2010 was another exciting year on the BKSA tour, with the Hunstanton event being so warm that some people actually kited without wetsuits! There was so many bikinis we could have been in Brazil!
There was enough wind at every event to run the Women’s freestyle heats, and Hannah Whiteley stormed through with a 1st place overall. Sarah Sylvester unfortunately injured her knee at the Ayr event so couldn’t complete the tour, but still managed a 5th place overall. The Seniors category had some new (old!) blood competing but Pete Whiteley still managed to kick their butts and place 1st for the fourth year running. In the Juniors our youngest team member, Callum Asquith, won 2nd place. JN also secured a podium place at the BKSA wave event, held in Ireland in September – Celine Collaud, the 2010 Kite Tour Europe champion who recently moved over to Cornwall to live with her boyfriend Will Bennet, used her Cornish training sessions to gain her a 3rd place at the wave event.
Hannah has this to say about the BKSA final: “I was really excited about the final which was held at my local beach, it couldn't have been better! With a windy start to the event it kicked off nicely with true Blackpool conditions - powered up and the lagoons even filled in for some of the heats! It was great to have all the local Blackpool people turn up supporting the event on the beach. I enjoyed and competed well on my new JN Prima Donna 4 kites and was really happy to gain another win at the final event. My dad Pete also won his fleet the Senior category. This was the icing on the cake for me. Saturday night was the big end of year prize giving and party night. It was a black tie dress code, so everyone dressed to impress in their dresses and suits. I think it made it really special as we are all used to seeing each other in beach clothes or wetsuits! The Venue put a huge buffet on including a big wedge of chocolate cake with cream, delicious! After everyone had had their fill, the prize giving ceremony began. I had a big smile on my face to be crowned the 2010 British Ladies Kitesurfing Freestyle Champion for my 2nd year in a row! :-) and I was happy for my Dad to be crowned the 2010 British Senior Freestyle Champion for his 4th consecutive year! :-)”
“The Palmolive Kitesurf World cup is one of the biggest events on the PKRA World Tour. I couldn't believe the amount of people there, it was crazy. I have never seen an event as big as this before! The beach at St. Peter Ording is massive, the water state is either flat or wavey and constantly jam-packed with kitesurfers! We got wind every day bar one, which was awesome, especially as the forecast was showing no wind or very little!!
I got a 9th overall place in the freestyle. I found the conditions quite hard as it was my switch tack.
On the last day it was progressively getting windier as the day went on, making it perfect for the Big Air/ Board Off competition in the afternoon. I decided to go out very powered on a 10 metre. For a split second I did wonder if I was taking a kite size too big, as I saw the guys coming in from their big air heats on 10 metres! But that thought quickly went! I knew I could hold it down, and you know what they say - "go big or go home!" It was a lot of fun to go out way over-powered and go massive, dancing around in the sky, and it was even better when I found out I’d won the women's Big Air/ Board off! I couldn't believe I did it. I was so happy to get my 1st international win on the PKRA World Tour!! :-) I really did not for one minute think I could beat Gisela Pulido from Spain, she is amazing! Or Bruna Kajiya the current World Freestyle Champion. It was an awesome way to end the Palmolive Kitesurf World cup. It was such a fantastic event! I definitely hope to be back at Germany next year!”
“I arrived back safely from SA on Monday 7th April. However Mum and Dad managed to forget to pick me up from the airport, they happened to be at the beach, claiming they “thought I was back on Tuesday" and "had I got an earlier flight back". Hmm, typical Whiteley style! ;-) I missioned to the bus station with all my kit to catch a bus home, only to find out that I had just missed the last bus home by 5 minutes as it was Easter Bank Holiday Monday! Luckily Grandad Whiteley came to the rescue with a lift home :-) It was lovely to see some of the family and friends back in England, and eat some Easter eggs up!
