X-Rated Kiteboarding would like to announce that its 2006 Bahamas Kite Race has been postponed several months. The reason for this is a complete restructuring of the event which made headlines around the world in 2005 as sixteen teams of kiteboarders signed up to make the inaugural trip from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to the island of North Bimini in the Bahamas. The upcoming race will be much more difficult that the previous event with a few twists added to challenge every level of rider. Due to the increased difficulty, X-Rated Kiteboarding will host several “Qualifying Events” throughout Florida. The Bahamas Kite Race will be an “invitation only” event. All athletes will have to qualify or be of a very high level of skill and invited to enter the event and will be pre-seeded based on qualifying results.

Over the next few months, X-Rated Kiteboarding will host numerous events including long down wind races, Boarder-X’s and more. During any X-Rated event, points shall be awarded to athletes based upon their final finishing positions. Upon the conclusion of the season, riders’ points will be tallied and the top riders will be awarded a place in the next Bahamas Kite Race. With this format, media coverage will be bigger than ever and sponsorship will be of a high level.

Last year we proved to the world that it could be done. This time we want to make it bigger, better and safer for everyone. We first want to make it safer, first of all by increasing the number of committee boats from one to three and include extra air support. We want to have a large financial purse to race for in an attempt to offset the cost of the winner’s expenses and more. All riders will need to be of a very high level of kiteboarding skill and all having earned their positions. Keep an eye out via e-mail, forums and the official www.xratedkiteboarding.com website for our first event at the end of November 2006. It will be a downwind race from Jupiter Beach, Florida to Tiki Beach in Fort Lauderdale. If anyone has any questions please feel free to e-mail or call me directly.

For the past 32 years, Surf Expo has been at the forefront of the Board, Beach & Fashion industries. This past weekend’s September ’06 show reinforced that by bringing in the highest retailer attendance ever, with an increase off 5 ½ %. In addition, there were a record-breaking 882 exhibitors staffing 2,300 booths representing nearly 5200 lines. 277 new exhibitors came on board selling their lines across the eight Surf, Skate, Wake, Wind, Resort, Club Level, SHE and Souvenir categories.

“What a great show,” said Lori Kisner, Show Director. “In addition to being our highest attended show ever, this was the best September show we’ve produced. The events were great, and the retailer had a great year so the buying on the floor was strong and our exhibitors left with paper.”
The premiere of LAUNCH, the dedicated section of the hottest and most innovative new products as chosen by a panel of retailers from the Board Retailers Association, was a success among the winners and retailers alike. Retailers were finally able to shop the new brands they had heard so much about. “I think the new Launch concept is awesome,” said Emma White-Pryor, Men’s Wear and Footwear Buyer at Ron Jon Surf Shop. “To be able to visit one small area and know that you’re seeing the cream of the crop in new manufacturers is amazing.”

September 2006 also provided the exponentially growing wakeboard community with the longest launch/rail pool ever built for the First Annual Monster Energy Wake n’ Bake Rail Jam. The man behind the event, the Projects’ Pat Panakos, was pleased with the first installment of this event and has big plans for next year including a team competition format, which is sure to make it even more of a success.

With high-energy fashion shows pleasing larger crowds than ever before and Volcom’s $25,000 Neanderthal Brawl skate contest drawing more skaters than ever, attendees had plenty of opportunity to take a break from writing orders. The Electric Blue Buyers’ lounge was also a popular spot for weary retailers to enjoy an afternoon electric lemonade for that last-minute pick-me-up.

The seminars provided by the Board Retailers Association fostered a networking buzz that impressed BRA’s Development Associate Melissa Clary. “The seminars continued in our booth on the show floor long after the actual educational sessions had ended, sparking hours of conversation and interaction between the speakers, retailers and exhibitors,” she said.

The success of September’s show leads Surf Expo right into planning the January 2007 installment, which in response to overwhelming retailer requests, will be a four-day show, January 11-14.This decision was confirmed with a meeting during the show of SIMA, Surf Expo staff and key manufacturers in the surf industry. Lori Kisner explains: “Due to the significant growth of the industry and competition, retailers have an increased need to expand their product offering. Over the past five years alone, retailers find themselves with 500 more booths to explore at our January show. When surveyed, more than 75% of buyers responded that they would benefit from more show time.” And they will have it.

The wind got stronger after few days with less wind (still 15-20 knots). Peak is from 11 am - 2 pm, with up to 30 knots in Paracuru.

