Battle of the Bay

World record holder to come to Battle for the Bay

May 30-31, 2009, Dublin

This June bank holiday sees the 3rd annual Battle for the Bay windfestival get under way,
featuring the very best of Irish and international kitesurfers and windsurfers on Dollymount
Strand in Dublin.

The festival will feature freestyle competitions and course racing and is a fantastic
opportunity for the people of Dublin to see what kitesurfers get up to on their beach when the
wind blows. This year’s festival will feature the presence of Alex Caizergues the fastest man
across the water and triple world champion and Irish windsurfing speed champion John
Kitesurfing is one of the fastest growing if not the fastest growing watersport in the world and
Dollymount is home to the biggest community of kitesurfers in Ireland. Last year’s festival
was a huge success and provided some great entertainment to visitors to Dollymount Strand
between freestyle demonstrations and the comparatively new sport of kitesurf racing.
This year’s festival promises to be even bigger featuring action to suit everyone from young
to old. The competitive schedule includes the Irish Kitesurfing Championship freestyle
competitions which should see national champion Eamon Armstrong battle for the right to
retain his title against young guns Sean Murphy and Ross Harte. This year will see the 2008
ladies’ champion, Dominika Kupciw fight to defend her title against Aleks Bondareva, the
2007 ladies champion after last year’s closely fought battles between the pair. There are
also a number of speed races planned and if last year is anything to go by, these should
provide much entertainment both on and off the water.

A star attraction this year will be a speed battle between Ireland’s speed windsurfing hero
John Kenny and world champion kitespeeder, Alex Caizergues.

There will be plenty to entertain on the beach between stunt kite demonstrations, powerkite
demonstrations, introductory lessons with qualified instructors and other beach games such
as beach volleyball. This year there will also be stand up paddle demonstrations. For visitors
it is a fantastic opportunity to get to know more about kitesports and the people involved in
Not only that, the sun has always shone on the Battle for the Bay.

Further information is available from Francois Colussi at Pure Magic Kitesurfing.

Information also available at the event’s website: www.battleforthebay.com