26th May 2009
Swansea Bay delivers perfect conditions for opening round of British Kite Surfing Championships.
Three days of strong winds provided perfect conditions for the first ever Kiteival festival at Swansea Bay last weekend (15-17 May).
Over 8,000 spectators flocked to the beach to watch the country's leading powerkite aficionados compete in four disciplines: freestyle kitesurf; course racing kitesurf; freestyle kite landboard; and freestyle kitebuggy.
The event, organised by the British Kite Surfing Association (BKSA), also attracted three Britons who also happen to be kitesurfing world champions: Aaron Hadlow, Steph Bridge, and Kirsty Jones.
"Three days of constant wind and sunshine were the ideal conditions for the sport to showcase its talented riders," said BKSA Chairman Richard Gowers.
"The event proved to be an outstanding success and saw a number of firsts for the kite surfing industry: this was the first event to attract over 100 competitors, and it was the first time that four different kite sport disciplines have been run together in a competition format.
"The Swansea Kiteival has set a benchmark for the sport and we now look ahead to the next Kiteival event in Blackpool 27-29th August."
But before then, Round 2 of the BKSA National Freestyle Tour comes to Hunstanton, Norfolk from July 10th-12th.
Results from Swansea Kiteival
Kitesurfing Freestyle
Pro Men
1 - Toby Raw
2 - Sam Light
3 - Ali Barratt
Pro Ladies
1 - Hannah Whitely
2 - Nicki Rudd
3 - Sarah Silvester
Amateur Men
1 - Tom Butler
2 - Sam Moore
3 - Ben Todd
Amateur Ladies
1 - Megan Griffiths
2 - Sukie Robertson
3 - Sherly Confue
Seniors
1 - Pete Whitely
2 - Matthew Davies
3 - Marc Rowley
Juniors
1 - Dan Morrice
2 - Dan Sweeney
3 - Oli Bridge
Course Racing Kitesurf
Mens
1 - Andy Gratwick
2 - Denzil Williams
3 - Steve Stubbs
Ladies
1 - Steph Bridge
2 - Nicky Rudd
Kitelandboard Freestyle
Mens
1 - Lewis Wilby
2 - AJ Philipsen
3 - Nick Austin
Juniors
1 - James Langton
2 - Greg Chilton
Kitebuggy Freestyle
1 - Will McKeen
2 - Neil Oakden
3 - Frazier Cohen
ENDS
Images
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Notes to editors
KITEIVAL 09 ROUND 1
Dates: Friday 15th to Sunday 17th May
Location: Swansea Bay, Swansea, South Wales
Event Sponsor: Swansea Council
Co-Event Sponsor: Gower Kiteriders, Flexifoil, North
Tour Sponsors: Red Bull, Deadman, Buff, King of Watersports
Disciplines: Kitesurf, Kitelandboard, Kitebuggy Freestyle and Kitesurf Course Racing
Media Contact
Richard Gowers, BKSA Chairman
Tel: 07980 553057 |
