Freestyle athletes set to challenge for world championship crowns in season finale at Fuwairit Kite Beach
Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup Finals Qatar
Fuwairit Kite Beach, 10-14 December, 2024
The final Freestyle event of the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour season is set to play out at Fuwairit Kite Beach, Qatar, in mid-December, when the world champions will be crowned.
The third and last stop in the Freestyle discipline comes at the Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup Finals Qatar at the FKB resort’s lagoon, where the steady breezes and flat waters provide a perfect setting for the season finale.
The conclusion of the season in kiteboarding’s Freestyle discipline will come after two stops, in Dunkerque, France, in August, and Cauipe, Brazil, in November.
It is the second successive season that the Freestyle men’s and women’s world champions will be crowned at the purpose-built FKB resort. The perfectly-located spot on the Arabian Gulf, in north-east Qatar, is building a global reputation among kiteboarders.
Last year the Brazilian duo of Bruna Kajiya and Carlos Mario clinched their world titles at Fuwairit Kite Beach after season-long campaigns that stretched over five stops around the world.
Pole position for crown
For Kajiya, at 37 the most senior woman on the tour, the Freestyle crown was her fourth world title. This year she opened the defence of her title with a win at the first Freestyle stop of the season in Dunkerque.
The Brazilian backed up her win with a second on home waters in Cauipe where she was in a class of her own and now sits in pole position for the crown, which would be her fifth world title.
However, Kajiya is being challenged by Spain’s Rita Arnaus, who took the second podium place in France when she returned to competition after being out injured for 18 months. Arnaus also took a second Cauipe and looks strong.
Carlos Mario’s 2023 world title was his fifth and marked a return to the top of the podium for the first time since 2018. But Mario’s bid to win another world title this year got off to a difficult start when he was out at the semi-final stage in Dunkerque. He was still injured and missed out at his home spot in Cauipe.
Top on countbacks
Former world champion, Arthur Guillebert, from France, won at home in Dunkerque, getting his bid to reclaim the Freestyle crown off to a flying start. But in Cauipe he was still carrying a niggling knee injury and finished second.
Switzerland’s Maxime Chabloz leapfrogged Guillebert in the standings when he won the event in Cauipe. Both have a win and a second place each, but Chabloz tops the rankings on countbacks.
The Freestyle battles in Qatar will cap an action-packed season on the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour. Contests for world championship titles were fought out in four kiteboarding disciplines, spanning 14 tour stops in eight countries on four continents around the world.
It will be a thrilling end to the season at Fuwairit Kite Beach, packed with drama and spectacular action. Join us to discover who will be crowned our 2024 Qatar Airways GKA Freestyle Kite World Champions.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Svetlana Romantsova
Spot Info
Fuwairit Kite Beach
The resort at Fuwairit Kite Beach is a purpose-built facility. The hotel sits right in front of the kiting lagoon that looks out on to the Arabian Sea. It offers mirror-flat waters and steady breezes that make it the perfect playground for Freestyle athletes to showcase their skills.
Weather
The average temperature in Qatar during January and February ranges between a high of 71ยฐF (22ยฐC) and a low of 62ยฐF (17ยฐC). Sea temperature ranges from 18ยฐCโ20ยฐC. A wetsuit is recommended.
Wind
A side-shore wind direction from the left ranges from 15โ25 knots.
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