On Wednesday I rode a point in Cumbuco, excellent flat with little kickers rolling in, big fun to hit them, but I was on my 12, and the wind for me not strong enough to go huge. Still, nice jumps, but I missed the strongest wind.

Later we did a downwinder from Cumbuco to the Cauipe lagoon. Excellent waves, up to 2m high. The downwinder is about 7km along untouched beach, very beautiful view.

Then we had a great time in the lagoon, and the wind picked up shortly before sunset.

On Thursday we had a blast driving with the buggy along the beach. In one buggy three blonds were causing loal heads to turn: Anja G, Jo Wilson and Julie Simsar were speeding to get to Paracuru asap.

I stopped at the Taiba lagoon where the Best crew and teamriders were setting up the latest prototypes from the new Nemesis Pro. Alvaro showed such nice old school moves, it was a great pleasure to watch it. I kept asking myself, why I didn’t see one of these tricks during the PKRA worldcup…it’s just so cool!

Kristin Boese, second time PKRA world champion, trained a big repertoir of handle passes, landing most of them.

Also Angela Peral, Christian Holley, Jojo Caneira, Stacey and Alex where ripping it up.

Further downwind in Paracuru the wind dropped a bit, so I was ok powered with my 12, but I’m waiting for nucking wind to get of the excellent wave ramps to go as high as possible. I hope then someone will have a camera redy to shot it!

At the moment it is very pleasant, since all beaches are not so packed. If you can travel last minute, come down now, since it will be getting full the closer we get to November.

I will keep adding pictures to the “Picture of the Day” tool soon. Always find the latest shots there.

Rock on!

Maui, Hawaii (USA) - The Navman Maui Speed Challenge Series, presented by Naish, concluded this weekend, with the final event on Sunda, September 24, at Kanaha Beach Park. The winds were a little on the light side with gusts puffing around 20kts. Only two heats were able to be run until the event was called and everyong got ready for the Naish Speed Party. While the food and the keg were arriving the scoring was completed and Shawn Richman, of the Kite Division came out on top with the TOP SPEED AWARD for going 38.1kts, in Race #3 and also won the OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP trophy with his point total and top speed combined. Tie-ing him in points but had a slower top speed was Jacque Pauvet who had been leading the competition all season with Shawn coming up as the weeks progressed and eventually took the top spot. With over 90 competitors this year the series was a resounding success and everyone is looking forward to 2007.

The oranizers are looking forward to 2007 and in hopes of better wind next year and the possibilty to break 40kts on this open ocean course. There is a possiblity that the event will be moved to the Spring time when there is a better chance of solid winds building through out the series and would be an excellent tune up to the Maui Slalom Series.

A big thanks goes out to the sponsors and to our volunteer staff including:
Ayesha Lefebvre, Laurie Traxler, and Ann Leete.

Here are the overall rankings at the final event:

