Kitesoul Magazine #13 English Edition

36
EVENTs
2016 Wind Voyager Triple-S Invitational
In 2015, event organizers decided that while the Triple
S was founded on showcasing three disciplines, surf,
slicks (freestyle) and sliders and crowning an overall
champion, there simply wasn’t enough time to get all
three disciplines done. Riders had pushed for prize
money over the years and with the introduction of title
sponsors, the event morphed from a rider-judged free-forall
to a heats-based contest format. A few trial and error
years proved that it was simply too challenging to run so
many heats. Riders, especially the kitesurfers, ended up
competing in sub-optimal conditions. Going back to the
roots of what drove the whole competition in the first
place, Slezak and Forman decided to showcase what they
had worked so hard for so many years to promote, pure
slider riding. The 2016 event carried on that true slider
legacy and sought to improve the heat structure even
more.
The Triple S takes place on the Outer Banks of North
Caroline, a long, thin chain of islands connected by
bridges and which create the break-wall between the
Atlantic and the mainland of the USA. On the inside of
the islands, you have the Pamlico sound, a salty, brackish
and shallow body of water that connects to the Atlantic
in various spots in between the Outer Banks islands.
The shallow water and broken islands make for a dream
kiteboarding location with SW thermal winds and NE
storms peppering the island with wind nearly year-round.
Real Watersports has housed their kite school in the
small town of Waves for over a decade and chose this