June GKA Happenings!
The Tarifa Kite Pro starts up next week. Plus we're launching a news show! Read all about it here.
Registration is now open for the first youth freestyle event of the year!
The GKA is proud to host the Youth Freestyle and Kite-Surf World Tour. We're stoked to have confirmation for our first scheduled event in El Gouna, Egypt and registration is now open.
Last Chance to Enter the GKA Distance Battle Aluula All-Time Big Air!
The 2021 GKA Distance Battle is back-and this time, we're going for ALL-TIME by opening up the competition to amateurs and pros alike in the Aluula All-Time Big Air distance battle like no other! The concept is simple: anyone can submit a video from ANY TIME.
GKA Distance Battle Aluula All-Time Big Air
The 2021 GKA Distance Battle is back-and this time, we're going for ALL-TIME by opening up the competition to amateurs and pros alike in the Aluula All-Time Big Air distance battle like no other! The concept is simple: anyone can submit a video from ANY TIME.
Coming Back From Injury
Being a top-level athlete sounds like a dream job, but trials, tribulations, and challenges accompany it. Pushing your body to the limits and competing at the uppermost level means you risk injury and pain. Therese Taabbel is one of the top female riders on the GKA Kite World Tour. Unfortunately, at the last tour stop of 2020, Therese blew her ACL and has been on a recovery journey ever since.
We’ve got you covered
The GKA is proud to stand behind our riders and offer protection in case of injury and medical emergency. In partnership with Battleface Insurance, the GKA World Tour will be insuring all riders attending the world tour event for the duration of their event participation as well as their travel to and from events.
Cold water Kitesurfing
We're continuing our behind-the-scenes athlete-life series with an interview with European powerhouses Jalou Langaree and Johanna-Catharina Edin! In the midst of lockdown, 2020 found Jalou and Cat bunking up together in Holland for some cold water training. Read on for what their COVID winter looked like and what the biggest takeaways from a tough year were. As we continue to navigate uncertain times, connecting with our community of athletes and riders gives us the inspiration to keep pushing and hope that, soon enough, we will return to competition!
The 2021 Youth Kite World Tour
For 2021, GKA is proud to host the Youth Freestyle and Kite-surf World Tour. This new tour was brought to life to offer a stage for our young talent and upcoming riders. The GKA's mission is to continually foster the development of riders and provide opportunities for growth and the Youth Freestyle World Tour does just that. The purpose of the Youth World Tour is to provide young competitors an arena to prove their skills through a series of international events. This enables them to get used to the competition formats and prepare them for the GKA International Tour down the road.
Fundraiser launches for prolific kiteboarding photographer, Ydwer van der Heide
Our special friend and one of the most talented, hard-working and creative photographers in the kiteboarding industry, Ydwer van der Heide, has suffered a terrible injury that truly could have happened to anyone who spends time in the surf. Still without any movement in his hands and legs, this brave Dutchman has a long, uncertain journey ahead.
How to train for Kitesurfing
2020 was a year for settling in, hunkering down and for these two French kitesurfing dynamo's, training more than ever. In our new series, we'll be exploring how the GKA athletes train for competition. As the level of kitesurfing continues to explode, competitors are diving deep into diet, workouts and mental strategy. We sat down with Camille and Capucine Delannoy for a look into their unique relationship and how they're pushing one another on and off the water.
2021 Competition Formats Explained
This is a refresher on the 2021 Competition Format for the GKA world tour. We have three disciplines running for 2021: the Kite-Surf tour which involves wave kitesurfing and strapless freestyle, the Freestyle tour which involves twintip freestyle kiteboarding and big air and the Hydrofoil-Freestyle Tour.
Here’s what you need to know for 2021 Events (so far)
2020 was a tough year for the GKA. Travel bans, location closures and the inevitable canceling of many events left us all feeling a bit stressed. But we're proud to say that despite the many challenges of last year, we had some incredible successes and we're able to make a lot of cool things happen.