This year鈥檚 KiteClash showcased a new star at the Canadian national men鈥檚 division and the first successful title defense of the reigning women鈥檚 national champion.
During this weekend鈥檚 competition, Lucas Arsenault took first place in the Canadian national freestyle men鈥檚 division.
Before this year, that spot on the podium has often been the domain of Sam Medysky, a seven-time champion on the national stage. Last year, Medysky took gold in the Canadian freestyle category after making a comeback from a serious injury.
鈥淚t was really [a] pretty special moment for sure,鈥� said head organizer Steve Tulk of Arsenault鈥檚 victory. 鈥淲hat was going through my head was, 鈥楾he hard work paid off.鈥� [Arsenault]鈥檚 been working so hard the last two years trying to dial in his tricks.鈥�
Tulk said the athlete has been travelling during the year so he can train during the winter months when the winds aren鈥檛 steady.
鈥淗e鈥檚 just a hard-working guy,鈥� said Tulk. 鈥淗e just goes for it.鈥�
Trailing Arsenault was Jack Rieder in second place, while Medysky took third.
In the Canadian women鈥檚 freestyle division, the first, second and third places went to Lauren Holman, Sam Chilvers and Andrea Ross, respectively.
Holman, who鈥檚 from Sarnia, Ontario, said one of the key moves in her arsenal was the S-bend to blind. She pulled it off by spiralling through the air horizontally and landing with her back turned.
This is the second year in a row that Holman has captured the win in this division.
She said there some suspense this time around, because she had to face several new opponents.
鈥淚 was just happy to get it again,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here were a few girls here this year that weren鈥檛 there last year, so, going into the competition I knew that, so I was a little stressed about any new tricks that they were going to be doing.鈥�
To get ready for the event, Holman said she managed to get some kiting done in Italy, and she did prep time in 蜜桃视频appto re-familiarize herself with the area.
She also observed that the sport appears to be growing, judging by this year鈥檚 attendance.
Women appear to be getting more involved in this sport, which is primarily male-dominated, she said.
鈥淭his year, there were a lot girls competing too, so that鈥檚 always nice,鈥� Holman said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 neat to see more and more girls.鈥�
She added that she鈥檒l be back to working on new tricks for next year鈥檚 competition.
For the Junior Canadian freestyle category, Shaymus Finlay took the gold. Nic Farrar took silver and Jordan Tulk took bronze.
Jordan also happens to be Tulk鈥檚 14-year-old son.
鈥淚鈥檓 very proud of him,鈥� Tulk said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 put a lot of work into that.鈥�
Putting on the event was a big challenge this year. Event crews had to perform logistical gymnastics with the event scheduling due to spotty wind conditions.
Local air currents weren鈥檛 co-operating Friday and Saturday, which meant all the major events had to be crammed into Sunday.
The Canadian nationals, the big air and the open international competitions were all held that final day. Normally, these events are spaced over two to three days.
Tulk said that from his perspective, this was the other main highlight.
鈥淭he highlight of the event was the organizers and the volunteers and the athletes all coming together to support us in having, basically, the three-day event done in one day on the Sunday,鈥� he said.
鈥淲e all kind of rallied together and got it done.鈥�
Another noticeable difference this year was the inclusion of live music. Tulk said that judging from the positive responses, he鈥檚 considering turning KiteClash into a longer event that incorporates more social events for next year.
This could include parties, concerts and more.
The other consideration for next year is the upcoming realignment of the Spit. Proponents of this project say structural changes to the jetty would be particularly beneficial to fish in the area.
But this could change the Spit in ways that might affect windsports.
Tulk said he鈥檚 hoping authorities will work with kiters when the project starts, as at the moment, the plans are 鈥渟till a question mark.鈥�
