Kite4Gold Girls Getting First Results Already in Mexico!

The girls who progressed through the ‘Kite4Gold’ programme that was run jointly by the RYA / BKSA have been out at La Ventana, training hard and already getting results! The Kite4Gold programme was allocated UK Sport Funding to uncover promising female athletes who could be trained to have the potential to win a kitesurfing medal at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

We’re proud to see them already starting to feature on podiums! Maddy Anderson sent us this quick report in mid February:

All photos: Jonnie Hutchcroft

“La Ventana has treated us very well and we’ve been making some solid progress. Although the mighty gusty ‘El Norte’ breeze has us proverbially banging our heads against the wall when we don’t quite make the hundredth tack, there’s no denying that the elusive dry lap is inching ever closer…”

Four GB Kite Girls, Elly Aldridge, Maddie Anderson, Jemima Crathern and Hannah Peters had the opportunity to venture into the world of kite foil racing a little prematurely at the well renowned La Ventana Classic event.

The girls with Jonnie Hutchcroft 

“It was certainly a baptism of fire and an incredible learning curve for us all. The conditions were wild and the spectator-friendly course meant the start line was just a stone’s throw from the beach. Lining up with a handful of the best foil racers in the world taught us so much about what’s to come in just a couple of months time when we’ll be competing in the Hydrofoil Pro Tour here in Mexico. Applying some pressure to our manoeuvres through the racing resulted in a fair bit of swimming for us all, but nevertheless we managed to fill the girls podium; Ellie taking the win followed by Jim and Maddy, with Hannah in a close fourth; a feat we very much hope to achieve again in the not too distant future when the level of competition ramps up over the coming years!

“We are lucky to be able to learn from the best here, with our very own Connor Bainbridge achieving his first perfect score line at the Classic, taking a very convincing win. We are also incredibly grateful to the excellent coaching from Jonnie Hutchcroft and from the support we receive from UK Sport and the National Lottery, without whom we wouldn’t be here, thanks team!”