Day 2 voor de junioren in Spanje tijdens de WKL Youth Cup. Na een clinic en presentatie in de ochtend konden de riders in de middag vol aan de bak en hun tricks aan de jury laten zien.

Day two at the Youth Cup in Costa Brava was yet again action-packed from start to finish. Heats were completed from various categories as the thermal wind blew steadily around 15 to 18 knots throughout the day.

The skippers meeting for the talented young riders took place at 11am, followed by a clinic and presentation from Bill Eastburn from the World Class Kite Academy. It gave the riders a chance to explore the opportunity for this unique combination of high school education that takes it’s students around the World and allows them to train on the water regularly as well as staying on top of their studies. 

By midday, the thermal wind on the beach at the Ballena Alegre Camping kicked in and the event got underway. The first heat of the day was for the boys aged 15-16 category. Tom Bridge from the UK took the win landing a clean Backside 315 and Double S-Bend 3. Antoine Mermet was anxious to secure the second position to pass through to Round 2 and landed a powerful Heart Attack and Back Mobe to secure his spot. 

Christian Tio from the Philippines has been one of the riders gaining attention lately, and his performance did not disappoint. He dominated his entire heat with fantastic style performing a grabbed Back Mobe and Slim 5. Edgar Ulrich will be following him through to the next round. 

Heat 4 saw 16 year old Nino Liboni dominate, with Dos Santos Neto following him through. 

Anthar Racca from Mexico managed to have a great heat pulling off a Slim 7 and Backside 315 with good height and power on his 15m kite. Jason Van der Spuy followed behind him through to the next round. 

Swiss rider Maxim Chablis landed a massive Back Mobe 5 and Front Blind Mobe during Heat 6 giving him the lead, and young Valentin Bontus from Austria grabbed the desired second position with an S-Mobe and Back Mobe.

The day progressed with Girls category 8-14. The trick attempts were reduced to 6, with the top 4 counting. Osaia Reding put on an impressive performance landing a very well executed S-Bend to Blind and Blind Judge. Matilda Roux will be following her through to Round 2. 

The young Mikaili Sol rode as impressively as ever landing a Back Mobe that was worthy of the Elite League, and a nice Backside 313. She will be joined in the next round by Anna Hashem. 

The conditions remained optimal throughout the afternoon and so the Boys 12-14 category was next in sequence. Heat 1 saw the 14 year old Moroccan rider Jonas Ouahmid storm through his heat landing an outstanding Double S-Bend 3 and Slim 5 allowing him a well-deserved position in the next round. It will be Oscar Perineau who will be joining him. 

Heat 2 saw Joris Herewijnen win by riding consistently and landing his S-bend to Blind and Backside 313. Karim Mahmoud will be following through to Round 2 by nailing his S-Mobe in the last second to overtake British rider Tom Seager. 

Wind conditions started dropping very slightly around 5pm during Heat 3, but Brazilian rider Guilherme Penha Costa was not deterred, and won his heat by performing solid tricks and scoring well for his Hinterberger 5. Hugo Metton did not want to be left behind and threw down a Backside 313 on his last attempt, allowing him the fought after second position. 

Heat 4 saw Luis Fernando Silva Araujo take the lead throughout his heat ahead of his competitors, scoring a 7.2 for his Slim 5 and giving him the slot in the next round, alongside Omar Modrek. 

Boys 15 to 16 Round 2 Heat 7 was the next to take place. Tom Bridge stormed into the heat landing a stylish Front Blind Mobe directly infront of the judge tower. He maintained his powerful riding throughout and claimed first position, with Edgar Ulrich following behind him. Lars de Groof unfortunately narrowly missed out on passing through to the final.

Nino Liboni was on fire during Heat 8 and pulled off some high scoring tricks, performing with great speed and control, which earned him a position in the final. It was a disappointment for Christian Tio from the Philippines who couldn’t seem to hold it together, which meant Valentin Rodriguez from Colombia would advance. 

For Heat 9 the wind dropped considerably, leading to the cancellation of the heat and bringing the day to a close. 

The forecast for tomorrow looks promising once again, and the skipper’s meeting has been called for 11am, with the first possible start at 12pm. 

All scores and tricks from today’s competition can be viewed here.