Vermont Kitestorm report...stats...shout outs

[stormboarding]

Sun, kites, sun, kites and then some breeze! Stormboarding is very pleased to report that the first Vermont Kitestorm was great fun for well over one hundred people and handfuls of spectators. On Sunday at one point we had nearly 30 kites in the air from 1m Ozone Imp to every size Frenzy to LEI’s of various sizes all the way to 25m!! Heather and Brian from Ozone/Windzup drove thousands of miles, provided tons of kites and prizes and sacrificed some good riding time to hook riders up with gear and knowledge. Thanks to our partners (below) everyone who came to the after-party at RiRa’s in Burlington went home with more than just a buzz - shirts, beanies, mags, flags and more!

The coolest thing is we had lots of people who were psyched to try snowkiting and showed up boards in hand and helmets on heads…of the people who stopped to register, we had:

-106 men and 54 women
-114 Vermonters and 35 out of staters (including one from Sweden)
-60 skiers, 35 boarders, 48 who speak both languages and 4 dedicated telemark skiers
-10 little rippers under 15 including one 10 year old girl who commandeered a 6m Little Devil until around 5 adults who wanted a go had to pry it out of her hands
-18 people who are 16-22; 52 who are 22-29; 42 who are 30-42, 24 people over 42 (up to 60+) and 11 people who are ageless
-plus at least 30 local and experienced kiters who spent Sunday ripping around the ice, causing traffic jams and generally serving as the inspiration for those with 1m kites in their hands and Frenzy 12 meter’s in their sights!

An event like this does not run on the energy of just one excited rider, but from that of many generous, upbeat volunteers. I was overwhelmed with offers to help and want to send a huge thank you to: Bruce and Dave from Straight Talk Vermont, Chip from Petra Cliffs, Andrew from Powerline Sports, Doug, Scott, Brian C., Justin, Grayson, Revell, Margo, Chris Graham, Bryan A, Jeremiah, Matt, Kate (my right hand girl) and my mom, dad and bro for putting in a lot of hours and all with enthusiasm!

And then even if we have happy people helping, having happy just-won-a-prize people all around and everything actually working is huge and all completely due to our awesome event partners:

-Ozone Powerkites/Windzup: Brian and Heather sharing their kites, their incredible expertise and true psych about the sport with anyone who asked
-92.1 KISS FM: played rockin’ tunes, hooked people up with red hots, strappleberry, stickers, cd’s and stoked up the general public with excellent pre-event excitement
-Straight Talk Vermont: for details, kids, partnerships and enthusiasm
-Petra Cliffs: for ice screws and Chip’s incredible and unending energy to teach
-Dynastar: for bringing rippin’ skis to the riding public
-Ultra Nectar: for putting very cool beanies and shirts on many lucky riders
-RiRa’s: After party locale, deal on pints, a big screen showing snowkite action and the microphone to give every kiter who showed (and some people at the bar) awesome prizes
-Putney Pasta: for letting tired riders go home and only have to rev up a pot of water for gourmet pasta instead of actually cooking dinner
-Afternoonies Deli: for making people happy with good food
-Best Western Windjammer Inn- ahhh hot tub, warm cookies before bed and great rates
-Red Bull: giving wings to people with wings
-Legitify:for all things web-based and digital
-EMS: for great packs to give away
-Hertz Equipment Rental: keeping the tunes playing
-Riding High Skate Shop: for the rails to shred upon

Thank you to the local crew for providing inspiration for the beginners getting big air and putting the event on the local news, Phil for coming from the cape to rip it up and to all riders, new riders and riders to be for coming out to play. We will do it again next year bigger and better…but the ice isn’t gone yet so think snow and breeze and go big.

I’d be psyched to post any photos…send them to me…might be worth a t-shirt!

rzm

[Bosco]

Had a great time at the KiteStorm, the locals have a great crew and they are keeping the snowkite culture alive with friendly attitudes and a good vibe. My first session at the Sand bar on Friday was as good as any day I've spent on the snow, with strong wind and sweet snow conditions. This place is gonna go off over the next few years with easy access and 100 miles of ridable area on the lake. I'm looking forward to next years event already.

Windzup,
Brian

[wrecknball]

hey, rachel. this is joel from montana saying congratulations on your event. it sounds like you had a great turn out. i also give props to brian and heather from Winzup. they worked their tales off up in georgetown too. i hope to make it to Vermont at some point. who knows, maybe i will kite all the way there. jb