Awards to honour kiting greats for third straight year

• Gala evening moves to new location in kiting mecca of Cape Town
  

• Prestigious GKA event features amplified ‘Move of the Year’ awards

Qatar Airways GKA Awards, City Hall, Cape Town
10 January, 2025

The biggest event in kiteboarding to recognise the achievements in the sport, the Qatar Airways GKA Awards, is to soar to new heights when it is staged for the third successive year.

The gala evening honouring kiteboarding’s greatest athletes and their outstanding contributions to the sport is set to move to a new venue, the kiting mecca of Cape Town, South Africa.

The Qatar Airways GKA Awards, scheduled for 10 January, 2025, will feature more categories than ever, with greater emphasis on the Move of the Year which will recognise achievements in all four disciplines.

In all, the coveted statuettes will be awarded for 14 men’s and women’s categories, including a total of nine in Move of the Year: for Freestyle, Strapless Freestyle, Wave and Hydrofoil Big Air. The best men and women athletes will be honoured in the Rider of the Year award, along with the Photo, Video and Rookie of the Year awards.

Fitting setting

The great and the good from across the kiteboarding industry, along with the world’s best riders, will be on hand to mark the celebrations set to take place in the grand setting of Cape Town’s City Hall.

The GKA Awards will recognise the greatest kiteboarding achievements between 26 April, 2023, up until 6 October, 2024. The Awards have been timed to coincide with the height of the kiteboarding season in Cape Town, which also a tourism hub renowned for its many attractions and natural beauty.

Few places on the planet are more fitting to mark kiteboarding’s biggest milestones than Cape Town, because of its strong winds and pristine beaches that give it a mythical status in the sport.

The window for submissions opened on 18 March, 2024, and will run until 6 October, 2024. Click the links below to have your say. Public voting will be open between 25 November and 9 December, 2024. Don’t miss out and mark 10 January, 2025, in your diary.

Move of the Year Awards

• Men’s Freestyle Move of the Year 
• Women’s Freestyle Move of the Year 
• Men’s Strapless Freestyle Move of the Year 
• Women’s Strapless Freestyle Move of the Year 
• Men’s Wave of the Year 
• Women’s Wave of the Year 
• Men’s Big Air Move of the Year 
• Women’s Big Air Move of the Year 
• Hydrofoil Big Air Move of the Year

Qatar Airways GKA Awards 2024

Male Rider of the Year

Female Rider of the Year

Men’s Freestyle Move of the Year

Women’s Freestyle Move of the Year

Men’s Strapless Freestyle Move of the Year

Women’s Strapless Freestyle Move of the Year

Men’s Wave of the Year 

Women’s Wave of the Year 

Men’s Big Air Move of the Year

Women’s Big Air Move of the Year 

Hydrofoil Big Air Move of the Year (one award, both genders)

Rookie of the Year  (one award, both genders)

Photo of the Year

Video of the Year 

Click on the links above to submit entries until 6 October, 2024. Public voting on the shortlists will run between 25 November and 9 December, 2024.

words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Samuel Cárdenas