Troon Scottish Windfest Results

BKSA TROON 2013

A non wind event in Barrow and the sad news Swansea had been cancelled meant all was to play for at Round 2 hosted by the Scottish Windfest in Troon. This is a cracking event with plenty going on for everyone. A massive turnout of brands including Airush, Ozone, Mutiny, Dakine and Supersaturated was great for everyone to be able to see all the latest and great kit available for next year.

Friday and Saturday were again windless but had beautiful sunshine albeit a little on the wintery side of the temperature. Promises of a windy Sunday ensured all riders had a drink or two on the Friday and an early night for a full day of competition on Sunday.

To be honest I don’t think many people slept Saturday night, not due to partying, but due to the gale force winds which whipped up within the space of a couple of hours and meant everything which was not tied down let you know about it, and loudly!

The amateur men and seniors were up first with squally rain and winds of 35-45knots! Youngest competitor, 13 year old Ethan Hawkins from Devon, was in with the amateur men and rode incredibly well on a borrowed 5m kite in the crazy winds and is definitely one to watch for in the future. With a round-robin format Craig Smith (Flexifoil, Inkydeep, Koncept gym) and Daniel Oyston were battling it out for the title of Amateur Champion. It was Smith however who on a borrowed 5.5meter kite stole the show with a huge array of tricks and threw in a Blind Judge in the last minute to seal the deal.

The seniors had a true battle on the go. Everyone’s favourite judge JP Butterworth was boosting huge in his first ever experience this side of the judging tower. 5 times British Champion Pete Whitely (JN, CrazyFly) was desperately trying to defend his title, but it was Pete Jones (Flexifoil, KiteMare) on a smaller 5meter kite who was able to pull of some more new school tricks to eventually take the win and become senior champion 2013.

The Pro women took to the water next, where aside from anything it was battle of the kite sizes! Those on 5meter kites went through to the next round, and a heat commenced with both Polly and Jemima Crathorne (Cabrinha, NP Surf) and Sukie Robertson (Ozone, Rocktape) all hanging on for dear life on their 7 meters! Needless to say, old school was favoured, but once one girl unhooked it started a chain reaction resulting in a huge back edge being taken by Sukie and a broken harness for Jemima! The final between Rosanna Jury (Flexifoil), Hannah Whitely (Wainman, Chiemsee) and Holly Kennedy (North, Ion) was quite a spectacle with Holly literally flying through the air, Hannah landing on the beach, and Rosanna merrily kiting her way to become our Womens Champion for 2013.

The wind seemed to clean up for the Pro men to strut their stuff, but in no means did it drop. A steady 40 knots and even some sunshine ensured an incredible few hours of kiting. First up was Robin Snuggs (Flexifoil) who having taken a break from competition for 3 years was back to break up the young guns. However it was not to be, one of the biggest kite loops ever seen at the BKSA resulted in a cracked rib and an early retirement from the comp, meaning Kevin Matthey who had steadily been working through his tricks moved through to the next round. Newcomer Morgan Tinsley (North, Loose KiteScool) has a few things to learn about riding a heat, but once this comes together be assured there will be no stopping him! The final drew together Richard Flindall (Cabrinha, Richys kiteschool, Mystic), John Blieker (Flexifoil, KiteMare) and George Dufty (Liquid

Force, Tiki, Hampshire Kitesurfing). Unfortunately Richy had to make a somewhat speedy exit which left it up to Jon and George to battle it out. Jon had a bit of kitemare with a tangled kite and a couple of bad landings, meanwhile George put on a near perfect performance with all but one of his tricks landed with textbook ease.

A prize giving was held after the event where the winners for both the day and year were announced. Huge thanks must be given to all the sponsors and supporters of the BKSA Freestyle Tour, without who none of this would be possible.

Pictures here 

Round 2 Winners

Pro Men:

1. George Dufty

2. Jon Blieker

3. Richard Flindall

Pro Women

1. Rosanna Jury

2. Hannah Whiteley

3. Holly Kennedy

Amateur Men

1. Craig Smith

2. Daniel Oyston

3. Ethan Hawkins

Seniors

1. Pete Jones

2. Pete Whiteley

3. JP Butterworth

Overall 2013 Standings

Pro Men

1. George Dufty

2. Jon Blieker

3. Richard Flindall

Pro Women

1. Rosanna Jury

2. Holly Kennedy

3. Sukie Robertson

Amateur Men

1. Craig Smith

2. Daniel Oyston

3. Ethan Hawkins

Seniors

1. Pete Jones

2. Peter Whitely

3. JP Butterworth