BKSA round 1 Swansea, UK

After a long awaited period we now have a British championship for kite landboarding being run by the BKSA (British kite surfing association). It was being held at Swansea Bay in South Wales. it was a new setup for them as they normally run the kitesurfing events so this would be a first for them, even so it ran smoothly with no problems. I got there on the friday for a warm up session with good friend Lewis Wilby but spent most of the day chilling as there was no wind to start, once the wind started to blow I put up the 9m Instinct Sport+ and even in the little amount of wind we had I could get going and jumping. Soon we packed up as the rain set in and retreated to the marquees and vans to shelter from it.

The next day was the start of the landboard comp and we were greeted with alot more wind than the day before. After registration we set about the competition. Although there were not many riders competing they were some of the top riders so you could tell it was going to be a good comp, alot of riders pulled out due to the wind being to strong for them. As we progressed through the rounds you could tell it was a day of high wind tricks involving kiteloops and stylish board-offs and grabs as unhooking was pretty much out of the window. I won my first heat and went through to the next round which was to be held the next day after the other rounds were completed. There were a few crashes through the day with Angus Kybird dislocating his collarbone and having to go to hospital.

On sunday we woke up after a night out and all of us were feeling quite rough but we were met with even more wind and rain than the day before so we knew it was gonna be another day of going big and stylish. Once the rain stopped we got on with the comp again. My next round was up and I won that putting me into the finals. I sat and waited to see who I was up against and it turned out to be Lewis, during the round fellow team mate Ash Garwood had a nasty crash and the kite picked him up and looped after the crash slamming him into the floor.

The wind had got up even more by the time of the final and was pushing 50mph at times. Both me and Lewis changed onto smaller kites for the higher wind. Thankfully I borrowed a 7m off of fellow Ozone rider Sukie Robertson. The final turned into a kiteloop and big trick frenzy with small kites and high wind. After a fun final Lewis came out with the gold and I and come out with silver. We had a great prize giving at the end and got our medals and champagne, and walked away happy after having a great weekend.

I’d just like to say thanks to the BKSA for running the Competition and all the sponsors that supported it. Thanks to Ozone for making such great kites which perform so well and supporting me.

AJ