For the past 5 days kids from all over the world were battling for the 2017 TT:R SLALOM YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS in BARRA GRANDE, BRAZIL - YOUTH OLYMPIC GAMES QUALIFICATION.
You had kids from different countries racing. French team with 5 to 7 athletes, Italian team with 5 to 6 athletes, Argentinian team with 3 to 4 athletes, the Spanish team with their own athletes, the Brazilian team with their own athletes and so on...Plus my son Cameron Maramenides who was representing the USA and his friend Tiger Tyson who was representing Antigua. A total of 38 athletes I believe from (14 to 18 years old).
The wind was very strong (27 to 37 mph) every day and they were all using 7 and 8 meter kites. They had 120 rescues and 7 injuries including my son. It was more like a Gladiator game then a race game. Some competitors were not playing faire and were using their kites to take down #1 and #2 especially on the first marker. And when they were tangled, some of the competitors were releasing their CL into the other kiter so they could get redressed. It was just like something you see in the movies. In one of the races my son got tangle and his competitors was yelling at him to stay tangled so they don't finish the race in order to get redressed. But my son was trying all his best to get untangle and relaunch his kite so he can continue the race.
Even in one of the heats after he got taken down by one of his competitors, he was able to relaunch his kite and continue the race in 4th place, but he stopped at the 3rd marker to go back and help another kiter who was in distress, because it was so windy that the jetskies had a hard time to get to all 4 kiters that were down from a tangle. Each heat had 8 to 10 kiters racing.
I think the IKA should change their format on kite tangling and if the same kiter causes the tangling with other kiters more then 3 times he should be removed from the competitions. One of the kiters did this 13 times during the entire event.
Any way my son Cameron was taken down 3 times by his competitors since he was winning most of the races and was able to get 1st place after winning five 1st places and two 2nd places for the 2017 TT:R SLALOM YOUTH WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS IN BARRA GRAND BRAZIL which puts him at #1 in the world ranking right now. Good job Cameron