Event Sponsors: Flexifoil, Kamikaze Boarding

So after an awesome event up North for the British nationals round three I was keen to follow up my first place in the juniors to having some chilled out riding and hitting some obstacles and meeting up with the Hastilow’s!

Ben Todd had been planning the event for ages and being in the UK too with some spare time I thought it would be good to get onboard and give a helping hand. Straight after the BKSA event I headed straight down to north Wales to get four days early for the event to finish the final aframe and other bits.

We met up with Dave and Rach when they were fresh from Greece in there big hoodies and jeens ready for some action. The community of the dark side of kitesurfing in the UK has been growing without a doubt, with the influence of the likes of Dre and Greg Norman it was obvious we needed a Park Jam event here in the UK. It was quite last minute with the finish of the build and we all gave a hand in finishing the beast of the a frame which was 5×7x4meters big and around 10ft tall.

We had some great sessions on the kicker and flat bar before the event and it was real good to be riding with Dave again. We were both set on having a belter at the event. It wasn’t long before the event had creeped up and Thursday was soon passing and we were blessed with wind. But unfortunately the forecasts weren’t looking to hot for the rest of the week. Friday was a good turn out with around 20 riders. The wind was pretty dead and the boat came out, we all had some good hits on all the obstacles and everyone seemed to impress each other.

Saturday took a last minute turn with a forecast of wind and sun and everyone was apmed to get out and ride with each other in the Park. It kicked off nice and early having forced myself out of bed and soon enough all the equipment was out and North Wales offered steady wind, flat water and some solid obstacles. Everyone was ripping and the 2010 switchblade, custom and Nomad showed there true performance through the day.

Dave really impressed me with some good moves from presses on the rails and 5’s of the kicker. I pushed myself through the day and there was some cracking crashes. I tried gapping the 7m middle section and managed to drill myself into the windward side aluminum leg which proved pretty solid. Game over.It was enough to almost brake both my legs but I wasn’t ready to give up so took the 2010 Cabrinha skate out in just my boardies as I couldn’t get my swollen leg into my nice 5mm wetsuit.

Saturday ended with an awesome party and Sunday didn’t really kick off dew to the late night and most people were not ready for another 6hour session. The Cabrinha team managed to dominate and here are the overall results.

Mens Kicker:
1) Dave Hastilow (Cabrinha)
2) Ali Barrett
3) Martin Tatchel

Mens Slider
1) Ali Barrett
2) Ali Reader
3) Dave Hastilow (Cabrinha)

Junior:
1) Dan Sweeney (Cabrinha, Kamikaze Boarding)

Overall Pro Mens:
1) Dave Hastilow (Cabrinha)
2) Ali Barrett
3) Dan Sweeney (Cabrinha)

Best Wipeout:
1) Dan Sweeney (Cabrinha, Kamikaze Boarding)

Rider Vibe:
1) Benjamin Todd (Cabrinha Board Winner)

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Hunstanton – BKSA

Date: 10-12^th July 2009

The British Kite Surfing Association (BKSA) saw non ideal conditions over the weekend yet some great results for riders who have worked and trained hard over the past months. Those that were there for the kitesurfing were to be disappointed due to the lack of wind over the Friday and Saturday. Sunday was an early start as the forecast seemed average for the competition to take place. Men’s and Woman’s pros could happen but in light wind conditions. The crowd pleaser tricks we would come to expect from this type of event were few and far between due to the lack of mother nature.

With no wind in sight the atmosphere was still electric with many stalls ranging from kiteboarding Apparel, windsurfing equipment, skate parks, rock climbing walls, VW motor show and not to mention the band tent that rocked 2 nights of great live music.

Kamikaze boarding was represented by all 5 ofour riders. Tanja Rosenkranz woman’s pros, Marco Simpson – Men’s Pros, Toby Raw – Men’s pros, Dan Sweeny – Amateurs and Danny Morrice – Amateurs. Each and everyone done there best to secure some great positions.

The talk of the event had to be the 5000 Kamikaze Boarding stickers that were placed around the site by our fans!!! Thanks guys for keeping it legal and not upsetting to many people.

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It has been 2 weeks since Kamikaze Boarding returned from the wind swept beaches of Tarifa so after a heavy hangover and aching muscles its time for an update.

The weekend began on Thursday the 9th. After touching down in Gibraltar it was a short drive to Tarifa town. The sun was shinning and all was set for a great weekend and launch party.  Our suitcases were bursting at the seams with flyers, banners, clothing and kite gear. That night was spent sampling the local food and ale followed by a meet with our Team Rider Marco Simpson who amazed us with stories of falling asleep with a bottle of wine only to wake to find his bed was wet through, are you sure it was wine?. A quick touch base with the club and we were slamming tequilas in preparation for the big night on Friday. By 4am it was ready for bed.

Friday..Hangover city central. It was a late start to the day. The wind was blowing but no kiting today. Far too much preparation to do. The afternoon hours were spent promoting Kamikaze to Kitesurf shops in town. Feedback was great and orders were made in some of the largest kite sports retailers in Tarifa!  We meet with Marco and our newest member of the Kamikaze Boarding Team - Tanja Rosenkranz for a few afternoon drinks and start to work on spamming Tarifa town with Kamikaze Launch Party posters and stickers.  Finally get to the club for 10pm and start kiting it out with promotion stuff. By 10:30pm the club looked great and the doors were open. By 11:30 it was full to capacity! Kamikaze flags, stickers and banners were everywhere. The vibe was incredible and everyone was asking about Kamikaze.
After 3000 spamming stickers, 1000 board stickers, 20 massive posters and 100 t-shirts the night came to an end at 7am. The Kamikaze Boarding Launch party was a success and finally we are open for business!

Tarifa town was a glow of Kamikaze stickers by Sunday. Thank you to everyone who helped us out. We made some great friends and look forward to our next party with you guys.

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