Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships set for Hood River
by Ian MacKinnon 28 Jul 2024 02:33 AEST
August 3-10, 2024
Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships © GKA Kite World Tour
The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour and the Kite Park League have joined in a collaboration to stage the maiden, one-shot world championships in the discipline at the emblematic venue of Oregon's Hood River, USA.
The first Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships are to be staged over eight days in early August when titles will be awarded to the best man and woman kiteboarders hitting the sliders and kickers.
The historic partnership has been in the works for some time. But it finally came to fruition when the Kite Park League (KPL) shifted its focus to one "super-final" event which will crown the world champions.
KPL was founded in 2016 by a collective of grassroots kiteboarders who have laid the foundation of the Kite Park discipline, which takes its influences from wakeboarding, skateboarding and snowboarding.
Emphasis on style
The discipline's judging emphasis is placed firmly on style, with grabs and presses rewarded when teamed with rotations off the features. The athletes' skill hitting both kickers and sliders helps them advance up the elimination ladder.
KPL has staged events around the world, in places like Argentina and the Italian island of Sicily. But Hood River remains the focal point and birth-place, boasting the world's first public Kite Park spot when it was created in 2008 by "The Slider Project".
The earlier KPL events laid claim to some big kiteboarding names, with the likes of former Freestyle world champion, Poland's Karolina Winkowska, and the Swiss rider, Maxime Chabloz, among those who graced podiums.
'Proud of partnership'
But those who have already topped the KPL ranks, like Australia's Katie Potter and the Spanish athlete Noè Font, must be strong contenders for the new world titles.
Already, some of the biggest names in Kite Park have signed up, eager to be the first to get their names on the World Championship trophies. The roster includes a who's who of Kite Park: Ewan Jaspan, Rami Gallart, Xander Raith, Eric Rienstra, Chris Bobryk and Brendan Kerr.
"We are very proud to see this partnership come to life," said Noè Font, one of the driving forces behind Kite Park League and a highly-regarded film-maker. "It's been a long time coming and we are finally ready to join forces and make a step forward in taking the Kite Park discipline to the next level."
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