One-stop Youth World Championships to crown up-and-coming athletes in Twin-tip Freestyle and Kite-Surf disciplines
Qatar Airways GKA Youth Kite World Championships Tarifa
5-8 September, 2024 | Valdevaqueros Beach
The globe’s best young kiteboard athletes are set to gather in the southern Spanish wind and watersports mecca of Tarifa for a one-stop world championships in the Twin-tip Freestyle and Kite-Surf disciplines.
The Qatar Airways GKA Youth Kite World Championships Tarifa will crown male and female world champions in the U14, U16 and U19 divisions at the culmination of four days of epic action at Tarifa’s renowned kiteboarding location, Valdevaqueros Beach.
It is the third straight year that Tarifa has hosted a Youth Kite world title race, its westerly Poniente and punchy easterly Levante winds serving as the perfect backdrop for the battles on the water.
Made a name
The entry list for the event will remain open up until the last minute, but it seems certain that those young riders who remain eligible and enjoyed success last year will be returning in the hope filling their trophy cabinets further.
Germany’s Finn Flügel, who has already made a name for himself on the senior Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour, won the U16 Twin-tip Freestyle title last year and remains eligible to compete in that category.
Pierfrancesco Rizzello, the dual Italian-Brazilian kiteboarder, dominated the U14 category last year winning both Twin-tip Freestyle and Kite-Surf, which was contested in Surfboard Freestyle.
Up against Flügel
Rizzello turns 14 this year, so will compete in the U16 category where he will find himself up against Flügel.
To be eligible for each age category, the young athletes must be below the age threshold for the whole of the current year. For instance, to gain entry to the U14 age group, the rider must be 13 years-old or below for the whole of 2024. For U16, they must be 15 or below all of this year, and in the U19, they must be 18 or less all throughout this calendar year.
The Kite-Surf discipline may be contested in the pure-surfing Wave category, Surfboard Freestyle, or a mix of the two depending on the conditions. Tarifa is not known for its surfable waves, so the contest will be contested in the strapless Surfboard Freestyle format again this year.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Samuel Cárdenas
Spot Information
Tarifa
Tarifa, the kitesurfing capital of Europe, has grown immensely in popularity after it became a windsurfing hub in the 1980s. The Andalusian town in southern Spain still retains its old-world charm.
Wind
It is blessed with strong Levante and Poniente breezes that make it a magnet for windsports’ devotees. The Levante blows from the land, cross-offshore from the left. It can be strong, from 30 knots to 50 knots, often blowing for five days straight. The Poniente is more mellow, blowing cross-onshore from the right. It is cooler and more frequent in summer, and can blow from 15 knots to 25 knots for two or three days in a row. Tarifa often sees both winds during competitions, creating intense conditions.
Conditions
Although Tarifa can get good wave conditions in the winter months, in summer expect wind chop that provides superb ramps for Twin-Tip freestylers to boost off. Landings can be tricky in the gustier, stronger Levante winds and choppy waters. But that’s all part of the game—separating the best from the rest.
