PKRA - Thailand - Hua Hin



De winter is weer "bijna" voorbij en het is dus weer tijd om de kites van zolder te halen. Voor de pro's is het tijd om de boardbags weer op standby te leggen voor een druk seizoen. 11 PKRA en 13 KPWT world cups staan er op dit moment gepland naast andere locale events als t KBO en t NK.
Airmiles sparen dus
Grootste afwezige dit jaar zal Aaron Hadlow zijn die zich meer op marketing gaat richten zoals Ruben Lenten. Dit jaar dus een Nederlands onderondsje met Youri Zoon en Kevin Langeree of krijgen we nog verrassingen van andere riders?

Kick off dus in Hua Hin Thailand:













The PKRA kicks off its 2010 season in Hua Hin, Thailand. Thailand's legendary beaches, friendly people and its delicious spicy food and make this the perfect place to host Asia's first Pro Kiteboarding event.

The registration day is Sunday March 14. Monday, March 15 through Saturday, March 20 the top riders in the world will compete in this Grand Slam event, featuring Freestyle, Course Racing, and Board Off disciplines. It will be the first professional kiteboarding event in Asia in the history of the sport, and it promises to be a new beginning for the sport in the region, as it is expected to become an annual kiteboarding mega-event in Thailand.

Disciplines:
Freestyle
Course Race
Board Off

Weersverwachting

Uitslagen Freestyle:
Heren Singles
Dames Singles
Heren Doubles
Dames Doubles



















































UPDATES


Four course races dominate the day in Hua Hin
Mar-18-2010

Hua Hin, Thailand – Four was the magic number today, it is day four of the Hua Hin Kiteboarding World Cup 2010 and four being the number of course races that were held today.

The wind was in a completely different direction today. Normally the wind comes from the south, but today it was from the north. When a frontal system passes normally the wind dies and changes in direction but today this was a myth. The wind shifted, however it did not completely die out. It blew on average about 10 knots most of the day, which is pretty light making it too weak in strength for the freestyle riders, but enough for the racers.

The maximum number of course races that can be held in one competition day are four, and the racers today took advantage of that.

All four races were dominated by French rider, Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA). A couple riders used different strategies to attempt overtaking the racing world champion but failed. Fellow teammate Renaud Madier (Cabrinha, FRA) took second place twice today, followed by another French rider Julien Kerneur (Takoon, FRA) who came in third place on more than one occasion. Spanish rider Abel Lago (RRD, ESP) came second place twice today as well as a third place. There had been a couple protests for the first race of the day due to line entanglements with three riders on the first lap near the finish line marker. David Tyburski (Airush, USA) was disqualified due to this entanglement.

There was a little upset between the women racers today. Kari Schibevaag (Ozone, NOR) had been leading the races in the women’s division until Kristin Boese (Best, GER) overtook her in race number five. It was a good day for French racer, Caroline Adrien who took two second place positions. Hua Hin womens freestyle single eliminations winner, Gisela Pulido competed in one race today and took a second place.

As simple as it might seem initially, course racing is actually very technical and involves much more than just being able to handle your kite and board. It depends mostly on pre-planning strategies, knowing the rules, especially the right of way rules and of course good material and weather conditions.

Congratulations to all racers who placed today!

Mandatory skippers meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at 10:00am.






Light wind conditions enable kiteboarding competition
Mar-17-2010

Hua Hin, Thailand – Today was the first day in Hua Hin with unpredictable winds. PKRA Race director Olaf Van Tol decided to postpone the race and freestyle double elimination competitions today in anticipation that the wind would change in direction and pick up in strength. An extremely light breeze prevailed most of the day, until approximately 1:30 pm a freak storm hovered over the area for about 20 minutes.

The wind was so strong that it blew tents over, and caused a little bit of excitement around the event site. After postponing the competition for most of the day, Van Tol released the race and freestyle riders for the day and organized a stand-up paddleboard competition.

Stand-up paddle boarding is taking the world by storm. Whether you call it S.U.P, paddle surfing, SUP’ing, stand-up paddle boarding or beach boy surfing, it is a new addition to the waterman lifestyle.

Aside from being another way of catching waves, SUP is also an increasingly popular way of keeping fit, and improving core-stability. Flat water SUP trips, and 'down-winders' are both a great work out, and a good way to get on the water when the surf's junk, or it's flat - and a SUP session is definitely more fun than hitting the gym. Stand Up Paddle surfing is an incredibly versatile sport. You can take a look at the forecast and choose what you want to do with your SUP on any given day: and there won't be many days when you can't get out and do something.

So if you see a surf shop where they rent SUP’s, spend a few dollars and give it a try, the worst thing that could happen is that you have a little fun!

Tomorrow’s skippers meeting is scheduled for 10:00am to determine what the wind situation is going to be for the day.

Results for the SUP Race:


MEN

1. Renaud Madier FRA
2. Sky Solbach USA
3. Charles Deleau FRA

WOMEN

1. Kristin Boese GER
2. Kari Schibevaag NOR
3. Erika Lindberg SWE


Freestyle single eliminations wrap up with surprising results
Mar-16-2010

Not only is Thailand known as the “land of smiles” it is also called the Disneyland of Asia. This event has been nothing less than incredible. The people have just been so amazingly friendly, the water is as warm as bath water, the sand on the beach melts between your toes, the food is outstanding and not to forget that the temperatures are scorching hot. All riders from around the world are super thrilled to be competing in a place where such wonderful conditions exist. We could rename Hua Hin the Disneyland of Kiteboarding.

