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The 2007 Big Air Windjam presented by Confluent Entertainment
took over the shores of San Francisco on the weekend of July 28th.
In the days preceding the event, kiteboarders from around the
world came to race against the bays best for the first ever Kiteboarding
course racing national championships set under deep fog. While
the course racing competition wrapped up, the Confluent crew spent
Friday setting up "the ramp" and a slider within a few
hundred feet of the beach. A new site for locals as riders don't
spend much time riding the inside of Crissy Field because of the
gusts and lulls coming from the upwind obstructions. Sometimes
some peoples scraps turn into other peoples diamonds as spectators
would soon find out in the days to come.
Big Air Windjam draws a huge crowd
Saturday the 28th of July was the first day of competition and
as a huge crowd gathered in the fog that morning, grumbles came
from the competitors as they did not want to spend another day
in shifty light winds, buried in the fog. Well, they wouldn't
have to. Around 1:00 pm, the fog cleared into a beautiful day
and the wind came up to 20 knots with gusts over 30, perfect for
a hang time competition. As it turned out, the high winds made
the water on the ramp slosh from side to side and it was impossible
to keep enough water on the ramp for the competitors to be able
to take advantage of its boosting potential. We did not let this
keep us from breaking the hang time record when just an hour into
the contest, Jesse Richman hung for 22 seconds, looping his kite
overhead 7 times. It was spectacular and the crowd loved it. Cheers
came with every kite loop as Jesse just hovered 15 to 20 feet
off the water for what seemed like a minute.
Jesse Richman sets a new hang time record
Sunday the 29th of July brought more fog and the theme for the
day was Kitercross. After getting the course setup, Tamatoa Gillot,
Ozone rider from Tahiti requested that he get towed up to 200
ft. behind the jetski. As the crowd had already started gathering
and the wind was not quite enough to tun competition yet, we obliged
and boy are we glad we did. Tam soared above the crowd three times
producing feelings of excitement and disbelief from the crowd
and getting the last day of competition off to a god start.
Tam going huge on some tow-ups
The wind filled in nicely by 2:00 and after holding a rider meeting
explaining the rules of the Kitercross, the event got started.
Kitercross turned out to be the most exciting event of the weekend
as the competitors were made to start with their kites on the
beach and perform a team start and race into the water. Some had
trouble making it through the traffic getting into the water,
others used various strategies to get out ahead or just keep clear
of the carnage. At the end of the day, we had ourselves some winners
who truly earned it as getting through these heats was no easy
task.
The starts made for an amazing spectacle
Watching the athletes sprint for the water was a new site for
kiteboarders
Local Caution rider, Josh Nehf clears the boarder cross obstacle
and heads for the finish
Following the Kitercross, we moved right into a freestyle free-for-all.
Big Air, gnarly wrecks and old school were the theme to keep the
spectators happy.
Even Flexifoil pro, Billy Parker through down some big board offs.
Ozone rider, Tamatoa Gillot going board off
Sky Solbach going big
And yes, there was a bit of new school as well as Billy Parker
show us
Putting ramps and sliders out at Crissy proved very tough but
a few still managed to hit them
Much was learned from this event and it will only get bigger
every year. Everyone had a great time and Crissy Field was proven
to be a great venue for kiteboarding events. There were a lot
of firsts at the 2007 Big Air Windjam but there were no lasts.
Look for bigger and better things next year and if you would like
to get involved early, feel free to contact arne@confluententertainment.com
Almost all the competitors went home with a prize
2007 Big Air Windjam results:
Big Air:
Jessie Richman (22 secs.) Cabrinha
Tamatoa Gillot (Ozone)
Billy Parker (Flexifoil)
Big Air Women:
Clarissa Hempel (6.5 secs) Cabrinha
Melissa Gill Eclipse
Stacey Fonas Best
Boarder X mens:
Damien LeRoy (Cabrinha)
John Modica (Cabrinha)
Ovi B. (Wind Over Water Kitbeboarding)
Boarder X Women:
Clarissa Hempel (Cabrinha)
Stacey Fonas (Best)
Melissa Gill (Eclipse)
Best trick:
Eric Rienstra Kiteloop 360 handle pass (Slingshot)
Billy Parker Flat 360 handle pass (Flexifoil)
Josh Nehf Huge Kiteloop (Caution)
Kiteloop Contest Winner:
John Van Molson Kiteloop slim chance (North)
Old School:
Jessie Richman Board off deadman (Cabrinha)
Shawn Richman Board off 720 finger flip (Cabrinha)
Clarissa Hempel One footer (Cabrinha)Thank you to all the volunteers
who helped make this event and thank you to the sponsors!
2007 Big Air Windjam
Presented by Confluent Entertainment
And with the support of:
RedBull
Dakine
Flexifoil Kiteboarding
Best Kiteboarding
Naish Kiteboarding
Live2Kite
The Norwegian Consulate
Wind Over Water Kiteboarding
And in Association with:
Ozone Kiteboarding
iKitesurf
Liquid Force Kiteboarding
UltraNectar
Hang Goose
Knut Akseth
Spaten
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