Rank Sailor Division Points Top
1 Shawn Richman Kite 194 38.1
2 Jacques Pauvert Open 194 36.3
3 Alex Aguera Open 185 36.5
4 Erik Beale Open 184 35.1
5 Michael Warmuth Masters 179 35.5
6 Mike Yasik Masters 169 34.3
7 Jeff Fagerholm Masters 163 33.2
8 Greg Thomas Masters 155 32.7
9 Ted Hunter Masters 150 34.3
10 Marc Lefebvre Men 149 32.9
11 Jesse Richman Kite 144 31.5
12 Anders Bringdal Open 139 37.1
13 Richard Green Open 138 34.2
14 Elon Wong Open 129 35.4
15 Tom Hammerton Open 125 32.2
16 Andy Church Men 122 31.8
17 Carl Grundy Fun 103 32.6
18 Karla Aguera Women 102 29.9
19 Ashley Baxter Women 101 28.7
20 Doug Hunt Masters 85 30.8
21 Kai Lenny Youth 84 27.3
22 Baker Grant Super Youth 78 28.8
23 Steve Murphy Open 75 33.8
24 Norah Hunter Women 75 26.8
25 Howard Chung Super Youth 74 29.6
26 Christian Ioanide Men 71 29.7
27 Todd MacFarlane Masters 69 31.8
28 Ronny Jabbur Kite 63 34.6
29 Des Walker Open 62 32.9
30 Alessio Marcelli Kite 59 32.4
31 Robby Seeger Open 58 35.9
32 Kalani Hunt Youth 58 24.1
33 Zane Schweitzer Youth 55 24.7
34 Kevin Collins Kite 52 29.3
35 Alexis Aguera Youth 52 23.1
36 Mark Boersma Men 51 34.0
37 Victor Jansen Open 48 33.0
38 Kristen Orth Youth 48 21.6
39 Damien Gerandini Kite 47 28.0
40 Doris MacFarlane Women 46 28.5
41 Rick Randall Men 44 29.3
42 Jace Panebianco Open 43 31.2
43 Bernd Roediger Youth 43 22.7
44 Mark Williams Masters 42 27.7
45 Charles Oreve Men 41 28.2
46 Andy Crafts Super Youth 40 31.1
47 George Reid Men 39 30.8
48 Dave Dorn Kite 37 32.0
49 Larry Herbig Masters 37 29.9
50 Skyler Haywood Super Youth 36 29.8
51 Nique Vetrimile Youth 36 23.4
52 Jamie Donaldson Kite 35 31.0
53 Brian Metcalf-Perez Men 35 29.3
54 Alex Mowdey Masters 35 21.3
55 Reinhardt Elischka Kite 34 30.6
56 Kanza Stott Youth 34 24.2
57 Patri McLaughlin Kite 32 28.3
58 Ken Orth Fun 31 28.4
59 Tracey Aarop Women 31 23.7
60 Robin Williams Masters 30 30.6
61 Jake Golm Super Youth 30 28.7
62 Paolo Maggienga Fun 30 23.4
63 Terry Alkemade Masters 29 29.1
64 Bill Kaser Fun 29 28.3
65 Sarina Erstad Kite 29 23.2
66 Klaus Simmer Fun 28 27.7
67 Julia Mancuso Kite 28 23.2
68 David Whittaker Fun 26 22.8
69 Anthony Del Balso Men 24 26.8
70 Tim Sawyer Fun 23 26.3
71 Paul Vlietstri Open 23 21.8
72 Jordan Reid Super Youth 22 25.6
73 Aaron Cardwell Super Youth 22 25.3
74 Chris Mayels Fun 22 21.7
75 Shelby Schweitzer Youth 22 12.8
76 Kai Rou Lovett Super Youth 21 24.7
77 Paulina Pease Youth Women 20 24.8
78 Buzzy Kerbox Masters 18 32.2
79 Shou Iwamoto Youth 18 18.8
80 Kismet Kilbourn Youth Women 16 17.3
81 Connor Baxter Youth 15 23.3
82 Deniz Bicakci Youth 14 11.0
83 Kevin Ozee Open 13 31.9
84 John Willis Kite 13 24.3
85 Tom James Masters 13 9.8
86 Piechura Damike Men 12 28.5
87 Cedric Mollet Men 12 26.8
88 Nian Sheppard Kite 12 22.5
89 Allen Taylor Open 12 9.6
90 Jose Franco Kite 11 26.5
91 Alden Simmer Super Youth 11 20.7

OFFICIAL EVENT WEBSITE: <www.mauispeed.com>

EVENT INFORMATION:
Dates for the Navman Maui Speed Challenge Series, presented by Naish Sails are July 9 and 30, August 13 and 27, and September 10 and 24, to be held from Naish Beach, near Kanaha Beach Park, between the Canoe Hale and Kite Beach. Each competitor will be provided with a Sport.Tool M300 GPS unit, provided by main sponsor Navman. The competition is open to the following categories: Open Class (in which those with specialized speed sailing equipment will compete), Men, Women, Masters, Youth, Fun and Kite.

This event series is part of the Naish Speed Party. Naish Windsurfing is proud to introduce the Naish Speed Party, a series of amateur speed events in locations all over the world. The first event is in Leucate, France - the Speed Party then heads to Miura, Japan followed by Kanaha, Maui and finally to Langebaan in South Africa. Keep checking for new information and possible
additional events on the Naish Sails website.
http://www.naishsails.com/image/news/news_26/1.jpg

For more information on the Navman Sport.Tool M300, visit <www.navmanusa.com> and <www.sport-tool.com>. www.naishsails.com.

EVENT SPONSORS: Navman, Naish Sails Maui, Fred Haywood Realty, WindsurfingClassifieds.Com, Kanaha Kai, Freestyle, Waki Jaki and THE POINT, Ocean 7, Maui Sports Net, and Sign Solutions.

