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Re:King of the Bay kiteboarding competition - 2006/07/27 20:12
this article found at; http://www.kiteboardingmag.com/article.jsp?id=43260
6th Annual King of the Bay Kiteboarding Competition Takes Flight
WHO: The world's top pro kiteboarders and regional riders
WHAT: Freestyle, Kiter Cross and Course Racing
WHEN: June 23, 24, 25.
WHERE: Foster City California—" 3rd Avenue" San Francisco Bay Area
The 6th annual King of the Bay competition was held Friday through Sunday June 23-25, 2006 at 3 rd Ave. a popular kiteboarding spot in the San Francisco Bay Area, California. The event hosted 100 of the world's top pro kiteboarders windsurfers and regional standout riders in a crowd-pleasing format that includes big air freestyle and technical tricks, KiterCross Racing, and Course Racing. San Francisco is known for its consistent thermal wind in the summertime, and the wind for the King of the Bay event was 15-22 miles per hour.
The freestyle competition was held as an 8 minute expression session with 4 man heats, where the best trick wins the heat. The riders with the top 4 best tricks from both Saturday and Sunday went to the final, comprised of 4 pros and 4 amateurs. Here are the results from the freestyle competition:
Best Trick Pro:
Jesse Richman-1st (Cabrinha)
Mark Doyle-2nd (SS)
Shawn Richman-3rd (Cabrinha)
Best Trick Am:
Rocky Chatwell-1st (Airrush)
Jeff Kafka-2nd (Cabrinha)
Erik Reinstra-3rd (SS?)
The Kiter Cross competition is a relatively new format that was introduced several years ago. The event was run in a double elimination format to allow for more heats throughout the 3-day event. Each heat is a 2-3 minute race once around the course, which consists of an upwind leg, followed by 2 downwind buoys and a final obstacle that the rider must jump over. In the final heat the riders must go twice around the course. The course is setup fairly close to shore so that the spectators get a fantastic view of the action. Here are the results from the Kiter Cross competition:
Kiter Cross Race Pro:
Jesse Richman-1st (Cabrinha)
Sean Farley-2nd (North)
Shawn Richman-3rd (Cabrinha)
Kiter Cross Race Am:
Jesse Oliver-1st (?)
Adam Deny-2nd (Caution)
Adam Straight-3rd (SS)
The Course Racing competition is another new event that has been made popular by monthly races at the St. Francis Yacht Club in San Francisco Bay. It is setup very similar to a sailing race, with a starting line, 1 upwind buoy, an offset buoy so that riders avoid each other, and a final buoy at the finish line. The entire course is about 400 yards from the upwind buoy to the finish line. Riders line up at the start across the wind, with 20 kiters in each heat. The start is signaled by a series of flags, since the riders may not be able to hear a horn. The pros and amateurs raced together in each heat, and each rider gets points based on their place at the finish. The rider with the lowest points at the end of the event wins. There were 2 races held each day, back to back, with 15 minutes between races to allow the slower riders to finish. Here are the results:
Kite Course Races Pro: (6 Races)
Shawn Richman-1st (Cabrinha)
Sean Farley-2nd (North)
Jesse Richman-3rd (Cabrinha)
Kite Course Races Am: (6 races)
Jeff Ruoss-1st (Cabrinha)
Geoff Headington-2nd (SS)
Jeff Kafka-3rd (Cabrinha)
Jeff Ruoss actually beat Jesse Richman by 3 points, giving him a 3 rd overall in the course racing event. Look for more Kiter Cross and Course Racing events coming to a beach near you. The race format can be more exciting for spectators, especially for viewers who have never seen kiteboarding before. Kite racing is easy to judge, because whoever crosses the finish line first wins the race. Freestyle competition is more subjective, and it can be hard to find judges who are competent with the level of riding in the top pros.
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