded kite spot north of the main island. Supposedly, it's loaded with epic waves and, even better, most of them are right-handers! Mon Manotok, owner…

“Begin to roll up onto your tail, rotating your body from the hips.” “Jump and pull hard with your back hand while pushing forward with the front. Commit!” “Keep your back leg bent to edge upwind.” “Learn back-hand grabs first, and remember to bend your knees and bring the board to you.” “Angle the board into the wind so it pushes against your feet.”…

From wake-style heavyweights to amateur kiters, more than 30 competitors came together for a revolution: the Wind or No Wind board jam, the world's first kiteboarding and cable wakeboarding crossover event. Set in the Philippines at the CamSur Watersports Complex on Dec. 3 through 12, the groundbreaking format promised kiting when the wind was up and cable riding when there was no wind. It more than delivered. In just 10 days, the group collectively rode hundreds of hours and slayed tons of obstacles while logging laps at the world's premier cable park, kiteboarding in its boat lake and riding a portable two-tower cable setup at a nearby beach. Located on Luzon — the largest of the 7,107 islands comprising the Philippines — CWC is a board-rider's paradise. Featuring a six-tower…