CONTACTS:
Event Director: Marc Lefebvre (lefebvre@iwavesolutions.com) Race Director: Tom Hammerton (tom@hotsailsmaui.com)
PR/Marketing: Anne Leete (aleete@hotmail.com)

The fifth day of the final stop of the PKRA World Tour, the 2006 Superkite Brazil sponsored by the Paraiba Government & Ministry of Tourism, Havaianas and T’AI Productions was uneventful. The sun was out in full force but unfortunately, no wind, therefore no more boardercross. Riders and fans relaxed at the beach and in the competitor’s chill out tent recuperating from the fabulous party thrown by T’AI event organizers the prior evening. At 4pm hundreds of spectators, press and media gathered on the beach for the official prize giving.

Next up is the first annual Kiteboarding International Team Cup set for October 4th through 8th, 2006 in Flecherias, Brazil, just north of Taiba. The competition format is designed to consist of teams of three riders participating in three separate disciplines that encompass all aspects of kiteboarding competition: course racing, best trick performance and waveriding. Teams will be grouped by kite brand, and are required to have one male, one female, and one rider over 21 years in age. The purse equals $20,000 USD in prize money, with $10,000 distributed to the first place team, $7,000 to the second, and $3000 to the third. If you are already in Brazil, be sure to either join in the action or you can check back online for team results and to follow your favourite riders.

Men’s Freestyle Final Results:
1) Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal)
2) Cesar Portas (North, Spain)
3) Petr Tyushkevich (Cabrinha, Russian Federation)
4) Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherelands)

Women’s Freestyle Final Results:
1) Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil)
2) Angela Peral (North, Spain)
3) Jo Wilson (Naish, UK)
4) Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland)

Men’s Boardercross Final Results:
1) Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal)
2) Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)
3) Bjorn Viane (Flexifoil, Belgium)
4) Damien Leroy (Cabrinha, USA)

Women’s Boardercross Final Results:
1) Clarissa Hempel (Cabrinha, Brazil)
2) Jalou Langeree (Naish, Netherlands)
3) Jo Wilson (Naish, UK)
3) Gabi Steindl (North, Austria)
3) Angela Peral (North, Spain)

For more information on riders rankings and the World Tour, be sure to check out www.pkra.info. Up to the minute live results, including rider’s pictures, and competition statistics, as well as daily photos, commentary, competition results and recorded video are provided by Caribbean Winds (www.caribbeanwinds.com).

Day four of the final stop of the PKRA World Tour, the 2006 Superkite Brazil sponsored by the Paraiba Government & Ministry of Tourism, Havaianas and T’AI Productions got started at 1:30pm with the men’s and women’s second discipline, Boardercross.

The boardercross course involved gibing around three different marks, jumping two inflated “sausage” buoys, as well as, performing tricks along the way. The start line was about 400m off the beach between a starting boat and a buoy. Riders had a starboard tack run to the first mark where they had to gibe around and then jump a sausage buoy, gibe another mark then sail out to the third buoy and perform a double back for the guys and single back for the girls, gibe again and then jump the other “haviannas flip flop” sausage buoy before crossing the finish line.

The men’s trials were held first with a total of 19 men competing in four heats to reach the semifinals. Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands), Damien Leroy (Cabrinha, USA), Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal) and Sean Farley (North, Mexico) faced off in the first semifinal heat with Rui and Damien advancing. Lucas Konski (Cabrinha, Poland), Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands) Bjorn Viane (Flexifoil, Belgium) faced off in the second semifinal heat with Kevin and Bjorn advancing. In the finals Rui placed first, with Kevin second, Bjorn third and Damien fourth, putting Rui in line for a clean sweep of both disciplines so far this event.

The ladies final included Clarissa Hempel (Cabrinha, Brazil), Naiara Licariao (Brazil), Jalou Langeree (Naish, Netherlands), Jo Wilson (Naish, UK), Angela Peral (North, Spain) and Gabi Steindl (North, Austria). Only two successfully completed the course, Hempel coming in first and Langeree in second, while Steindl and Wilson tangled kites and did not finish, Peral missed the first jump and Licariao never reached the starting line, missing the heat.

Skipper’s meeting scheduled for 12pm tomorrow, with first possible start at 12:30pm. Round two of the second discipline, Boardercross is scheduled to continue.

Tonight starting at 8pm, T’AI event organizers have the Closing Jacare Kite Party with Prize Giving planned.

