Conditions certainly weren’t what we had all been praying for, but none the less Portland Harbour provided us with contestable conditions to run the very first British Big Air Championships hosted at CS Boardsports.
With a building forecast the first item on the agenda was to complete the Pro Men Freestyle competition which had rolled over from the event at Hayling Island, before running the Big Air section in 25kt plus winds.
Check out the fleet reports below for a full event breakdown and the event video from @jordanbhurst …
All in all a great day of competition was had by all and we look forward to welcoming you all back to Portland Harbour for more events in 2024!
Thank you to everyone that supported the event, BKSA, Mystic, Reedin Kites, Cabrinha, Ion, Buccaneer & CS Boardsports.
Poole & Bournemouth Kite club as well as Weymouth and Portland Club.
With a solid 18-22 knots of Northerly wind, competitors enjoyed some of the best freestyle conditions that the competition circuit had seen in some time. Spectators looked on as it was a situation of old versus new, with veteran competitors such as Oli Sweeney, Jordan Hurst and Craig Smith battling against the new blood of Alfie and Archie Luxton, and the level of riding certainly didn’t disappoint with the ‘old guard’ coming out on top with Craig Smith taking his second British Title.
Fleet report to follow
The wind continued to build for the mens’s fleet and peaked at around 25-27 knots as the big air competitors took to the stage, the pro mens fleet being taken out by the impressive Mattia Maini (North, CS Boardsports) who had opted for a different strategy to the rest of the field by taking his foil into his heats.
Other stand out performances were from Jamie Bird (North/Mystic) who was sending it on short lines! And Jordan Hurst (North/Mystic/Tenzing/King of Watersports) after making the final of the freestyle competition pushed his way to the finals of the big air discipline as well, a true show of a great all round rider.
The womens fleet was highly contested with all the women sending it, Lou Edge taking the win despite an unfortunate landing in the final heat.
The youths, as we all expected threw down, even in the dropping winds, showing everyone that the future of UK kitesurfing is in good hands.
Jeremiasz travelling all the way from Kent impressing the judges with his big variety of tricks which were performed with a great style and executed to perfection!
Thanks to @jordanbhurst for putting this together
Briefing and registration times will be set out on Friday after entry closes via email, facebook page and whatsApp, briefings and registrations are mandatory.
If you are late or do not attend the briefing you will be disqualified. At a lot of events we are restricted with time due to wind and tides, so to ensure the maximum competition time, we need to run smoothly, and all competitors need to help with this.
Last date for entries:October 20th 2023
Event Competition Window: October 21st 2023 - October 22nd 2023
Pro £45 | Amateur £40 | Junior £35
Big Air