The following day we hit the beach for my first session back in England. It was quite a shock to the system - 2 wetsuits, hood, boots! It was a particularly cold day! I forced myself not to be a wimp and get out there. We kited on St Anns river - butter flat water up against the sand bar. It was an awesome session, would have been perfect if it was a few degrees warmer! :-)
In the evening I got a call off my friend Holly from Scotland, (she competes on the BKSA tour and the PKRA) asking me if I was up for road tripping with her to the South of France for the 2nd stop of the PKRA in Leucate, and if so she was leaving tomorrow!! I’d only just got back to England, I hadn't even unpacked or washed any of my clothes from SA! You can't turn a road trip down though! I got my kit repacked for France and picked up some of the lovely new Chiemsee winter 2011 clothes. It worked out perfectly I really needed some clean clothing! - Thanks Jez and Andy.
Once in France my first heat was against Bruna Kajiya, the 2009 World Champion! This was going to be a very tough heat. The water was fairly flat with the Tramontana wind (cross offshore from the north) being quite strong and very gusty. The girls were out on 5 and 7 metre kites. I went out on my 7m and was powered. My heat began against Bruna, I tried my best, but this wasn't enough to beat Bruna, she is a very experienced rider. So it meant I was knocked out of the single elimination. I would have to wait for my second chance in the double elimination where I would be up against fellow UK rider Johara.
Unfortunately the wind didn't show for the next 3 days! Things started to get a little boring hanging around. A group of us went wake boarding at the cable tow in Leucate. There were 2 lakes next to each other with 2 separate cables on. The big lake had a clear circuit with no obstacles. On the other lake there was a 2.0 system with some nice obstacles to hit. It was an awesome session, and a great vibe with all the kiters styling, and putting the wake boarders to shame! ;-)
By the last day of the event, there was still no wind! It's crazy, Leucate is known for its strong winds. The Mondial du Vent has been running for 14 years and has had wind at every event so far! I was disappointed that the double elimination couldn't get run. I really wanted to compete, and try and get a better place, I think I had a good opportunity to do well at this event. Unfortunately we can't control the wind though. Overall I finished with a 5th place. A great experience for my first PKRA event.”
“Saturday the 3rd of April was my final day in south Africa. I had had such a great last few days in SA, on the water kiting and at the cable tow. I felt reluctant to leave the sun and wind behind, but today was the start of the 6th stop of the SAKT (South African Kite Tour) held at Dolphin beach in Cape Town. I wanted to get the most out of my last day and thought it would be perfect to enter the competition.
The sun was beaming and the swell was up as usual. The wind started off light in the morning, but with it being the prevailing SW, it meant the wind was increasing all the time. The event kicked off with the course racing, and by lunch time we had a good 20 knots of wind, so the freestyle began.
My first heat was against Megan Jansen Van Rensburg, a young up-and-coming South African girl, Michelle Smith & Terri Kidson. I was powered on my 9 metre Prima Donna kite, and busted out as many powered tricks as possible in the 7 minute heat. I did well and won the heat, progressing into the final where I met Sjoukje Bredenkamp (the world record holder in speed sailing), along with Megan. I enjoyed the final, even more so when I found out I’d won. I was happy, It was a fab way to end my trip in SA, with a 1st place in the freestyle in the SAKT.”
The final BKSA Kiteival was held at Redcar on the East Coast and kicked straight off on Thursday with the Pro Men and Women. We had 20knts of wind and some nice kicker waves. I finished the day with another 1st place which I was stoked to get. This meant I could chill out for the rest of the event and enjoy the parties! ;) Friday gave us light winds, the kitesurf course races and land based stuff were all run.
Friday's entertainment started at the skatepark right next to the beach, where the Red Bull barbecue was cooked and tables and chairs were set up in between the ramps for us to eat! It was a really cool idea, totally different, it was great fun to skate with all the kiters and put on a bit of a show! It fired everyone up to go for new tricks. It was an awesome skatepark, everyone really enjoyed it.
Saturday was a no wind day, but we had a massive swell instead! Some went out to shred waves on surfboards, or played around on the jet skis. Saturday night everyone got dressed up in their best suits and dresses for the end of year prize giving, which was held in the sports hall of the leisure centre. It was fantastic, everyone looked amazing and enjoyed the presentation with the delicious buffet that was put on, yummy! The night carried on at the Irish bar O'Grady's in town which was a lot of fun. Then we moved onto the clubs. It was an awesome night and a lovely finish to the BKSA Tour!
I would like to thank my sponsors, JN-Kites, Crazyfly Boards, Prolimit, Kiteitright and Chiemsee for helping me to achieve my goal of British Champion.