For more information on riders rankings and the World Tour, be sure to check out www.pkra.info.

It was an incredible day of kitesurfing as the upsets continued during day three of the final stop of the PKRA World Tour, the 2006 Superkite Brazil sponsored by the Paraiba Government & Ministry of Tourism, Havaianas and T’AI Productions. Early clouds gave way to brilliant sunshine and the same wind and water conditions, approximately 10-15 knots, onshore, rolling breakers at the shoreline. The international press, media and an even larger turnout of spectators lined the beach to watch the completion of the men’s and women’s freestyle main event, the double eliminations. The wind filled in at 11:30am and the action got underway with riders struggling with the light, fluctuating conditions, many borrowing larger kites in order to compete. Heats were canceled twice, but the wind finally cooperated, providing some exciting final results.

Spanish sensation, Angela Peral (North) was the story of the day for the women. Angela, always one eager to go for big tricks, stormed through six rounds to meet up with Brazilian favourite Bruna Kajiya (Best) in the finals. Peral was in top form today, consistently landing her full trick repertoire such as a raley to blind, downloop to blind, back to blind, back to wrapped, raley to wrapped and a back to toeside surface handle pass. Her successful, technically superior performance allowed her to beat out Carol Homsi (Naish) from Brazil, Melissa Gil (JN Kites) hailing from Costa Rica, Jalou Langeree (Naish), the tough contender from the Netherlands, 2005 World Champion and #1 ranked Kristin Boese (Best, Germany), #2 ranked Ania Grzelinska (North) from Poland, and finally Jo Wilson (Naish) the British rising star.

By the time Peral faced off against Kajiya she was obviously tired from all her exertions. Fresh and ready, Bruna was able to maintain her spot at the top of the podium with several stylish blind moves, a krypt surface handle pass and a smooth s-bend, at the same time exhibiting more speed and power. In her best finish since 2004, Angela will take home the winnings for second place, with Jo Wilson placing third and Ania Grzelinska coming in fourth.

There were several standouts in the men’s doubles as well, the first one being Mallory De La Villemarque (North, France), who handled the challenging wind conditions well, passing through four rounds before coming up against Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands). Along the way Mallory took out North team mate Sean Farley (Mexico), Bjorn Viane (Flexifoil, Belgium), and fellow Frenchman Etienne Lhote (F-One). Madison Van Heurck (Naish, USVI), one of the smaller competitors on tour also had an advantage in the lighter winds, going three rounds before being halted by, none other than, Kevin Langeree. He managed to knock out Brazilian favourite Guilly Brandao (RRD), and the “Dutch Destroyer” Ruben Lenten (Slingshot) on his charge.

Also racing through three rounds was Maciek Kozerski (Naish, Poland), taking out the other Brazilian favourite, Reno Remeu (North) along with Randy Hereman (F-One, Netherlands) before running out of gas against Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain). Victor Borsuk (Naish, Poland), kiting well, was yet another rider who advanced through three early rounds, passing local Brazilian Pedro Bueno (North) and prior Olympic downhill skier, Damien Leroy (Cabrinha, USA), only to be stopped in his tracks by two time World Champion Aaron Hadlow (Flexifoil, UK).

The action really started to heat up as round five took to the water with Kevin Langeree vs. Mallory De La Villemarque and Alvaro Onieva vs. Aaron Hadlow. Kevin came out with all guns blazing, firing off almost every trick in the book including a front mobe to blind, a mobe landing wrapped, a NIS, a 3-1-3, and a backside3 off the waves. Mallory also rode well, showing off his best moves such as a slim to blind, a slim and switch slim, along with a frontside3, but did not have enough technical difficulty to overcome Big Kev. Alvaro, a master in light wind, was energized, sticking a slim, switch slim, KGB and switch KGB, a perfect front mobe to blind and mobe landing wrapped, to name just a few. Hadlow also displayed good variety, answering trick for trick, but no front mobe to blind or mobe to wrapped, giving Onieva the win. Alvaro then met up with Big Kev in a close heat, 3-2 judges vote. Both opened the heat with a mobe landing wrapped, however, Kevin edged himself over the line with more technical variety, sticking a mobe 7 double airpass and an innovative double front to wrapped, a new trick in competition.

