Hey
If board off and **** like that is so easy then i would love to see all the true wakestyle riders do some of the ones dan anderson was doing a while back to be honest i have not seen anyone else do any thing close yet, ive seen heaps of people do a mobe so whats harder? i know a few guys who can do a lot off handlepasses and seen them try boardoffs and not even get close. As far as i know its the freestyle nats not the wakestlye nats.
If we don't impress the the crowds then we get no people watching and no one watching means no sponsors which means no comps.
That dangly **** is the heart off kiteboarding and why 90% off us first got in to the sport so why do we want to get rid of it out of the comps, don't get me wrong i love doing wakestyle but if that's all i wanted to do then i may as well buy a boat.
I hear a few say that's unfair to boot riders i say tuff ****, if you want to ride boots and limit your self then just make sure that your wake style is so good that it doesn't matter what the other guy is doing.
What about an overall rider waves and freestyle camp wave nats 50% and freestyle 50% get more people doing both comps.
Gero is a great spot for it.
Paul
Hey Adrain
Raglan also sound good i would be keen might be a little harder for the Wa guys but its something for people to think about.
Paul
sh#* JB, if spacemonkey actually has to boost, its all over.
Thou shalt not bringeth thoust kite over 45'..........
Greuzi is spot on... Kiters will come to kite comps and they need a place to kite.
BUT..like surfing, it is dependent on conditions.... Unless the nationals go to a spot that is gauranteed to honk,AND have a waiting period, they are doomed.
We had some wavecomps in WA with supposedly a waiting period/it's on when it's good, and both were held so far in very marginal conditions. Mabe add it to a kitestock event, instant crowd???
Kite low and riding fast and powered is the way forward. Seeing how many spins and how many times you can pull yourself up and pass the bar behind your back is not the way forward for kiting freestyle. When its too windy to do the kite low unhooked stuff then bring on the kiteloops.
Don't push the sport back... People can do board offs just they dont score as high as a mobe... It's simple.
spacedude, IMO the way "forward" is to accept that there are different styles of kiting and by limiting freestyle to kite below 45 you are actually going backwards..
I have seen plenty of board offs that would score and are far harder than any backmobe.
Progression should be a combination of looking good and being technically difficult... and everything esle left open and lets face it.... theres only so much you can do with your kite below 45.
No big jumps, no board offs, .... why would you bother using a kite, just go wakeboarding? and if it's because you jump higher on a kite than behind a boat then put the kite up near 60 and youll jump way higher!
Yeah u can make big air look good ( len10 kiteloops etc ) which draws big crowds, but do u see board off's in the PKRA? Thats a big step backwards. And if i saw some1 doing a board off with bindings.. extra points! but it'd still look gay
There seems to be a common misconception here.
Constant references to "spectators" "crowds" "general public" etc. watching kite contests.
The reality is,95% of the spectators at an event are either competitors,or their friends,relos etc.
It seems to me the "freestyle" "wakestylers" live in a fantasy World,where they impress hordes of spectators and hot chicks(guys) with their spinny tricks.
They can't even get a contest organised ! WTF !
Meanwhile,a wave riding contest at Lennox Head was a raging success!
Next up,Mambo,another wave event will go OFF !
Then,a lot of riders are looking forward to the National Wave Titles at Port Macquarie.
Pretty obvious where the REAL future in kiting is ! Contests for the riders by the riders. In the Surf.
Support KiteJam... A freestyle competition unlike the others. Everyone gets plenty of time on the water, everyone is encouraged to bring their own version of freestyle to the mix- we want it all, the big air, board offs, high handle passes, techy wake tricks, kiteloops, and anything else you can dream up. Nothing is gay, no trick or riding style wins more points over the other...
Everyone rides, everyone enjoys, everyone decides.
My personnal feeling is that kiteboarding is moving forward towards big air/ technical tricks... And I think that both riders, judges and non-educated spectators are all impressed by big air kiteloops, looped handlepasses, powered double passes etc. Look to the world tour leaders, impressing both the spectators and fellow kiteboarders with height power and technicality.
You want to impress the spectators, like it or not, they bring the money to competition riding.
You don't need restrictions and designated moves in competiton riding, freestyle riding should be just that, free style, its pretty obvious to see the winner at the end of the day.
visit: www.kitejam.org
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=31923
if what was shown in the lennox wave riding states video is the future, then we are totally ****ed. That even made me think kitesurfing is lame.
Surf contests get up because the crew who enter them and are interested in wave riding are older. They are able to organise comps.
you cant expect <20yr olds to organise and run comps, its just not going to happen.
until some really passionate crew outside of aksa (and the state bodies) give up a ****load of time out of the goodness of there heart to help out the sport and the younger generation, comps arent going to happen. There are few people out there willing to do it, fortunately we are lucky enough to have atleast a few who end up running aksa (and waksa here). They are busy running asociations and we cant expect them to then go out and organize comps single handedly.
then u get what happened at the gero nats where the organisers get slammed. Why would u invest so mcuh to then get abused.
There you go again!
Dreaming on about "spectators"
WTF!
How do they bring " money to competition riding"
Whats with this comment about the wave riding at the Lennox comp:
"boring as all f#ck for the spectators"
Get over yourselves boys. The glory days are gone!
There are no crowds of spectators. There never will be.
Meanwhile,like I said,the wave riders have no problem organising contests.
Forget "the future" there is only the here and now,and right now wave comps are happening.
I can't see any reason why a freestyle comp can't be run.
Anyway,is that not up to the AKSA and the State associations ?
User I dont want to get into a slanging match, but you cant generalise on the number of spectators that turn up to an event, and that they dont matter because they do.I dont know about another comps but i know at the classic at tannum, spectator numbers have increased every year, to the point where for the finals on sunday the beach was full, and you couldnt get a car park anywhere near the venue.Spectators matter and it gives cred to the sport.
i agree, out of all the comps ive ever been to the coconet classic has had the most (non kiting) spectators at the event, and tannum doesnt even have anything close to a rideable wave.
In my experience the sponsors who fund the events are looking for business from spectators. The small amount of business from the competitors is not as important as the potential business from the crowds who gather to watch the event.
Like it or not the spectators are the most important part of the whole event unless you get funding from another source.
I don't know how wavecomps can be the future, if so we are screwed. Its hard enough organising a competition with good wind or good swell, let alone both. Most of the time its held in underpowered 1ft close out chop, with contestants trying to see if they imitate a surfer but at the best only getting 2 turns in, slashing white water to death. I don't mind kitesurfing but to have a good competition you have to have them at Epic venues with monster swell and consistant wind.
Now THAT cwamit, is the start of an awesome idea and possibly a format that could/should be applied to major competition; comps held over (at least) a week long period. That way you can access some of teh better locations, people can holiday if they wish, kiters serious about the comp will most likely enter (try and get time off work) and you increase your chances of holding a decent comp.
1 week in esperance would be awesome for both freestyle and waves.
If you're going to do something, do it properly...like Kitestock, Mambo, Tannum, the Gero Nats or the new one down in safety bay.
Never said i didn't like freestyle. but every boardsport has dick tricks or old skool stuff that u don't see in pro comps anymore because they have been updated with better and more tec tricks, and board offs are ours !?! And i still say that if a rider does a board off with boots, it'll look stupid. Iv'e seen footage of snowboarders doing em ( 1 foot out ) and it looks crap. defeats the point