1st Hannah Whiteley
2nd Helen Thompson
3rd Nicky Rudd
1st Hannah Whiteley
2nd Helen Thompson
3rd Nicky Rudd
06/09/2009 - BKSA 2009 Round 5 - Bridlington, UK.
Friday was a very rainy day, with bang offshore winds making it extremely gusty, so a decision was made to postpone the comp to the weekend. That evening’s entertainment was Karaoke at Shelley's Bar. It was such a laugh and turned out to be quite an amusing night!!
Saturday was a lovely sunny day; all the Am men, Am women, juniors and seniors were run in the gusty offshore winds. Due to the conditions, the heats were run in a slightly different way. Riders were given 2 minutes to throw their best 3 tricks, with the best 2 tricks counting in each heat. Dad did really well competing as he was still recovering from his broken foot and secured a 2nd place in the seniors! Dad has pretty much sealed the deal for the overall title now. Saturday night was a buffet at Shelley's Bar. It went down a treat and there was some comedy entertainment on.
Sunday started off with light winds, slowly increasing all the time. Just before call off time at 1pm, the wind came through and there was a mad rush of all the pro’s rigging up and heats began running as normal. There were a few black flagged heats, but we were lucky and got all the pro's run. I was stoked to have another win at Bridlington. This puts me in a great position for the overall title.
Bridlington proved to be another fantastic event. I cannot believe the turnout the BKSA has had this year. I’m really looking forward to the final supersized event at Redcar on the 8th-10th of October. Last year was a fantastic do, and an amazing party ;-)
30/08/2009 BKSA 2009 Round 4 - Blackpool, UK.
It was another great event held at my home spot Blackpool in between two of the piers.
We had super strong winds on Friday for the pro's freestyle, definitely my kind of weather, everyone was lit on 7s and 5s.
My heats went well and I was really powered on my 7m. Steph Bridge took a break from the world course racing scene and joined us in the pro ladies. It was great to see her freestyling for a change and she made it into the final along with Nicky ‘the rudder’ Rudd, and myself.
For the final it was still as windy as ever. The big flat spots in between the waves turned a bit choppy. I started off the final with a massive jump and then mixed it up with some technical tricks and some more big airs. Trying to stay right in front of the judges on the water.
The BKSA kept us in suspense until the evening to announce the results at the party. I won with Nicky Rudd second and Steph taking a third. I was so stoked. It was really important for me to win at my home spot. This puts me in a good lead overall. After the results were announced, everyone chilled out at the clubhouse and the amazing Red Bull BBQ was served. It was super tasty.
On Saturday the wind was still pumping. The ams, juniors, seniors and land board guys were all run. Dad was gutted because he couldn’t compete after breaking his foot in France. He really enjoyed watching for a change.
Saturday night was CRAZY! Everyone from the event piled onto a tram and hit the town. The club of choice was Cocos. It was packed and the floor was very sticky. All 30 of us took over the dance floor. It was an awesome night and everyone partied hard into the early morning.
Sunday was spent recovering from the night before. The wind was light and cross off - perfect for running the course racing. The buggy guys set up ramps and kept us entertained by catapulting themselves down the sea wall steps. Those guys are the biggest nutters ever when the camera comes out.
BKSA Blackpool was an epic event. Now we are off to Barrow for the week before the next event in Bridlington for some hardcore session with all the southern bedwetter crew that don’t want to drive all the way back home down south.
Hannah Whiteley has done it again and only gone and come 3rd in her first ever international event. Everyone at JN towers is extremely stoked for her to be on the podium at her first attempt. We are going to see a lot from this young lady in the future! The conditions at Sylt didn't look easy!
Report from Hannah:
"This was my first international event. I was feeling excited and a little nervous entering into the unknown. I was partially looking forward to the kite loop contest which is a new discipline in the KPWT, and my favorite one, I had high expectations for this.
Day 1 brought the freestyle single elimination. The conditions were challenging here with the choppy water, onshore winds, and a nasty shore break, but I looked forward to my first qualifying heat against SunneElbel, the German champion. I had a good heat and was super happy to qualify into the main event.