The Spaniards continued to have a stellar day as Cesar Portas (North) began his four heat “comeback” rampage to the finals. First up was Big Kev, but Portas was rested and shot out of the barrel with heaps of tricks, stomping a regular and switch mobe, a regular and switch aerial back to blind, a front to wrapped, a slim to blind and mobe to blind. Kevin retorted with his usual arsenal of moves, but with no switch tricks under his belt, something the judge’s weight heavily, he did not have enough technical difficulty to stop Portas. Cesar continued his charge, winning over Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands) and Petr Tyushkevich (Cabrinha, Russian Federation) based on his solid switch moves and technical difficulty as well.

And in the final heat of the day against friend and rival, Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal), Cesar appeared tired from his challenging prior match-ups. He still came out with several tricks but execution was not as stylish or smooth as Meira. Rui on the other hand, smashed it, rattling off a front mobe to blind, a mobe landing wrapped, switch and regular slims and KGBs, a solid front mobe, a blind judge3, a mobe, a 3-1-3 and a kiteloop 3 over the heads of the spectators on the buzzer. Rui quickly received a unanimous judge’s decision in his favour for first place as the evening sun began to set, while Cesar earned a well deserved second place, his best finish this year. Petr Tyushkevich and Youri Zoon rounded out the top four in one of the most exciting and unexpected freestyle finishes to a PKRA World Tour, with neither the men’s nor women’s prior world champions even reaching the medal podium.

Men’s Freestyle Final Results:
1) Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal)
2) Cesar Portas (North, Spain)
3) Petr Tyushkevich (Cabrinha, Russian Federation)
4) Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherelands)

Women’s Freestyle Final Results:
1) Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil)
2) Angela Peral (North, Spain)
3) Jo Wilson (Naish, UK)
4) Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland)

Skipper’s meeting scheduled for 12pm tomorrow, with first possible start at 12:30pm. The second discipline of Boardercross is scheduled to start.

Tonight, T’AI event organizers have a cool evening planned, a Bessa Kite Party, starting at 9pm. It is sure to be fun, with lots of celebrating since the Freestyle is finished, so make sure to check it out and have the famous Brazilian drink, a Caipirinha while you are there!

For more information on riders rankings and the World Tour, be sure to check out www.pkra.info. Up to the minute live results, including rider’s pictures, and competition statistics are provided by Caribbean Winds (www.caribbeanwinds.com).

It’s so nice to be back in Brazil!

Had my first ride yesterday with my 16, but I was late and the wind was not that strong anymore. But we had around 17 knots, more during noon.

There are already many kiters in Cumbuco, but the beach and lagoons are still ok. But the beach never gets really crowded, it is so long, so lots of space!

Yesterday I also met Jeremie Tronet, Ocean Rodeo teamrider, who always uploads very nice movies to www.kiteforum.tv. I will film him as well, he will stays until December.

Rumors said the lagoon in Taiba is very small, which was true, but now it has more water again, so more riders can ride here. Still be warned about the rocks to the left downwind of you. Many riders injured themselves there.

Find almost all beaches on www.kitebeaches.com from the NE BRazil area, I also will add more soon.

So, stay tuned, I will bring you the latest from the NE in Brazil!

It was a day of surprises as sunny skies and light winds greeted competitors for day two of the final stop of the PKRA World Tour, the 2006 Superkite Brazil sponsored by the Paraiba Government & Ministry of Tourism, Havaianas and T’AI Productions. Hundreds of spectators turned out to watch the completion of the men’s and women’s freestyle single eliminations. Throughout the day the wind continued to fill in, reaching as much as 15 knots, and around 1:30pm PKRA officials decided to get underway. Once again riders played off the small onshore breakers and often had to perform the beach marathon, running upwind to stay within the competition area due to the fluctuating breezes. Many felt the wind was not suitable, but that’s why professionals carry a quiver that includes larger kites, and as a result, there were some exciting upsets as the day wore on.

The men’s singles picked back up with Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) advancing over Madison Van Heurck (Naish, USVI) from round two, as well as, Aaron Hadlow (UK) over Flexifoil team mate, Bjorn Viane (Belgium). And in a close heat, friends and North team mates, Mallory De La Villemarque (France) and Cesar Portas (Spain) had the fans cheering. Mallory, still recovering from an ongoing foot injury, performed some solid tricks but did not exhibit enough variety to surpass Cesar’s powerful regular and switch aerial back to blind, slim to blind, blind judge3 and front to wrapped.

