GKA teams up with Kite Park League for maiden world championships in US emblematic venue
Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships
3—10 August, 2024 | Hood River
The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour and the Kite Park League have joined in a collaboration to stage the maiden, one-shot world championships in the discipline at the emblematic venue of Oregon’s Hood River, USA.
The first Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships are to be staged over eight days in early August when titles will be awarded to the best man and woman kiteboarders hitting the sliders and kickers.
The historic partnership has been in the works for some time and marks a historic first, the GKA’s inaugural world cup on US waters. It finally came to fruition when the Kite Park League (KPL) shifted its focus to one “super-final” event which will crown the world champions.
KPL was founded in 2016 by a collective of grassroots kiteboarders who have laid the foundation of the Kite Park discipline, which takes its influences from wakeboarding, skateboarding and snowboarding.
Emphasis on style
The discipline’s judging emphasis is placed firmly on style, with grabs and presses rewarded when teamed with rotations off the features. The athletes’ skill hitting both kickers and sliders helps them advance up the elimination ladder.
KPL has staged events around the world, in places like Argentina and the Italian island of Sicily. But Hood River remains the focal point and birth-place, boasting the world’s first public Kite Park spot when it was created in 2008 by “The Slider Project”.
The earlier KPL events laid claim to some big kiteboarding names, with the likes of former Freestyle world champion, Poland’s Karolina Winkowska, and the Swiss rider, Maxime Chabloz, among those who graced podiums.
But those who have already topped the KPL ranks, like Australia’s Katie Potter and the Spanish athlete Noè Font, must be strong contenders for the new world titles.
‘Proud of partnership’
Already, some of the biggest names in Kite Park have signed up, eager to be the first to get their names on the World Championship trophies. The roster includes a who’s who of Kite Park: Ewan Jaspan, Rami Gallart, Xander Raith, Eric Rienstra, Chris Bobryk and Brendan Kerr.
“We are very proud to see this partnership come to life,” said Noè Font, one of the driving forces behind Kite Park League and a highly-regarded film-maker. “It’s been a long time coming and we are finally ready to join forces and make a step forward in taking the Kite Park discipline to the next level.”
Dr Jörgen Vogt, CEO of the GKA, said the collaboration with KPL was an exciting new departure that offered a stepping stone into the globally important US kiteboarding scene, along with the chance to boost the Kite Park discipline’s profile.
“We, at the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour, are thrilled that this new partnership with KPL will stage the first world championships in Kite Park in the iconic setting of Hood River,” he said.
Be sure to join us here to find out about the Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Andre Magarao
Spot Info: Hood River
Hood River is a town on the storied Columbia River Gorge, Oregon. It is famous for its stunning mountainous scenery and is overlooked by the snow-capped Mount Hood. The focus for kiteboarding in Hood River is the sandbar. It has good space to launch and land, which can be dependent on water levels that are governed by lock gates. The water can be choppy further from the shoreline, but inside near the Slider Park it is flat.
Weather
The wind is reliably strong from May until August, blowing six days a week. Winds, almost always westerly, accelerate down the Columbia River Gorge and are often strong: 25 – 35+ knots and notoriously gusty. In August air temperatures average 28°C / 82°F, while the water temperatures are about 22°C / 72°F.
