Kitesurf World Cup

The Kitesurf World Cup , with more than 100,000 spectators, the largest kite -Event the world and the only official German tour stop of the Global Association kite sports. It took place in St. Peter-Ording for 10 days from 2006 to 2015 . From 2016 to 2018 the Kitesurf World Cup took place on the island of Fehmarn. In 2019 the Kitesurf World Cup will take place for the first time on Brandenburger Strand in Westerland on Sylt . The competition discipline within the GKA World Tour is kite surfing. This consists of the individual disciplines Wave and Strapless Freestyle.

history

At the first edition of the Kitesurf World Cup in St. Peter-Ording in 2006, the Kitesurf World Tour was clearly dominated by the freestyler Aaron Hadlow, who regularly emerged as world champion from 2004 to 2008. Only the World Cup in St. Peter-Ording did not seem to suit the British. On the North Sea coast, the two Dutch riders Youri Zoon and Kevin Langeree dominated the freestyle competition and each won three times.

Youri Zoon finally won the premiere on the 11,000 square meter event site, which was attended by more than 60,000 people during the 10 days of the event. A year later, 110,000 spectators were counted on the beach in St. Peter-Ording and the event area was expanded to almost double its size (20,000 square meters). The winner in freestyle was Kevin Langeree, who was able to repeat this success in 2008 and 2009.

In 2010 the Big Air Contest took place in St. Peter-Ording for the first and only time and a new record was set with 180,000 visitors. This was partly due to the performance of the Hamburg musician Jan Delay , who attracted over 30,000 people to the event area with his concert.

Two years later, the prize money for the athletes rose for the first time to 52,000 euros and 125 athletes from 22 nations traveled to the World Cup in St. Peter-Ording. In the Airstyle World Championship, which is taking place for the first time, the Spaniards Alvaro Onieva and Gisela Pulido won the freestyle competition for the third time. In 2014 a new attendance record was set with 215,000 visitors.

From 2016 to 2019 the Kitesurf World Cup took place on the south beach on the Baltic Sea island of Fehmarn. In 2019 the Kitesurf World Cup will take place for the first time on the North Sea island of Sylt.

Disciplines

In the Freestyle discipline , up to five judges evaluate the jumps and tricks of the athletes. The decisive factors are technique (level of difficulty, execution), intensity (power, height) and performance (risk factor, innovation, diversity). Two participants compete against each other in each run ("Heat"). Each heat lasts between five and fifteen minutes, depending on the instructions of the judges. The five best tricks are rated. While freestyle participants started in the TwinTip category from 2006 to 2016, strapless freestylers competed for the first time at the 2017 Kitesurf World Cup. The special feature here is that the riders are connected to the board without loops and only use the grip.

In the slalom discipline , the riders have to negotiate buoys and buoys on a zigzag course. The driver field is divided into different eliminations (up to 7 drivers) who drive one after the other. The first half continues one round until the participants of the final run have been determined and the winner among themselves. Up to four complete eliminations can be started per day, a maximum of 16 are allowed in a World Cup.

In the Foil discipline , like in the slalom, the riders have to complete a buoy course. The driver field is divided into different eliminations (up to 7 drivers) who drive one after the other. The first half continues one round until the participants of the final run have been determined and the winner among themselves.

From 2019 the kite surf discipline consisting of wave and strapless freestyle will start.

background

Since the 10-day event, including the live concerts of various musicians, is completely free of charge and additional prize money of 52,000 euros has to be raised, support from national and international sponsors is necessary. In 2006 and 2007, the hair care and styling brand Gard became the main sponsor and title partner, which gave the event the name Gard Kitesurf World Cup St. Peter-Ording. From 2008 to 2010 the multinational Colgate-Palmolive was the main sponsor and namesake of the event, which was officially called the Colgate Kitesurf World Cup in 2008 and the Palmolive for Men Kitesurf World Cup in 2009/10. From 2011 Volkswagen took on the role of title sponsor, which gave the World Cup the addition of The Beetles Kitesurf World Cup (2011-2013). In 2014 the title was Think Blue Kitesurf World Cup. In 2015 and 2016 the event was titled " Pringles Kitesurf World Cup". Mercedes-Benz has been the title sponsor since 2017 .

At the morning riders meeting, the employees of the respective association use the weather data to determine whether and which competition will be held. The first start usually takes place around 9:00 a.m. and ends, depending on the weather, between 4:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.