Round three heated up when Big Kevin Langeree (Netherlands) squared off against Naish team mate Rui Meira (Portugal). Kevin misjudged the wind and was underpowered on his 12 meter, while Rui was on fire on his 14 meter, nailing a switch slim, mobe landing wrapped, downloop aerial back to blind, front mobe to blind, and blind judge3 upsetting the #2 ranked rival. Alvaro was pumped up from his previous win landing a nice mobe, switch slim and switch aerial back to blind, however, he crashed several of his regular moves allowing Petr Tyushkevich, who had a solid performance including a mobe5, to edge out the win.

Another big upset of the day came in the last heat of round three with Cesar Portas up against Aaron Hadlow. Cesar had beaten Aaron only once out of his three career match-ups. In a super close decision, Portas pulled out the win, on a 16 meter no less, sticking his signature aerial back to blind and switch aerial back to blind, double front to blind, blind judge3, slim, and front to wrapped. Hadlow answered back with many of the same moves, as well as a sweet mobe5, however, Portas won based on more power and cleaner execution of tricks.

The wind picked up for the semis and the finals, holding steadier at 15 knots and riders took to the water in a man on man format. Caribbean Winds team rider, Rui Meira continued to blaze a path to the finals, zooming past Youri Zoon. While Cesar Portas, valiantly kept the pedal pressed to the floor against Petr Tyushkevich, but Petr must have found some nitro, powering his way to the win. The beach went crazy as Rui and Petr charged onto the water for the winner’s final heat, matching identical tricks the first three out of the gate. In a close 3-2 judge’s decision Rui won the singles for the first time in his career, sealing the top of the podium with a perfectly executed KGB and front mobe to blind. Petr performed many of the same powerful tricks but did not have the clean execution needed for the top spot. Youri Zoon, slid into third, for a third event in a row, with a smoother more powerful performance over Cesar Portas, who claimed fourth.

Plenty of action played out in the women’s single eliminations as well. Jo Wilson (Naish, UK), on a roll this season, continued her onslaught at this event overtaking Brazilian Carol Freitas (Flexifoil), Angela Peral (North) of Spain in a closely contested heat, and #1 ranked Kristin Boese (Best, Germany) in an incredible performance, to reach the winner’s final against home country favourite, Bruna Kajiya (Best, Brazil). Unfortunately, Jo peaked in her match up against Kristin, nailing a perfect Vulcan surface handlepass, backside toeside surface handlepass, as well as raley, back and downloops to blind, leaving the tank almost dry for her fight against Bruna.

Although the fluctuating wind caused difficulties for many of the women, Bruna Kajiya, with lot’s of support from her fans on the beach, sailed through to the winner’s final, beating out Pauline Boussard (Wipika, France), Katja Roose (Airrush, Netherlands), and #2 ranked Ania Grzelinska (North, Poland) along the way. Fresh off winning in both Germany and the last tour stop in Tarifa, Bruna let out all the stops, nearly landing a technical move that no other women on tour attempts, a blind judge, as well as sticking her trio of blind moves: back, raley and front to blind, giving her first place yet again. Jo “Spalding” Wilson managed another Vulcan surface handlepass, but crashed the majority of her blind moves, giving her a well deserved second place.

Also having a highly successful year, Ania Grzelinska had no trouble passing Carol Homsi (Naish, Brazil) and Gabi Steindl (North, Austria) in the first rounds with her powerful, technical riding style. After her loss to Bruna Kaja in the semifinals, Ania then moved on to face close rival Kristin Boese in the loser’s final. Kristin, having bested Clarissa Hempel (Cabrinha, Brazil) and Melissa Gil (JN Kites, Costa Rica) on her way to the finals, seemed to struggle with the light wind conditions crashing most of her usual repertoire, while Ania stuck a front and raley to blind, a raley to wrapped and a Vulcan surface handlepass to give her third place overall with Kristin coming in fourth.

Skipper’s meeting scheduled for 9:00am tomorrow, with first possible start at 9:30am. Tonight, T’AI event organizers have a fun Beach Party planned starting at 9pm in the riders lounge.

Up to the minute live results, including rider’s pictures, sponsor info and competition statistics, as well as daily photos, commentary, competition results and recorded video is provided by Caribbean Winds (www.caribbeanwinds.com), the new Media Directors for the PKRA 2006 season. Be sure to check out all the action, even if you can’t make the trip to Brazil!

