BKSA End of Year Beach Blast Brighton Finals Oct 23rd-26th

[PRESS RELEASE]

27th October
For immediate release

Crathern wins third consecutive title as British kitesurfing champions are decided at Brighton.

Worthing kitesurfer Lewis Crathern has won his third consecutive British Kitesurfing Association (BKSA) title following victory in the final round of the Freestyle Championships at Brighton last weekend (23-26 Oct).

Crathern, who had narrowly led the rankings throughout the seven-event championship season, edged out second-placed Sam Light in the Brighton final, which took place in stormy seas and near gale-force winds.

Excellent kitesurfing conditions were forecast leading up to the event, which formed part of Brighton’s Beachblast festival, allowing the competition to start with the Pro divisions on Thursday so that the whole competition could draw to a close on the Saturday with a night’s sit down prize giving.

All eyes were on the top three in the Pro Mens’ division as the end results of this competition would decide the final standings of the year. Blackpool’s Ali Barrett crashed out in the quarterfinals when he had a nightmare heat in the challenging conditions. Heat 9 was pretty close, however Sam Light won through to go in the final. Heat 10 saw a great battle between Martyn Hogg against Ned Taylor – however Martyn’s competition experience won through to get a place in the final.

The final was held in 8-10 ft shorebreak waves and almost a dead-onshore wind gusting up to 30 knots. In the box were 5 judges (usually we have 3). Lewis Crathern from Worthing - more used to the bumpy conditions - rode exceptionally well to take the win with a unanimous vote from the judges. Sam Light lost a kite in the final however recovered after a quick change to take 2nd with Martyn in 3rd.

In the Pro Ladies’ again the overall championship was up for grabs. Ratings leader Hannah Whiteley, from Stockport, started badly when she chose too small a kite and could not get off the beach for most of the first heat, giving Helen Thompson from Tiree the win and Nicky Rudd in second. Hannah did recover with each heat - however Helen took another win in the best-of-three final to seal the deal. Helen was ecstatic with her win, which saw her leapfrog Hannah Whiteley on the ratings to claim the British title for 2008.

Friday dawned to wind and rain. However by 10 am the wind had died and competitors were left to chill out and had some fun on Stand Up Paddle boards. Friday evening a BBQ was held at Yellowave with a dodge ball competition on the volleyball courts to much amusement to everyone concerned.

The wind was back on Saturday, building slowly from the south. Competition started at 10.30 am with the juniors. Shock departure was from regular tour winner Jack Shoulder who failed to get in the final – he had, however, done enough to guarantee his top spot in the 2008 Junior rankings. Sam Moore and Craig Smith rode hard – however they were unable to catch local Dan Sweeney from Littlehampton who rode exceptionally well to win the event in the strengthening winds.

In the amateur ladies there were a few new faces. Megan Griffiths, in her first competition, managed to get into the final. Holly Kennedy took second place, with Josie Robinson claiming her third win of the season and with it the British championship.

The Amateur men also saw some new competitors which upset things, taking out some of the usual top-performing riders. However no one could stop Mike Marsh on his way to the final and another event win. New face Ed Jarman took second ahead of Mark Pengrum in third. Marsh also claimed the overall 2008 Amateur Mens’ title.

The Seniors saw the regular crew and the same results with Peter Whiteley still hard to catch taking another win to claim the British title again. Gary Powell finished second, Paul Maidment in third and Jason McCafferey fourth.

Saturday night also saw the end of year prizegiving for all categories throughout the season. The Palm Court on Brighton Pier was packed with 175 competitors, trade, family, friends and some world class stars - the atmosphere was electric. Britain’s most successful kitesurfer, five-time world champion Aaron Hadlow, presented trophies to the new British Champions.

Results from BKSA Freestyle Championships: final round, Brighton.
Pro Men
1- Lewis Crathern
2- Sam Light
3- Martyn Hogg

Pro Ladies
1- Helen Thompson
2- Hannah Whiteley
3- Nicky Rudd

Amateur Men
1- Mike Marsh
2- Ed Jarman
3- Mark Pengrum

Amateur Ladies
1- Josie Robinson
2- Holly Kennedy
3- Megan Griffiths

Juniors
1- Dan Sweeney
2- Sam Moore
3- Craig Smith

Seniors
1- Peter Whiteley
2- Gary Powell
3- Paul Maidment

BKSA Overall Champions & Results 2008

Freestyle Championships
Pro Men
1 – Lewis Crathern, 4662 points
2- Sam Light, 4452
3- Ali Barrett, 3822

Pro Ladies
1- Helen Thompson, 4675 points
2- Hannah Whiteley, 4655
3- Nicky Rudd, 4045

Amateur Men
1- Mike Marsh, 4030 points
2- Tom Butler, 3525
3- Lewis Deaves, 3170

Amateur Ladies
1- Josie Robinson, 4675 points
2- Holly Kennedy, 4235
3- Sheryl Confue, 3870

Juniors
1- Jack Shoulder, 4110
2- Sam Moore, 3750
3- Jack Daykin, 3015

Seniors
1- Peter Whiteley, 4500
2- Gary Powell, 3965
3- Paul Maidment, 3490

Speed Record
Men Dave Williams, 37.3 knots
Ladies Jemma Grobalaar, 29.69 knots

Wave Series
Men – Will Bennett
Ladies - Jacinta Perry
Juniors - Daniel Maurice
Seniors – 1= Gareth Morgan / Paul Stebbings

Race Series
Men – Denzil Williams
Ladies – Steph Bridge
Juniors – Jack Shoulder
Seniors – Peter Whiteley

Full results can be found on the BKSA website: http://www.kitesurfing.org