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Articles - Aussie Kiss 6 :: New Site Online
Well, guys the latest thing to have happened is AUSSIE KISS 6, held at Westward Ho! Beach; on 26-28th October. I think everyone will agree, this legendary weekend was one not to have been missed!!
Friday night saw the arrival of students from all over the UK and even The Republic Of Ireland!! In total, 350 students descended upon the campsite to register for this year's opening event. In true SKA style, the windsurfers were shown how a party should really get started! The planned 'quiet night' before a weekend of kitesurf tuition and competition didn't ever materialise as it rapidly descended into a melee of alcohol, music and tribal banter!
After the pre event safety briefing, most people made their own way to either, the bar, someone else's caravan or their own beds in preparation for the long weekend ahead.
Saturday saw an early start, with the troops heading to the beach at Westward Ho!, for the day's tuition. The wind was quite light, 12-15 knots, which was perfect for teaching, but didn't look promising for the planned advanced competition in the afternoon.
As everyone arrived at the beach, the 20+ instructors on hand were allocated groups of 4 students for the first block of teaching and they collected their equipment –kindly supplied by SKA sponsors, FLEXIFOIL.
The duration of the day saw rotations of students going through the instructors, with everyone getting at least 3 hours of tuition on the first day! A special thankyou has to be said to all of the instructors who gave up their weekends to introduce our newest members to kitesurfing. Many of whom, were students, with a handful of instructors coming from sponsoring companies, such as FLEXIFOIL, FLUID FEELING & KITESURF WALES.
The first day of the weekend was a great success, with upwards of 80 kites in the sky at one time! Looking across the enormous beach at low-tide and seeing so many kites, [all in the same colour!] is a jaw dropping experience!
As the light started to fade, the kit was packed away and we all headed back to the campsite, for food, showers and to prepare for the main event party, in the theme of...WILD, WILD, WEST!
As you'd expect, everyone made a massive effort with the costumes, with some absolute corkers surfacing in the bar-Andrew, Dave and Jimmers, you know what we mean! The night started off steady in the caravans, for warmup but by midnight; most people were in the bar or close by! In keeping with tradition, The proud kitesurfers were the last to fall down, leaving most of the windsurfers tucked up in bed with cocoa and a good book.
Sunday morning, saw a slower start, with everyone making it to the beach by 11am, only to find ballistic wind, easily 30+ knots. The advanced riders and sponsors, including FLEXIFOIL pro, ROBIN SNUGGS, were in their element! Big waves, strong wind and an empty beach…what better way to clear a few cobwebs!?
Gradually, the wind dropped off to below 20 knots around 1400, and the beginners were able to put up kites and continue where they left off.
In the mid afternoon, The freestyle comp was held, in a slightly revised format due to falling wind. The competition saw the SKA's top riders enter into a 15 minute expression session in front of the large crowd gathered in the shore wash. Judging was from ROBIN SNUGGS & BEN KELLIHER with style judged by two of the SKA's finest surf chicks!
Top spot went to James Thorne of Exeter University, who won a 2 day freestyle clinic with Soufiane Hamaini, courtesy of FLUID FEELING.
And, of course, a brilliant stash bag with prizes provided by event sponsors, TURBULENCE and WESTCOUNTRY WATERSPORTS.
Second place for Dave Rimmer of Cardiff University, who received a fantastic bag of goodies provided by event sponsors, TURBULENCE and WESTCOUNTRY WATERSPORTS.
Third place to , who received a great set of prizes, courtesy of event sponsors, TURBULENCE and WESTCOUNTRY WATERSPORTS.
Top Female rider went to, Francesca White, of Bath University, who won clothing from TURBULENCE and KITEWORLD.
Best Kitesurf Wipeout went to Mike Waterton of Swansea University, winning a pimpin' Tshirt for his troubles!
Most retro gear award, went to Fred, from Exeter University, who was riding a truly old skool Naish kite, during the advanced comp!
Best Kitesurf Fancy Dress was awarded to Jimmers of Swansea University for spending the whole of Sunday kitesurfing in his cow costume-complete with udders!
All of the instructors were awarded stash from event sponsors, FLEXIFOIL. TURBULENCE, KITEWORLD, WESTCOUNTRY WATERSPORTS & FLUID FEELING.
The whole event was a massive success, with everybody going home totally burned out from a weekend of pure kiting action with the odd cheeky brew thrown in for good measure!
The SKA would like to thank:
All of the instructors, without you, the event would never have been possible!
FLEXIFOIL, for kindly supporting the SKA. supplying all of our kite equipment and boards.
FLUID FEELING,
TURBULENCE,
WESTCOUNTRY WATERSPORTS,
AIRJAM,
KITESURF WALES,
HOTDOG DECALS and
KITEWORLD MAGAZINE
Who all kindly supported the event with sponsorship and prizes.
We had an absolute blast and sincerely hope you did too!
Next event in the series is scheduled for the 29th February-2nd March 2008. Stay tuned for more information!
Our new site is finally up and running, more pages will be added daily including a full member login system. The gallery will also be up and running soon for all your SKA photos. Any feedback please email us through the contact pages!