Hey
If board off and **** like that is so easy then i would love to see all the true wakestyle riders do some of the ones dan anderson was doing a while back to be honest i have not seen anyone else do any thing close yet, ive seen heaps of people do a mobe so whats harder? i know a few guys who can do a lot off handlepasses and seen them try boardoffs and not even get close. As far as i know its the freestyle nats not the wakestlye nats.

If we don't impress the the crowds then we get no people watching and no one watching means no sponsors which means no comps.

That dangly **** is the heart off kiteboarding and why 90% off us first got in to the sport so why do we want to get rid of it out of the comps, don't get me wrong i love doing wakestyle but if that's all i wanted to do then i may as well buy a boat.

I hear a few say that's unfair to boot riders i say tuff ****, if you want to ride boots and limit your self then just make sure that your wake style is so good that it doesn't matter what the other guy is doing.

What about an overall rider waves and freestyle camp wave nats 50% and freestyle 50% get more people doing both comps.

Gero is a great spot for it.

Paul

sh#* JB, if spacemonkey actually has to boost, its all over.
Thou shalt not bringeth thoust kite over 45'..........
Greuzi is spot on... Kiters will come to kite comps and they need a place to kite.
BUT..like surfing, it is dependent on conditions.... Unless the nationals go to a spot that is gauranteed to honk,AND have a waiting period, they are doomed.

We had some wavecomps in WA with supposedly a waiting period/it's on when it's good, and both were held so far in very marginal conditions. Mabe add it to a kitestock event, instant crowd???

spacedude, IMO the way "forward" is to accept that there are different styles of kiting and by limiting freestyle to kite below 45 you are actually going backwards..
I have seen plenty of board offs that would score and are far harder than any backmobe.

Progression should be a combination of looking good and being technically difficult... and everything esle left open and lets face it.... theres only so much you can do with your kite below 45.

No big jumps, no board offs, .... why would you bother using a kite, just go wakeboarding? and if it's because you jump higher on a kite than behind a boat then put the kite up near 60 and youll jump way higher!

Yeah u can make big air look good ( len10 kiteloops etc ) which draws big crowds, but do u see board off's in the PKRA? Thats a big step backwards. And if i saw some1 doing a board off with bindings.. extra points! but it'd still look gay

YoMoFo said...

Yeah u can make big air look good ( len10 kiteloops etc ) which draws big crowds, but do u see board off's in the PKRA? Thats a big step backwards. And if i saw some1 doing a board off with bindings.. extra points! but it'd still look gay

that's fine if you don't like freestyle mofo, and only like wakestlye.. but the title of the thread is freestyle and as the name implies it's FREE - STYLE. Each to their own, it all looks awesome, and none of the moves are gay, just the people that winge and whine about them

user said...

There seems to be a common misconception here.

Constant references to "spectators" "crowds" "general public" etc. watching kite contests.
The reality is,95% of the spectators at an event are either competitors,or their friends,relos etc.

It seems to me the "freestyle" "wakestylers" live in a fantasy World,where they impress hordes of spectators and hot chicks(guys) with their spinny tricks.
They can't even get a contest organised ! WTF !

Meanwhile,a wave riding contest at Lennox Head was a raging success!
Next up,Mambo,another wave event will go OFF !

Then,a lot of riders are looking forward to the National Wave Titles at Port Macquarie.

Pretty obvious where the REAL future in kiting is ! Contests for the riders by the riders. In the Surf.

raging sucess? i guess it was a great event for the competitors but it was boring as all f#ck for the spectators and im guessing the contestants as well to watch.....who wants to see the same turn 60 thousand times in 100 different heats? i think waveriding is slowly heading towards airs/wakestyle more and more now and it won't be long before you see alot of the tricks crossing over (so i wouldn't bag the freestylers to much they might be the ones pushing the air side in years to come) and waveriding comps maybe pulling a noticable spectating crowd (similar to a quicksilver air show) just my therory.

p.s. you need people to be interested in comps in order to get money to run them.

p.p.s. i think boosting and boardoffs are deffiantly a part of kiteboarding and should be a part of the nationals, whether they should all be contested at once is another question.

spot on carbine.

User I dont want to get into a slanging match, but you cant generalise on the number of spectators that turn up to an event, and that they dont matter because they do.I dont know about another comps but i know at the classic at tannum, spectator numbers have increased every year, to the point where for the finals on sunday the beach was full, and you couldnt get a car park anywhere near the venue.Spectators matter and it gives cred to the sport.

In my experience the sponsors who fund the events are looking for business from spectators. The small amount of business from the competitors is not as important as the potential business from the crowds who gather to watch the event.

Like it or not the spectators are the most important part of the whole event unless you get funding from another source.

I don't know how wavecomps can be the future, if so we are screwed. Its hard enough organising a competition with good wind or good swell, let alone both. Most of the time its held in underpowered 1ft close out chop, with contestants trying to see if they imitate a surfer but at the best only getting 2 turns in, slashing white water to death. I don't mind kitesurfing but to have a good competition you have to have them at Epic venues with monster swell and consistant wind.

Now THAT cwamit, is the start of an awesome idea and possibly a format that could/should be applied to major competition; comps held over (at least) a week long period. That way you can access some of teh better locations, people can holiday if they wish, kiters serious about the comp will most likely enter (try and get time off work) and you increase your chances of holding a decent comp.
1 week in esperance would be awesome for both freestyle and waves.
If you're going to do something, do it properly...like Kitestock, Mambo, Tannum, the Gero Nats or the new one down in safety bay.