My next heat was againstAinhoa Garcia from Spain, I know she is a really good rider, so I was really stoked to win! This put me into the quarter finals against Helen Thompson from the UK who I know really well, as all last year we were battling it out for 1st place on the British tour. Helen rode well and won the heat. So I finished for the day with a 4th place, I was really pleased.
Day 2 brought light wind, so course racing was the order of the day. This meant I got to chill out :) I only entered freestyle and kiteloop contests, as I have no course racing board.
Day 3started with the double elimination for freestyle. Kirsty Jones worked her way right through to the quarter finals after having an unlucky draw on day 1, being knocked out by Gisela in the qualifying rounds. So it ended up with me battling fellow UK rider Kirsty. I had never competed against Kirsty before but had seen her pulling some massive double backloopkiteloops in her previous heats. I was really pleased to win this round in the quarter finals which put me back into fourth place with Kirsty in fifth place.
Next up was me and Helen. It was just like being back on the British circuit where we often battled it out for first place. This time I won which gave Helen fourth place and pushed me up into third.
I was super happy to have a third place in my first ever International event - couldn't believe I'd be getting up on the podium.
Next up was me and Kristin Boese, twice world-champion, I guessed I'd got my work cut out for me there. So off I went pulling out an unhooked tantrum with a downloop, railey to blind, forwardloopdownloop with a nuclear grab, etc. All was going well until the last 2 minutes, when unfortunately, I fell victim to the strong shorebreak and couldn't get past the rocks as I was too far downwind. It left me unable to get back upwind for the last two minutes of the heat, giving Kristin the win. I was so so happy to get a 3rd place. I finished the day with a smile on my face.
Day 4 brought strong winds, and the wave heats were run. The men’s final was amazing to watch with MituMonteiro (Cabo Verde) and Jan Marcos Riveras (Dom Rep), puling off the most insane moves on the waves! Especially Jan’s backloopkiteloopon a straplesssurf board.
Day 5 brought light wind again so more course races were run.
In the evening the last big party kicked off at 10pm, and turned out crazy as!! Everyone partied hard, with the forecast showing no wind for the next day. Unfortunately the kite loop contest never got run :(
We said our goodbyes, and hit the road on our mammoth journey back to south Manchester, it turned out to be a laff and was broken up with all the UK lot bumping into each other for pit stops at the service stations.
I had a really good time at Sylt, met lots of new people and I think it was a great experience for me to compete against some of the best girls in the world."
Well done Hannah!
28/5/2009 Norway Snowkiting trip from 2008 (Vintage footage from the Chris Ross Archive)
RichieRipz in Norway 2008 from Cruton Films on Vimeo. See www.darkrock.co.uk for more about Chris.
20/5/2009 BKSA 2009 Round 1 - Swansea, Wales.
FOR THE OFFICIAL BKSA VIDEO CLICK HERE
We are pleased to announce that the first stop of BKSA Tour in Swansea, Wales was a great success for JN.
Ladies Pro Freestyle:
Hannah Whiteley - 1st place
Sarah Sylvester - 3rd place
Mens Seniors:
Pete Whiteley - 1st place
Report from Hannah:
"The first round of the BKSA was a supersized event, with kitesurf freestyle, course racing, land boarding and buggying. Held in South Wales at Swansea Bay, it kicked off on the Friday with the Pro's freestyle heats. The wind direction was cross off making it super gusty and challenging on 9 metres. My final was on Saturday with even stronger winds 30-40mph :-) I was on my 7m Prima Donna which handled the gusts easily, giving me a great advantage. I won the final which gives me a great start to the season.
Next up was my dad in the Seniors on the same kite! He easily cruised through the heats into the final where he started with a double forward loop downloop and finished with a railey to blind and a F16 with 3 kite loops, 2 in the air. Landing everything on a JN Ciruc board he had just tried out for the first time, he took 1st place in the Seniors!"
Congratulations to our british ladies and of course to Pete. It was a really sucessful, and really wet weekend in Wales!
Winter 09 - JN Team Riders in South Africa 2009 Product Video
JN Team riders Leander Vyvey, Mike Schitzhofer, Hannah Whiteley, Richard Boughton, Sarah Sylvester, Iris Tonak, Fabian Haberkorn have been out in South Africa over part of the winter, training and product testing. Check below for what they got up to in Cape Town.
