Raw Kite British Championship 2nd

The final round of the Raw Kite British Championship took place on the 25th-27th September, at the location of  Pembrey sands in South Wales, UK. For those of you who have not been to this beach, it is one of the best beaches in the uk for its hard packed sand and big space to kite on, very well known for holding the No Barriers Events each year. 

The Friday, 

Jumped in the van at 6am hoping to be on the beach by midday to have a kite session, this gave us plenty of time to get there…… or did it? With the traffic having other ideas, we actually rolled up to the beach at about 2pm! With high tide being at 3, the chance of a kite session was pretty slim, so instead we took a walk to explore the surroundings and take in the size of this beach which had the biggest jelly fish I have ever seen washed up on the beach. We then headed to the camp site to meet everyone else and catch up since the last event. After spending the evening chilling out round the fire pit, it was soon time to go to bed and be ready to ride in the morning.

The Saturday,

With the wind forecast to be really light, the riders meeting was held with the plan of running a freeride, but if the wind picked up then the competition would run, with the land board pro's being held first.  So after grabbing a quick breakfast we headed to the beach. On arrival at the beach the wind looked really light, so I took my 19 and 13m Fury. Chose to pump the 19m up  and I headed out for a session. The wind was good enough to have a play around doing some 1080 spins, inverts and back to blinds. Eventually, the head judge Craig made the call to run the competition, so we kicked of and the first heats went well with the wind holding steady. 

My Heat was against Will Rose, we started to battle it out, Will was getting some nice board offs and spins and I retaliated with 1080 spins, board offs and landing different tricks to blind. Then all of a sudden, out of nowhere during mid heat, the wind dropped! So after a period of waiting, the comp was called off for the day, as the tide was coming in. 

The Sunday, 

Riders briefing was on the beach at 09:30am. I arrived at the beach car park a few minutes after Lewis Wilby and we both got out and got our kit ready for the big event! However….to our frustration, the wind did not look great! The riders briefing took place and it was decided to stared the buggy pros first as soon as the wind picked up. For now the riders were having a bit of fun playing a bit of football and a few games of frisbee, before starting to set up their kites for the competition! 

As time rolled by I headed back to the van for some lunch, only to realise the wind was finally picking up! When I got back to the event, the buggy pro’s had already started, so excitedly I ran back to the competition area, with my round being up next I grabbed my 19m Fury and had a 5min session before my heat. Will Rose and myself headed into the competition, Will was landing a nice mix of tricks and I threw some tail grab 720s, board offs, 360 foot outs and a double invert with a few more other varied tricks, this was enough to advance me to the final. 

With the wind now picking up,  it meant that the final round was on in 2 minutes and I was up against Lewis Wilby for the 3rd time this year! Because I ride with Lewis a lot, we both have a rough idea of what each other can do, so the round kicked off and I managed to get a variety of tricks down, such as a double invert, board of 720, 360 board off varial, tail grabbed 360 to blind, board of varial to blind, invert method grab and more….

I am super stoked with the result, as this left me with 2nd place at this event! This also means I claimed 2nd place in the British championships. 

Overall this has been a great year kiting and catching up with everyone. Hope to see everyone at next years event. 

Handle Pass

Raley

Judges 

Blasting this amazing beach 

Board off varial 

1st Lewis Wilby
2nd (myself) Kris Beech
3rd Will Rose 

Pop shove it 

360 crail, foot out

On the way to a Invert method grab

Board off finger flip

Big Thanks to all who have supported me this year, extra special thanks to Peter Lynn kites, Trampa Boards and Cristina Murphy and Chris Hayes photographics for the photos.