Day one of the ninth and final stop of the PKRA World Tour, the 2006 Superkite Brazil sponsored by the Paraiba Government & Ministry of Tourism, Havaianas and T’AI Productions, was a roller coaster ride. The sun held strong most of the day, save for some sporadic showers, but unfortunately the wind did not, fluctuating between 10-15 knots directly onshore, causing several stops in competition. This did not diminish the crowd’s enthusiasm as hundreds cheered on the large turn out of women riders throughout their trials as well as the first two rounds of the men’s freestyle single eliminations.

First to hit the water were the nine women vying for a spot in the freestyle main event. Only eight could advance and the competition was fierce. Three heats of three women were run with two advancing from each. The third place in each heat went on to a second and final heat where only the top two advanced. Unfortunately, native Brazilian Alexandra Lineburger (Slingshot) drew the short straw and was eliminated in the trials.

The men’s singles heated up when American Damien Leroy (Cabrinha) took on Mexican Sean Farley (North) in first round action. Farley showed some flare with a nice slimchance and surface handlepass, however, Leroy answered back with a slimchance, as well as a switch slim (fat chance), KGB and a mobe. Another highlight from the first round was when Rui Meira (Naish, Portugal) went totally berserk against Victor Adamo (North, Brazil) throwing down a perfect technical repertoire including a slim, a switch slim, a KGB, switch KGB, front mobe to blind, as well as his regular blind judge, front mobe and mobe. Always a crowd pleaser, Ruben Lenten (Slingshot), the “Dutch Destroyer” was also fired up against Reno Romeu (North, Brazil) in the first round. Fans were definitely supporting their native riders, and although Reno showed off a good battery of tricks, Ruben won out with more power.

Controversy arose during the second round of the men’s singles. Between the fluctuating wind and rising tide, heats 9 through 11 had to be re-run in a man on man format, only 2 at a time on the water. Competitors were performing tricks inside the front buoys near the beach while others were staying within the competition area. After several complaints and a judges meeting, it was decided that the tricks would be counted next to the beach even though they were not within the competition buoys. Of course with the onshore wind this caused several tense moments as competitors crashed moves in very shallow water and even onto the beach at times. There was only one difference in who finally advanced and that was from heat 9A where Etienne Lhote (F-One, France) overtook Victor Borsuk (Poland, Naish) the second time around.

With the expanded competition area, riders enjoyed playing in the small breakers near the beach and continued to show off for the multitude of photographers and press. Youri Zoon (Slingshot, Netherlands), who received a bye from the first round, ended up exhibiting more power, variety and technical difficulty over Damien Leroy in the re-run of his heat, moving on to face Etienne Lhote tomorrow. Rui Meira and Randy Hereman (F-One, Netherlands) both struggled with the failing wind, especially Hereman, though he managed to land a sweet slim to blind and a solid mobe. However, the week of training for Rui paid off as he continued his rampage to the next round were he will face off with top contender, Kevin Langeree (Naish, Netherlands), tomorrow. Big Kevin wasn’t so big today given the light winds, but he pulled out his usual tricks including a front mobe to blind, a downloop blindjudge, a KGB, a NIS, and a mobe, surpassing Maciek Kozerski (Naish, Poland), who also struggled in the dying wind.

Last up for the day were Petr Tyushkevich and Ruben Lenten. Petr nailed his usual slim and switch slim variations, as well as going for a regular and a switch slim to blind, although fluffing the landing on his switch side, however he made up for it with a double front to blind and a KGB. Meanwhile Lenten, recently recovered from a serious ankle injury earlier in the season, is now injured again, his knee this time. The now destroyed “Dutch Destroyer” struggled like so many of the others in the conditions, managing a Kiteloop to belly flop, and a backside one to lobster dive, offset only by a frontside3 and a solid KGB. Not enough to advance in the singles; he will have to make his drive for the podium in the doubles. The competition was finally called for insufficient wind during Alvaro Onieva (Best, Spain) and Madison Van Heurck’s (Naish, USVI) heat. They will be first up when competition resumes.

Skipper’s meeting scheduled for 9:00am with first possible start at 10:00am.

Up to the minute live results, including rider’s pictures, sponsor info and competition statistics, as well as daily photos, commentary, competition results and recorded video is provided by Caribbean Winds (www.caribbeanwinds.com), the new Media Directors for the PKRA 2006 season. Be sure to check out all the action, even if you can’t make the trip to Brazil!

For more information please visit or contact:
www.pkra.info