Top riders from more than 20 countries will participate in the 2013 Kite-boarding North American Course Racing Championships at the St. Francis Yacht Club on June 3-7th.
To keep the event manageable, the entries are limited to 80 men and 40 women. Visually this is the most exciting kind of racing on the water that one can imagine. It’s colorful and crazy fast. The skill that the riders show in guiding their boards upwind, downwind, over water, and in the air is just amazing.
Current World Champion and 2012 Rolex Yachtsman of the year, Johnny Heineken will compete against the best of the rest of the world. Also Erika Heineken, the current Women’s World Champion, will join the formidable home waters team that includes Adam Koch, Bryan Lake, Joey Pasquali, Brian Kender and many other talented riders. They’ll have their hands full with the top of the class international riders.
No shortage of countries in this competition. In just the last 16 months, these are the countries that have hosted some level of international competition in kiteboarding: China, Australia, Philippines, Egypt, Thailand, Indonesia, New Zealand, Brazil, Italy, France, Canada, Estonia, Holland, Germany, Turkey, Venezuela, Austria, and Mexico. This is truly an amazing spurt in the growth of this sport. – Steve Bodner.