IKA Course Racing World Championships - Final Results

[Toby]

IKA News:

IKA Course Racing World Championships - Final Results

Organizers and competitors gathered at McGee Beach in Corpus Christi, TX, for the final day of the 2010 IKA World Kite Racing Championship not knowing what to expect. With a sketchy forecast that could go either way, organizers waited for the wind to settle so they could set a race course while competitors had a mixed bag of emotions — those on top would hold their top placements if the weather did not cooperate while others were chomping at the bit to race in hopes of advancing their positions.

Top three men winners: Bruno Sroka (left, third), Adam Koch (middle, first) and Damien LeRoy (right, second). Photo Marina Chang/The Kiteboarder

At around 1p, it looked like the onshore winds would win with wind coming in around 5 knots at the start line near the race committee boat. Light white caps started to build and competitors began putting kites up in the air to test the conditions. Damien Leroy (Cabrinha/USA) tried valiantly to get off the beach but could get not get outside of the groins to open water. The wind then died and switched to a side offshore direction.

The side offshore winds built up and Jesse Richman (Cabrinha/USA) took to the water to test the conditions, riding out to the start line and around the course checking for the winds consistency. Conditions again looked promising as other competitors joined him on the water in anticipation of the first race of the day. Unfortunately, the winds were inconsistent and five kites went down in the middle of the bay. Organizers waited another 30 minutes to see if the wind would even out but eventually called the race at 4p.

Top three women: Kristin Boese (left, third), Kari Schibevaag (middle, first), Steph Bridge (right, third). Photo Marina Chang/The Kiteboarder Magazine

All participants gathered at the Executive Surf Club for the awards dinner and party. Organizer Nils Stolzechner of NJS Custom Boards and General Manager of the Omni Hotel in Corpus Christi outlined the tremendous effort that was needed to make this event happen after the originating sponsors of the event had to pull out due to liability and insurance issues just two months before the event. Nils thanked the race committee lead Mark Foster and his team, members of the Corpus Christi Yacht Club for their support, along with the Corpus Christi Vistitors and Conference Bureau, Ozone Kites and Live2Kite as industry sponsors who stepped up to the plate and offered cash donations to support the event. Nils and emcee Neil Hutchinson then recognized the top 10 men and top three women and presented them with their winnings. The evening was followed with a live band and celebration of Neil’s 40th birthday, a great ending to a tremendous event that may be the stepping stone to getting kiteboarding into the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

Proud to have such a presitgious event with the top athletes in the world, competitors signed the Republic of Texas flag for the mayor which will fly from City Hall. Photo Marina Chang/The Kiteboarder Magazine

Many thanks to the 34 top athletes from 14 different countries for their participation in the event along with supporting sponsors including Ozone, Live2Kite, NJS Custom Board Designs, Corpus Christi Convention and Visitors Bureau, The Kiteboarder Magazine, Ultra Nectar, Budweiser, Corpus Christi Marina, Curtis Fins, Reef, Texas State Aquarium, and LVN Contractors.

FINAL RESULTS

Top 10 men:

1. Adam Koch (Ozone/USA)
2. Bruno Sroka (Cabrinha/France)
3. Damien LeRoy (Cabrinha/USA)
4. Johnny Heineken (RRD/USA)
5. Sky Solbach (North/USA)
6. Sean Farley (North/USA)
7. Jesse Richman (Cabrinha/USA)
8. Kent Marinkovic (Cabrinha/USA)
9. Abel Lago (RRD/USA).
10. Chip Wasson (Ozone/USA)

Top Three Women:

1. Kari Schibevaag (Ozone/Norway)
2. Steph Bridge (North/UK)
3. Kristin Boese (Best/Germany)

Full results and points available at http://www.regattanetwork.com/clubmgmt/ ... ta_id=2696

[ELLINAS]

Is there any profesional and stable video of the competition (not the one with the "parkinson" camera).

somewhere someone (a competitor) said that he will use his gopro) during the races.

[MKM]

I will put up an entire race 7. I'm waiting for my buddy to download the video. It's pretty good, but the cam fogs out a bit half way through. In general, we didn't have much PR down there... kind of had to do it ourselves. I hope to put it up later today. Sorry.

[Toby]

how long was the course? Ho Many rounds? How long did the winner take?
Looking forward to the footage!

Thanks
Toby

[MKM]

The courses generally had a target time for the first finisher to complete of 11-15 minutes. I guess that the first weather leg was around 3/4 of a mile and the second leg to the finish was 1/4 mile. We generally ran single lap races.