PKRA - Start of the competiton at the JR Worlds

The 8 to 14 year old boys kicked off the PKRA/IKA kiteboarding Freestyle Junior World Championships at the Camping Ballena Alegre, San Pere Pescador, Costa Brava with 7 heats of freestyle. Racca and Bridge were the dominant riders and they look like the favorites. The skippers meeting was held in the morning and names were drawn to set up the ladders. The first clinic of the week was presented by Sami Gali and Olaf van tol.

The skipper meeting was held at 10:30, where the young riders were oriented for the day. After the skippers meeting the drawing was done to set up the ladders to see who would meet the preceded riders that were chosen based on the European championships. Once all this was set up all that was needed to start the event was the wind and the thermal was already starting to build in the morning.

The clinic for the young riders was done by Sami Gali and Olaf Van Tol, the clinic was set up to teach them how competitions are run. Many things go into having a successful competition for a rider. It is crucial for all young riders to learn the format and the rules of the competitions they are entering into to increase their chances of being successful. The head judge and the race director talked about the flag sequence, how to set up your watch, right-of-way, preparing equipment, competition area and many more. A lot of time if a rider is well prepared, his equipment tuned and knows what to expect he is already ahead of his competitor even before the heat starts.

The thermal wind took longer to pick up due to the clouds but by 3:30 the wind had filled in and the competition was ready to start. A total of seven heats were run with many good tricks being landed. In the first round of boys age 8-14 the top two advance to the next round and the rider in third rider eliminated. The first heat was close between Jimenez Pena, Jewski and Mur Peris. Mur Peris got first and Jeminez second with some blind judge’s and S-bends. The second heat Guy Bridge won his heat over Vicari (2nd) and Peiro, with a big S-1, BJ and 313. The third heat Racca from Mexico rode extremely powerful to advance over Ducos and Leboni (2nd). The Last heat of the 1st round Tom Bridge was ripping and advanced with Tio, Lund was eliminated.

The 1st heat of the quarterfinal was between Mur Peris and Vicari, the heat was close but Mur Peris landed an S-1 to get into the lead. The 2nd heat of the quarters Guy Bridge landed a big BJ, 313 and slim to beat the young Spaniard. The last heat of the day was between Racca and Tio. Both riders rode extremely well but in the end Racca had more power and better execution and advance to the semifinal.

The competition wrapped up around 5:30 after having done a clinic in the morning and 7 heats in the afternoon. The forecast looks very good for tomorrow with north wind’s building throughout the night. The skippers meeting is set for 9 o’clock and the competition wlil start early and last throughout the day if the wind holds. Follow us on and get the latest updates on and