Follow us
Like us
European Junior Kitesurf Cup
The town and Tourist Board of Fleury d’Aude present the 7th European Junior Kitesurf Cup at Saint Pierre-la-Mer
The EJKC is organised by the community of Fleury d’Aude/Saint Pierre-la-Mer in partnership with their Tourist board and the association SNK.
Saint Pierre-la-Mer has become the perfect spot for the organisation of international competitions like the European Junior Kitesurf Competition. In fact, the local wind Tramontane that sweeps the skies clear of clouds, and the wide natural beaches create the perfect backdrop for the sport of kitesurfing.
The local sailing and kitesurfing school, open almost all year, teaches 200 kitesurfers per year. Other watersports that are taught here are: catakite, boardercross, sailing, kayak, waterskiing, wakeboarding, etc.
During the European Junior Kitesurf Cup event 3 competitions will be held:
– Junior freestyle
– Catakite (also open to people with disabilities)
– Kitesurf-boardercross
The event will be opened with a workshop by the CREPS Montpellier (National Sports Centre) about physical and sportive preparation for the sport of kitesurfing. This workshop will be held on 5th May at 15.00 hrs at the “Base de Loisir” centre in Saint Pierre-la-Mer.
The CREPS of Montpellier and the competition organisers invite all young riders, kite clubs, kite schools and trainers to join in the workshop about physical preparation of future freestyle kitesurfing champions.
People involved in the sport of kitesurfing and in the top of the sport (Florian Daubos, Celine Rodenas and Sebastien Garat) will talk about injuries, injury prevention and sport nutrition (with a trainer and a sports nutritionist of the M.H.B.)
The workshop will end with a barbecue at the “Base de Loisir” centre.
Kitesurfing Freestyle
50 of the best European riders between 9 and 19 years will battle in the freestyle competition: who can show the best jumps, grabs, handle passes, or other extreme and spectacular manoeuvres?
There is more and more coaching and training provided for young kitesurfers. The sport requires a professional approach to avoid injuries. This is the reason why the CREPS has prepared a workshop on the physical preparation for kitesurfers, aimed at people who are involved in the top of the sport.
The riders are here, not just to try and win the 3000 euros prize money, but also to put their names “on the kitesurfing world map”; the winners of the European Junior Kitesurf Cup often end up on the podium of worldwide kitesurfing events.
Catakite
Catakite, a spin-off from kitesurfing, allows anyone to start leaning traction watersports safely, on a catamaran. The catamaran is pulled along by a kite, which is directly attached to the boat. This discipline allows people to get a good feeling for the kite, both in light and in strong winds. The catamaran can accelerate very quickly giving the boat a greater speed than with a regular sail.
For extra safety the instructor can sit right next to his students, giving instructions and handling the kite. This makes the sport extra safe and therefore accessible for people of all ages. The sport is even accessible to people with disabilities, as there is no leg strength required to maintain the kite.
The catakite planes away nicely at a wind speed of 10 knotts, another reason why the sports is easier and more accessible than kitesurfing. The St.Pierre kitesurfing school uses the discipline to teach beginners the first stages of kitesurfing.
The St.Pierre-la-Mer kitesurfing school and the EJKC organisation will hold the second Catakite competition during the EJKC event, where they will have 6 catakite boats available for the teams to use. A dozen of teams will present themselves at the starting line of the slalom or long distance race.
Boarder cross
The boarder cross is open to all kitesurfers!
From 6 until 8 May, during the EJKC event, we will run a kitesurfing boarder cross open to all.
How does it work? 4 riders will start simultaneously from the beach and will race each other on a course with several obstacles to get to the finish line. If you have a kitesurfing license and if you can do a jump, then you can already register for inscription on the website www.snkite.com/ejkc.html.
The boarder cross remains a fun, non-competion event.
The European Junior Kitesurfing Cup reveals talents!
The EJKC organisers
Christophe Hamon
Founder of the EJKV event in 2003. Manager of the kitesurfing and sailing school of St.Pierre-la-Mer. Secretary of the association Kite Languedoc Roussillon. Kitesufing since 1998, and instructing since 1999!
Steve Jones
Co-organiser of the EJKC event since 2003. Managing director of Sudwindsports, kitesufing, windsurfing and sailing school. Judge and Head of security during the Mondial du Vent 2006-2010. Kitesurfing since 1999.
Pierre Mignard
Has been riding the Hawaiian waves on his windsurfing board for 20 years. At the start of competitive kitesurfing Pierre contributed by developing competition formats. Since then he works on both world tour circuits as well as other well-known events.