The air temperature today reached 37 degrees Celsius not including the humidity index, which was near 43 degrees Celsius. Some of the event crew could not keep the water cooler stocked with enough bottles of water to keep all the riders hydrated. It was an upsetting day for the men freestyle world champion Kevin Langeree (Naish, NTH) who lost two competition heats today.

The first losing heat was a 4 to 1 decision in favor of Andy Yates (Slingshot, AUS). It was a very close heat, however both competitors had completely different riding styles. The second loss today was versus fellow Dutchmen Youri Zoon (Slingshot, NTH) who took third place overall in the single eliminations.

It was a winning day for Alex Pastor (Airush, ESP) who won the men’s freestyle single eliminations followed by Andy Yates (Slingshot, AUS) who came in second. Gisela Pulido (Airush, ESP) had something to smile about today as she took the number one position in the women’s freestyle single eliminations. Pulido was on fire landing numerous complex tricks with great style and execution. Karolina Winkowska (Slingshot, POL) came in second followed by the current women’s freestyle world champion Bruna Kajiya (Flexifoil, BRA) who finished in third place.

The freestyle disciplines have been the major focus the past couple of days however the eager racers got the chance to compete in two races today. It is no surprise that Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA) jolted his way first past the finish line in both races today followed by Abel Lago (RRD,ESP) in second place and Sky Solbach (North, USA) who powered his way into the third position in the first race of the competition.

Many riders had problems at the start line due to line entanglements and were unable to start or finish the race. The second race of the day wrapped up near 5:00pm with Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha, FRA) taking first place followed by fellow French racer Olivier Dansin (North, FRA) in second place and Bjoern Rune Jensen (Cabrinha, DEN) from Denmark who finished in third place.

The mandatory riders meeting is scheduled for 10:00am tomorrow morning. Also, please visit the link posted below for all live result updates.

http://www.extremeelements.tv/live_results/results.php?TNID02=52&TYPE04=SINGLE&SEX01=M




A happy ending for the Asian Qualifier and a Great Start for the PKRA main event
Mar-15-2010

The PKRA World Cup 2010 has kicked off in Hua Hin, Thailand, the most amazing place. If you desire consistent winds averaging 20 knots, beautiful blue sunny skies, and temperatures averaging 34 degrees Celsius. This was the setting for the Asian kiteboarding qualifier event the past few days.

A lot of people have a misconception about the wind here in Thailand. There are no proper weather predicting stations to allow for accurate wind measurements, however the wind blows consistently due to the thermal winds.
Numerous amounts of spectators from all around the world watched as competitors from many different nations performed complex freestyle kiteboarding tricks.

The outcome of this well prepared, sponsored and organized event will be talked about for years to come.
Four men as well as two female Asian riders were given the opportunity to compete in the PKRA World Cup which has kicked off today with the freestyle single eliminations.

There was great action, huge jumps and a few surprises in the PKRA freestyle competition today. Be sure to check the elimination ladder below for current results.

Congratulations to all the winners of the PKRA Asian Qualifier Event , especially Nakano Hironobu (Naish, JPN) the men’s freestyle champion and the women’s freestyle champion, Aya Oshima (Cabrinha, JPN). Yo Pudla (Ozone, THL) came in second place and Bobo Corniel (EH, D.R.) took third. Erika Lindberg (Flexifoil, SWE) took second place for the women’s and Ramona Serea from Romania took third place.

A special thank you to all the sponsor, and to all who put so much effort and long hours into organizing such a fabulous event, Raam Schnitman, Eran Forshlager, Todd Schoenberger to name a few and to all of those who work behind the scenes you are not forgotten.

A mandatory riders meeting is set for tomorrow morning at 10:00am with the first possible start of the continuation on the freestyle eliminations.














PKRA Asian Qualifier kicks off in the “Land of Smiles”
Mar-13-2010

There is a reason why the tourism authority of Thailand uses the happy-go-lucky slogan “Land of Smiles” in their travel brochures! From the moment you step foot on Thai soil you are greeted with a warm and welcoming smile.

The people of Hua Hin, Thailand have really put a lot of thought, effort and planning into creating an amazing atmosphere for all honored guests, tourists, and of course kiteboard riders from all around the world.

Hundreds of colorful kites lit up the sky today marking the first ever world-class kiteboarding event held in Hua Hin, and it will certainly not be the last.

The Asian Qualifier freestyle single eliminations began late this morning under clear, beautiful sunny skies, with steady winds averaging 20 knots. The competition wrapped up for the day around 4:00pm just in time for the opening ceremony, which were held on the beach.

The male and female freestyle world champions, Kevin Langeree and Bruna Kajiya performed various tricks and jumps as part of the PKRA Asian Qualifier opening ceremony.

The Hua Hin Kiteboarding World Cup is sponsored in part by the InterContinental Resort Hua Hin.