Safety When Launching and Landing - The Kiteboarder Magazine

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The King of the Bay is the biggest competition on the West Coast. The above photo is from the Kite Course, a form of course racing with roots from sailing. Lens: Kim Kern C ompeting in a traditional kiteboarding contest involves traveling halfway around the world to ride in eight-minute heats. Moves performed at competitions have evolved to the point of being so technical that only a handful of people in the world can understand them, let alone even try them. If the judges do not like your particular riding style, you can be on your way home after only a few short heats. You may stomp the sickest trick possible, but if the judges do not understand the move it does you no good. By the way, if you do not have at least a half-dozen versions of a handlepass mastered, do not even bother entering. Consider all this, and it is quickly apparent that the typical kiteboarding competition does not cater to the typical kiteboarder. By Paul Lang “Contests used to be fun, but when the tricks started to get really complicated, the fun began to fade,” says Neil Hutchinson, founder of XRATED Kiteboarding. “You saw the same people winning at every event, and it was sometimes obvious that the winner was not the best rider at the contest.” The excitement caused by snowboarding in the last Olympics inspired Hutchinson to begin organizing BoarderX events. In BoarderX, four riders race against each other around a tight course while having to jump over obstacles. The rules are simple: Every rider must start on the beach (board on or off) and must go around every buoy and jump every obstacle. Right of way rules do not apply. BoarderX is not a windsurfing or sailing regatta. The fastest rider wins. There are no judges, and the heats are not timed. You are only racing against the other riders in your heat. The amazing thing about BoarderX is how accessible it is to the average kiteboarder. With a small amount of training and practice, any kiter who can go upwind and land small jumps can compete. Imagine going into a contest against the top riders in the sport and having a chance of winning. That is what BoarderX is all about! Kevin Murray is a non-sponsored rider who has competed in two BoarderX events so far said, “In each heat, the best technical kiteboarder is usually not the first across the finish line. Anything can happen and every rider out there has a real chance of winning.” Kevin was able to advance all the way to the semi-finals at The Kiteboarder 44 The Kiteboarder 45
The Richman brothers adjust their gear before the race. Lens: Kim Kern This competitor was going so fast he went under the buoy he was supposed to jump. Lens: Keith Johnston The Kiteboarder 46 BoarderX Tips from Shannon Best · Turn on your TV, set your Tivo, and watch the entire Super Cross season. These guys are fast, aggressive, and have been racing since they were kids. They know how to find lines, scrub jumps and gain speed out of turns. You’ll be impressed on how much you can learn from these guys. · Grabbing the lead from the start is the most important thing. You can control the pace from that position with your tack and your kite. · Go upwind as fast and as efficiently as possible. Keep the board on the water. · Don’t over shoot turns and jumps. · Scrub the jumps. Keep your shoulders at the same height with your momentum traveling forward, while clearing the jumps by sucking your knees into your chest. · Get some buoys and go practice at your local kite spot. Good luck. the Nissan Velocity Games, his first event, advancing past many professional kiteboarders on the way. Predicting the winner of each heat is impossible. Of the seven BoarderX events that XRATED Kiteboarding has put on this year, no rider has won twice, and not a single rider has won at their home beach. BoarderX can be run in real-world conditions, as the course can be tailored to your local area and the weather. According to Hutchinson, “we have been able to run events in 12-45 knots of wind, in everything from flat water to shorebreak and chop. As long as you have enough wind to actually ride, you can set up a course.” In less wind, the course can be set up to shorten or even eliminate the upwind leg, meaning that you could set up a BoarderX course and have a competition at your local beach on any ridable day. BoarderX is fast gaining popularity not only among riders, but also among spectators. The average spectators do not understand how difficult technical moves are. At any freestyle contest, a 20-foot high jump will generate a lot of noise from the crowd, while tricks like an s-bend to blind or a slim chance elicit a mere whisper. Because spectators do not understand the moves, there is no way for them to figure out who performed the best, or to understand why one rider advanced over another. In BoarderX, the action can be kept close to the beach with a properly designed course. There is always a clear-cut winner – the rider in front wins. There is a lot of excitement, and it is not uncommon to see four riders jumping over an obstacle so close together that all four kites are touching. Of course, there is also a lot of what every sporting spectator really wants to see: carnage. Wipeouts are common in these events, and everyone likes to watch a good crash. The BoarderX concept is currently changing the way many people feel about contests. There will always be a place and a need for technical freestyle competitions, but BoarderX is filling a huge gap in the sport of kiteboarding. These events are bringing riders together, amateur and professional alike, to compete and just have fun. Any average rider can have a good heat and beat the riders they are used to seeing only in magazines. Courses can be set up at any local beach on any ridable day for impromptu races. Perhaps most importantly for the sport, BoarderX is spectator and media friendly. Neil Hutchinson’s dream is to one day see BoarderX elevate the sport of kiteboarding to a whole new level. “BoarderX is the only type of kiteboarding contest that has a chance of becoming an Olympic sport,” says Neil. “There are no judges and there is no bias; the winner is always clear. For me, it has put the fun back into competitions and is bringing riders across the country together.” Hopefully Neil is right, but don’t take his word for it. Organize an event at your local beach so you can see just how accessible and fun a BoarderX contest can be. For information about how you can host a BoarderX event at your local beach, check out http://www.xratedkiteboarding.com The 2006 Nissan Velocity Games in Corpus Chrisi, Texas, paid out $4k, the largest cash prize in the United States for BoarderX. Lens: Paul Lang The Kiteboarder 47
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Page 8 and 9: EDITOR RYAN RICCITELLI ryan@thekite
Page 10 and 11: Bri shows off her new ride, courtes
Page 12 and 13: New School Letter of the month Dear
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Page 16 and 17: 16 hour days in front of her array
Page 18 and 19: Age: 25 Height: 5’10” Weight: 1
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Page 24 and 25: Ben Meyer signs his name on the sec
Page 28 and 29: Jesse Richman proves you can unhook
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Page 34 and 35: Like Father, Like Son Dimitri Maram
Page 36 and 37: North Rebel After 18 months in R&D,
Page 38 and 39: Jason does a test run on the ramp t
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Page 42 and 43: A reader sent in this photo of thei

Safety When Launching and Landing - The Kiteboarder Magazine

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