//PRE COMPETITION
Together with Bas Koole I travelled to the KPWT at Sylt in Germany. After a long day all the way from the Netherlands we arrived and checked out the competition area. The next day Bas was able to sign in for the competition and everybody was preparing their stuff.
//COMPETITION DAY 1
The day started with the opening ceremony, a speech from the staff and some details the riders needed to know for the competition. Some people had to qualify for the single elimination because there were so many competitors. After that the singles started and the conditions where tough. Choppy water and onshore wind made it hard to land the tricks clean.
//COMPETITION DAY 2
The forecast was not that good for this day. Only light wind predicted but still enough to do a course race. All kind of fancy stuff came out of the board bags. Huge kitesurf boards with impressive fins. Looks like the technology in kitesurfing hasn’t stand still. It was cool to see all the bright kites in the clear blue sky. With a gentle breeze the racers went pretty fast.
//COMPETITION DAY 3
Today was a big day. Lot’s of wind, nice weather and the doubles on the program. Still though conditions but they improved during the day because of the tide. Between the waves some nice flat areas where created. The kiteboarders came really close to the beach which made very exciting for the spectators. As a photographer you had to watch out of kites crashing on the beach. Good action!
//COMPETITION DAY 4
This was the day of the wave masters and the swell forecast was good. Unfortunately I only had a 200 mm tele lens and the action was quit far away. It was a good time to have a kite session myself and after that watch the wave final between Mito Monteiro and Jan Marcos Riveras. They both went strapless and gave a hell of a show. They ended up with huge strapless kite loops. Never seen that before!
//COMPETITION DAY 5
After a great week on Sylt with wind, waves and sun it was finally the end. Price giving and champaign showers was the result. See you next time!
