Canterbury Kiteboarding Champs 2011

Canterbury Kiteboarding Champs 29-30th January 2011

The low down:
Pre-registrations for this years event got numbers up to 45, mostly from Canterbury, but also including 21 riders from other parts of New Zealand. Including riders from other regions has always been the priority of the ‘Canterbury Windsports Association’ so as to raise the level of riding in Canterbury & give competitors a chance to mix it up with the more experienced & even Pro riders like Marc Jacobs & Torrin Bright!

As a warm up to the main freestyle events we held a ‘Slider Jam’ freeride session at the Estuary on Friday night. The North-east winds were very good on Friday & gave riders a taste of the superb conditions Christchurch has to offer.

Southerly winds on Saturday had us take the competition out to Lake Ellesmere, this spot works well in all winds & has always played a major part in Christchurch running successful events. We started freestyle heats but the increasing and gusty wind in the early afternoon of 30-40 knots had us stop the freestyle because of safety reasons. Riders were still able to go out & jump big, so we held a Hangtime & kite loop expression session. This style of big powered jumps was a hit with spectators & really shows the true potential of the riders & the equipment, even in very strong winds! In the evening we had a big crew at Winnie Bagoes Ferrymead & had a great night.

A dying easterly wind on Sunday with a North-west change in the afternoon had us head back to Lake Ellesmere. Mid afternoon the wind kicked in & we were able to complete all freestyle rounds..the Junior & Open semi’s & finals were greatly contested!

Dash for $1000 cash, sponsored by ‘Sport Canterbury’ followed & was the last event of the competition. We had a race boat start & all competitors had to race around marks & back to the finish line. It was quite spectacular to see the 25 kites & windsurfer racing head to head with a very close finish at the end. Prize giving followed at Ferry Ale House.

A great time was had by all. A big thanks to the organizers, sponsors & helpers for your tireless effort & our sponsors who got in behind the Canterbury Kiteboarding Champs with some great prizes!

RESULTS:

Canterbury Open
1.Jackson Mills
2.Martin Harris
3.Aaron Smith

Canterbury Juniors
1.Jackson Mills
2.Anthony Hopkins

Canterbury Womens
1.Kim Bunt
2.Joanna Brody

Canterbury Masters
1.Tom Cook
2.Blair Cooke
3.Karl Soulos

Canterbury Legends
1.Mike Dibb
2.Jason Tweedie

Open
1.Marc Jacobs
2.Torrin Bright
3.Geoffrey Waterson

Naish Junior Title
1.Jackson Mills
2.Fergus Robertson
3.Joel Savage

Womens
1.Anderson Romero
2.Su Kay
3.Kim Bunt

Masters
1.Tom Cook
2.Olly Brunton
3.Hugh Pinfold

Legends
1.Glenn Bright
2.Richard Burgin
3.Mal Porter

Sport Canterbury Dash for $1000 cash
1.Chris Dimock $500 (windsurf)
2.Hugh Pinfold $300 (kitesurf)
3.Blake Porter $200 (kitesurf)

We also had other categories for those riders who stood out during the weekends kiteboarding action:

Hangtime Big Air
1.Torrin Bright
2.Blake Porter
3.Su Kay

Most Improved
Sam Geary

Worst Wipeout
Craig Knights
Fergus Robertson
Olly Brunton

Best Kite loop
Brendan Laughlan
Olly & Joel synchronised

Best Dressed
Kim, Ariana, Joanna, Cookie & Gretchen

Photos - Karl Soulos