2nd Place Raw Kite British Championships Ainsdale

July 01, 2015

2nd Place Raw Kite British Championships Ainsdale

Round two of the Raw Kite British Championships was held on the 26th-28th of June on the big beach of Ainsdale. We decided to get there for Friday midday, to get some practice in. On arrival the wind was light, so Carl Kirton and I decided to have a static fly with the 6.5m voltage, but after 20 minutes of messing about, the wind dropped completely! We decided to wait about to see if it would come back and lucky for us the sea breeze kicked in half hour later. Giving us all we could hope for, Carl was out in the buggy on his 13.5m Leopard and I was out doing freestyle on my 19m Fury.

The Saturday

The wind was forecast to be light, so at rider registration it was decided to leave the Pro Land Board competition till last. With Ainsdale only being on neap tides over the weekend the beach had dried out and was slightly soft, not making it easy for the amateur land-board/ buggy competition to run as they where first out. The judges decided to run the Pro Land Board competition later on in the afternoon, as the sand bar would be exposed with the outgoing tide. Giving us hard packed sand to ride on. The first round kicked of with Lewis Wilby and Will Rose, the wind so light it was no easy task for any of the riders. My first heat was against Ash Garwood at this point the wind was dropping and even the big kites struggled to fly, I managed to do some unhooked tricks, front to binds, 540 spins and a shifty 3, but unfortunately there was not enough power in the kite to do much more due to the lack of wind. Ash managed to advance to the next round, with this being a double elimination, my next heat would be against Will Rose, however the wind dropped off to nothing so it was decided to postpone till tomorrow……..

The Sunday

On arrival at the beach the wind was looking good! Powered 11m weather! The buggy amateur was first to kick of today. After they had finished, the sand bar was back and we could continue the Pro Land Board competition. My first heat was against Will Rose, I did some inverts, 900 back roll spins, 360 board off and board off variations, really enjoying the wind now, kiting is all about adding some hight to your tricks for me. This gave me enough to advance to my next round. It was now time for me to go back against Ash Garwood, he was riding really well, so I knew it would be no easy ride. I threw down some 900 spins, 360 board offs, board of varial, tail grab landing blind and 360 foot outs. Ash answered back by added a kite loop, I knew it was time to add something better so I went for a front roll kite loop, landing it smooth, I then went on to the final round against Lewis Wilby for the second time this year!

Doing some 900 spins, board offs, tail grab toe side 720 to blind, foot outs and a board off finger flip, time was ticking away and I knew it was time to throw a back roll kite loop, only not to be caught after the loop, crashing out hard! I had to admit the 11m is not the kite I would loop on normally, just some times in competition you let the adrenaline take over! After that I finished of with a inverted foot out and front roll board off varial but the time was up! Proudly leaving me with 2nd place at this event.

Team mate Carl Kirton went on to take 1st in Senior Land Board and 2nd in freestyle Buggy with his unique style of riding and mix of tricks on both buggy and Land Board.