And so I'm back....

No not from outa space, even though at times the journey through recovery and depression at not being able to do the sports I loved did have me spaced out.  I am BACK IN COMPETITION!  I never knew how much I missed the buzz of being involved in comps and the even greater buzz when I actually achieve what I set out to do... so here's a little run down of my trip to China for my first comp back since ACL surgery.

Opening Ceremony - Representing RSA!

Ever since I heard of the Binhai Weifang China International Kite Surfing Tournament 4 or 5 years ago, I had wanted to go.  So this year September 7th to 10th, 2013  I was not going to miss out on this culturally different event held at the Kite Surfing Base of Binhai Economic & Technological Development Zone, Weifang, Shandong China.  The event has a lot of local support as it is hosted by  Leisure Sports Center of General Administration of Sports of China, The Chinese Kite Flying Association and the Administration Committee of Binhai Economic & Technological Development Zone, while being organized by Weifang Binhai Tourism Development company.

Give rise to the imagination!

The region is an interesting one, selling itself as the Dubai of Asia.  It is great to see however that Kitesurfing and water sports are definitely part of the development plan and all along the roads you see signs with kiters on them and the artwork in the centre of the round-abouts also reflect this - my favourite being a large blue wave/whale/boat/wing/whirlpool, depending on the angle you look at it from.  The beach from where the competition was based is reclaimed land so a nice sandy beach for rigging and launching.  It seems no matter which way the wind blows it will be relatively smooth at present as there is no high ground to make it turbulent.  This may change in the future, as more and more buildings catering to tourism go up in the region.

My gear arrive - thumbs up!

So my trip was not all smooth winds and sunshine and I was very lucky that the winds blew in my favour this time around.  My bags did not make it on the same flight as I did and so after arriving late in the evening I had to do a 6 hour round trip the following day to retrieve my gear bags from Qingdao Airport.  Thankfully there was not enough wind for the competition to start on that day.  The next day also had not enough wind, even though late afternoon there was enough to become excited and pull out the 16m Cabrinha Velocity and pump it up.  The third day of competition however dawned with the curtains in the breakfast dining hall blowing in and fifty excited riders hurriedly scoffing their food down to jump on the buses that waited to take us to the venue.

The wind was off shore at the registered competition site, but because we were keen for a result it was decided that the freestyle could be moved about a kilometer away to the other side of the sandy peninsula and a shallow flatwater spot.   Now that the wind had come up the temperature had dropped too, so it was time to get into wetsuits and get pumping and get the freestyle done before the wind died off.  By the time the 16m and 13m Velocity were pumped, the judges stand was put in place and the skippers meeting was held it was looking like we may not have enough wind to do the complete freestyle round.... but  the ladies were up first, so I had a chance to give it a go.  I was unseeded as I had never been to this event and seeded number one was top Thailand and 2nd Asian freestyler Fon and 2nd seed was the great up and coming young Chinese rider Selina (14yo). I was drawn on Selina's side of the ladder and having watched her progress over the year and hearing where she was at with her freestyle now I was a bit nervous.  But nerves are good - they give you an edge.

The wind was light and light conditions are not about performing your best tricks, so I knew I was in with a winning chance as I have a very large trick base to work from.  The months spent practicing all those surface maneuvers while waiting for my knee to strengthen really came in handy.  My equipment choice for the day also helped and my 16m Velocity, 138 XCaliber and I made our way through to the final with surface 360's, F16's, back to toeside pass outs and a variety of railey based tricks including unhooked front rolls and blind landings.  There was even a point where the wind came up enough for a moment and I was able to do an old school one footer - haha - what fun! 

The wide open space and soft sand of the freestyle location.

In the freestyle final I was up against Fon and the wind had got to the point where it was only possible to go upwind occasionally, so I opted for the trick and run tactic.  I was very impressed when Fon had enough power to pull off a railey and thought it was over for me then, such were the conditions, but I persevered and pulled off several unhooked tricks and surface passes on both tacks and a couple of kiteloops too, which proved enough to land me on the top of the podium.  At this point however I was just happy to go get out of a cold wetsuit and out of the wind as the mens freestyle continued in what became strengthening winds.

Day four of competition and the wind was back cross-on shore and perfect conditions for my first ever Raceboard competition.  The men and women, raceboarders and twin-tippers were competing together, which made for a fleet bigger than I am used to riding in.  At the start of the day I hung back on the start line and was just happy to finish in the 10 minute cut off time from the first finisher (Asian men's Champion - Yo Pudla).  Nine races were run in total on the day and I kept improving and my confidence increased and I was happy to start and finish well on my last race of the day having gained so much more confidence, not only with my racing ability, but with my knee holding up for that long and not looking completely out of shape. 

The top two ladies at the event!

After a fun filled four days it was time to pack and head to the final closing dinner and awards ceremony.  I walked away with 1st place in the ladies freestyle and 8th overall in the racing (2nd in the ladies) and am SUPER excited about just being able to take part in these events again.... so much so I have signed up for 2 more kiting comps in China in  the upcoming months and a Cable Wakeboarding Comp in the UAE... I better get out there and get some riding in!

Thanks again to all the people that make these awesome toys for me to use - Cabrinha and DK - you rock!

Big smiles and good winds to all!!!!

Su

I just love to be out riding again!