A view from across the pond - Colleen Carroll
“I’ve been travelling, kiting, spending lots of time at the cable park and in general loving life!
Seeing other people on the water pushing their riding really inspires me to go for harder tricks or to try out a new one. It also helps that our sport is so fun. I never have the feeling that I’m lacking motivation when I’m at a kite spot. If its windy and the water looks nice, I’m in!”
When asked how she sees the progression of the female side of the sport, she say's; “progression is kicking ass these days! In the last year I’ve seen and met many female riders who are really pushing their personal limits as well as those of women’s kiteboarding as a whole. I’m curious as to when we’ll see the first double pass landed...”
As a Team Rider it is always interesting to get an 'insiders' perspective on the North Range and more specifically for women and Colleen's style of riding: “Firstly the North Kiteboarding range is huge. There is definitely something for everybody in there whether it’s sliders, freestyle, speed, hang-time, or waves. Whatever fuels your fire. More specifically, the North range offers the perfect setup for me and I think any girl can find what she needs. The performance, safety, and durability are all time on the North kites so I don’t really know what more you could ask for! My perfect set up is a 9m Vegas on 22 meter lines with 136 Gambler and North Kiteboarding boots. Also need my ION sol harness and of course a lovely Sensi Graves bikini. If the wind is a smooth 20kts, the water butter flat, and there is a feature to session, I am in utter heaven!”
A well known rider on the American Kite scene she has never made it across the pond to test out some of Europe’s hotspots, but she is adamant that she will be making the trip this summer. Inquisitive to find out how she felt about riding for a European brand and whether it has influenced her view on the sport, she said: “ Our first kites as a family were North kites and the brand has always had such a strong presence in the Hood River/Seattle kite spots that I guess I’ve never really felt it was foreign. However, working more closely with a European brand, it has shown me how much bigger and more mature the industry is ‘across the pond.”
Looking to the future, she admits that it is best to be flexible when trying to make plans materialise, but that a trip to Europe is on the cards and that her main goal and sights are set on the Triple S Invitational, Cape Hatteras. “I was really lucky last year and came out on top. I have a feeling I’ll see even more competition this year on the girls side so I’m feeling a bit of pressure to up my game.” And up her game she did!
Colleen was crowned the women's Triple S Champion 2014. Never taking her eyes of the prize she dominated the field securing a 1st in Slicks and Sliders, and 3rd in the Surf putting her 1st Overall. Her performance in the Slicks was solid, with two clean runs and stomping technical moves such as Back to Wrapped. A day in the Surf saw her dialling some stylish grabs and unhooked moves off the kickers, scoring well with the judges. In the Slider discipline, she cruised through the heats with clean hits across the park. A stylish front side 180 tail press to blind across the flat bar put her in the Finals. She said;
“All of the girls were riding really solid and it was made even more intense having mixed heats and riding with the boys. I’m incredibly happy that I advanced through to the Finals with the North boys.”