Congratulations to Kari >> 1st Overall KPWT World Champion

My best year competing.

I have been traveling and training alot this year and it’s been up and down with the competitions, like every year I have been competing in kiting.

My goal this year was to do better then last year, 4th overall and give Kristy Jones a fight in the waves.  I was all winter training waves in Tarifa and Sardinia and I felt my level got better after spending hours on my wave board in all kind of conditions.  I was also working on racing with a shaper from Tarifa, Nomad boards and my kites from Ozone.

KPWT started in Germany and I was really down after the first competition. I did really bad in racing (my board was to small and my kites also, there was suddenly no limit for wind and we did race in really light wind)  also freestyle went really wrong, and I was a but frustrated after my heats there. The waves kept me smiling and gave me motivation to continue. I was in the top where I wanted to be and I gave Kristy a fight I the final. Kristy was the world champion 08 in waves and she did not loose one heat that year. My motivation was here, I had to beat her this year.

I did not want to keep on going after Germany, but I did not want up give up either and I knew that with a different race board from Nomad and with the new Zephyr kite from Ozone I could be in the top in racing and I knew that I could also win some events in the waves.

The competitions went on and I did better and better and I felt like finally all my hours on the water paid out. Canada was my best event ever, I won all the disciplines, race (with my 17 m zephyr and the new nomad Board), Freestyle and wave. I was training so hard for this and when it finally played out with 1st positions I felt like everything was possible and my motivation was on top again.

There was a lot of competitions this year and it went really well for me. I was fighting in the top in all the disciplines race, waves, freestyle and also kiteloop. After Brazil I was 2nd in freestyle (just after Gisela Pulido, 5 time world champion), 1st  in racing (I have to say thanks to Zephyr an nomad boards for this), 1st  in kite loop and 2nd in waves (just after Kristy 3-2). I was really happy when I left Brazil knowing that soon I would be overall world champion. When I went to the last event In Morocco I knew that the only result I could change was the waves. If I won morocco I would manage to get 1st in waves. I knew that everything was possible but I also know that it would be a big fight there.

Morocco was a long event, 10 days. We started with freestyle the first day, but after this we had days with no wind. We had some wind the 2 last days and we finish freestyle and race. I placed 2nd in freestyle and 1st in race. I was a bit sad that the waves were canceled but nothing to do about the wind. Next year I hope I can fight for the 1st overall in waves.. maybe.

My year overall:

1st Overall IKA and KPWT (waves and freestyle)
1st Race KPWT
1st Kiteloop KPWT
2nd Freestyle KPWT
2nd Wave KPWT

I have to say I am really happy with my year. I could not do better, next year my goal is to be world champion in the waves J

I would like to thank all my sponsor Ozone, Kari Traa, Telenor, Seabrokers group, Varme & Bad, Olden, Prolimit, Dr zipe, for helping me out this year, with out you guys I could never make it.  I really hope you guys can help me also next year.
Thanks a lot.

Now I am off to the snow :) see you all there.

www.kariland.com