JN Products 2009 South Africa from JN Kites UK on Vimeo.
14/3/09 Mike Schitzhofer South Africa 2009 "No more, no less"
Report from the legendary Miss H. Whiteley:-
"Sunday - it’s 10am at Kite beach, Table View. The wind is filling in quickly! The wave heats are up, and I’m starting to feel nervous, as I have never done any wave riding until this event.
My first heat is against Petra, Laila and Megan, it went really well. I really enjoyed this 10 minute heat, which you get judged on your best 2 waves. I was powered on my 7m kite. I came second and made it to the next round.
The conditions were insane, 4-meter waves and 35 knots made it a really difficult but an interesting event. In my final heat I was against Debbie Kennedy, it was a battle for 3rd and 4th place, I put up the best fight I could on my twin tip but it was not enough to make it against this experienced wave rider. However I was really pleased for Debbie to come 3rd, Jalou Langeree 2nd and Petra 1st. To get a 4th place made me really happy.
After all the guys' wave heats had finished, next stop was Big Air / Best Trick, which I was so looking forward to. 80% of your jump will be judged on height you get and 20% of your jump will be judged on what you do in the air e.g. spins, kite loops.
The wind was rapidly increasing so I decided to put my 7m Prima Donna 2 on the high wind settings; it just carried on getting windier and windier. My heat of 5 minutes was against Holly Kennedy and Jalou. When the heat begun I was extremely powered on my 7m Prima Donna 2, I could only just make it to the water. I did about 3 big airs with some grabs and then I was out of the area. Because of the strong wind I couldn’t edge properly to get back upwind, so I was gutted I couldn’t go for more tricks.
I definitely needed a 5-meter kite!
At the end the girls' final had to be cancelled after one heat each because of the ridiculous wind, so all the girls just had one chance to show their skills. It must have been 45 knots by the end. Totally blown out.
I got a 2nd place in the big air/best trick!
This event helped push my wave kiting to the next level. I really enjoyed it!"
Report from the legendary Miss H. Whiteley:-
"The Langebaan Downwind Dash was an awesome event. So many people entered. Kitesurfers, windsurfers and yachters, even the likes of Aaron Hadlow, Jason Furness and Lewis Crathern entered. The race started at 3.00pm and everyone who entered was split into 3 categories. Each group left 3 minutes behind each other to save a mass collision of kites, lines and sail! I was in the last group to leave Langebaan beach. I had a great start and was leading the race, then the people on directional boards started to overtake me! :o
I enjoyed the race although my legs hurt, it was really hard work on my calfs. The water state was super choppy. Half way round the race my legs turned to jelly and I collapsed on my board. I lost my board 3 times because I couldn't stand up on the board straight.
At the end of the race there was a girl on an Ozone kite with a directional board from a different category ahead of me. I had to beat her! I don't think I have ever gone this fast before! I was shitting it, but I was slowly gaining on her. It wasn't quick enough though, so I fully sheeted in my bar and went... err... nuts, and steamed past her and finished the race.
The beach was absolutely rammed with people, kites, windsurfers, yachters and even more people. There was no space to land my kite! Then one of the organisers from Gust Magazine came running up to me and asked what my race number was as I hadn't registered my number for finishing the race! Gutted!! I must have gone down a place just stood on the beach!
Debbie from Kiteworld magazine gave me a lift back to Langebaan in her van, along with 14 other people, windsurfing and kitesurfing kit! Everyone was really squashed! In the evening the Downwind Dash party was at Myknos. Some great food was put on and some sick ass bands."
We just had the fantastic news that Sarah managed to come second overall in the BKSA Ladies course racing event in 2008. See the blog for more details.
Leander Vyvey recently put together a profile video from his time in Brazil this season. He's an amazing kitesurfer, and what's more a top guy. Check out his video below.
UK team riders Hannah and Pete Whiteley win Kitebeasts 2008. Looks like a super fun event.
UK Team riders Pete and Hannah Whiteley have placed really well in the BKSA. Hannah gets a 2nd in the ladies pro fleet and Pete got an awesome 1st in the seniors. Well done to you both!
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