The official supporting program takes place daily from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on the event site. Dozens of exhibitors present their products in the 20,000 square meter tent city, which can be tested and purchased on site. During numerous autograph sessions and interviews, you get up close and personal with the kitestars. The Kitelife Village located on the event site is considered the largest kitesurfing fair in the world. In 2014, 26 brands were represented there presenting their latest developments. On the Testival site not far from the event area, visitors have the opportunity to test many of these innovations and to ask questions.

An event radio set up especially for the event informs visitors daily from 10 a.m. about the start times, the accomplished disciplines, the results and the supporting program in general. There is music between the announcements.

On the weekends, musicians such as Jan Delay , Silbermond or Revolverheld perform regularly , some of whom attract 30,000 visitors to the beach.

natural reserve

The 12 kilometer long and two kilometer wide sandy beach of St. Peter-Ording has been a nature reserve for several years due to its multifaceted nature and the interplay of different ecosystems .

The Kitesurf World Cup is one of the few major events that is allowed to take place in a protected national park. The organizer Act Agency and the St. Peter-Ording Tourist Office therefore work every year to improve the compatibility of the event with nature and to give nature protection a higher priority. In order to be able to guarantee this, and thus also the existence of the event, close cooperation between the organizer, the location, the athletes and above all the visitors is of great importance.

Unauthorized overnight stays on the beach parking lot, which is punishable by a fine of € 30, are regularly discussed at the Kitesurf World Cup.

Impressions

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  Crowds of visitors at Kitesurf World

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  The extensive Testival area

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  Pure party at the Kitesurf World Cup St. Peter-Ording

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  The largest kite fair in the world

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  One of the numerous side events: The Pumping Track

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  The top 3 freestyle men 2014

List of winners

The disciplines Kitecross, Big Air and Airstyle World Championship were only included in the Kitesurf World Cup Germany plan for a short time. The most important disciplines are course racing / slalom and freestyle.

year	Freestyle	Course racing	Kitecross	Big Air	Airstyle World Championship
2006	Youri Zoon Bruna Kajiya		Kevin Langeree Ania Grzelinska
2007	Kevin Langeree Gisela Pulido	Sami Gali Gina Esteva	Sky Solbach Kristin Boese
2008	Kevin Langeree Bruna Kajiya	Charles Deleau Gine Esteva	Kevin Langeree Karolina Winkowska
2009	Kevin Langeree Joanna Litwin	Bruno Sroka Steph Bridge
2010	Alex pastor Gisela Pulido	Bruno Sroka Steph Bridge		Sebastian Garat Hannah Whiteley
2011	Youri Zoon Gisela Pulido	John Heineken Katja Roose
2012	Youri Zoon Gisela Pulido	Bryan Lake Katja Roose			Alvaro Onieva Gisela Pulido
2013	Marc Jacobs Karolina Winkowska	Bryan Lake Christine Bönniger
2014	Aaron Hadlow Karolina Winkowska	Bryan Lake Katja Roose
2015	Aaron Hadlow Gisela Pulido	Florian Gruber Katja Roose
2016		Florian Gruber Katja Roose
2017	Matchu Lopes	Nico Parlier Steph Bridge

Web links

Commons : Kitesurf World Cup St. Peter-Ording  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website
• St. Peter-Ording website

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Home - Kitesurf World Cup Sylt. Retrieved on May 10, 2019 (German). 
2. ↑ Welcome to GKA Kite World Tour! Retrieved May 10, 2019 (UK English). 
3. ↑ GKA Kite Surf World Cup Germany 2019. In: GKA Kite World Tour. Retrieved May 10, 2019 (UK English). 
4. ↑ Suzuki / Gard Kitesurf World Cup-Between Calm and Storm ( German ) plan-s-kommunikation.de. August 21, 2006. Retrieved March 12, 2015.
5. ↑ Kitesurf World Cup 2007 ( German ) triggernaut.com. August 28, 2007. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 12, 2015.  
6. ↑ Beetle Kitesurf 13.-21. July ( German )jahrbuch-st-peter-ording.de. July 22, 2013. Accessed March 12, 2015.
7. ↑ 10 days of summer, parties and top-class sport ( German ) kitesurfworldcup.de. August 13, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 12, 2015.  
8. ↑ Official press kit of the Kitesurf World Cup 11/2014 p. 32,33
9. ↑ ^{a b c d} Wins for Hadlow and Winkowska ( German ) kitesurfworldcup.de. August 10, 2014. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved March 12, 2015.