Kiteforum.com

with that beach - no reason you couldn't showcase a few different sides of the sport...

I reckon they should have the main event as a pure megaloop contest - that's most high risk so best fits the redbull profile - then have a variety of planned 10 / 15 minute displays in the natural breaks in the contest...

show a bit of waveriding / bit of freestyle / wakestyle moves off the kickers / bit of big air and yes even boardoffs! (proper ones tho - no handles )

boring ones from 2004 without handle you mean

No, please not just pure megaloop. Cool to see, uncool to see every trick like that!

Tom and Kevin showed the crowd what they wanted to see...variation.
And that's what every kite even should be about. And this got lost in PKRA.

Luckily with KOTA it is back at least a bit. Forbid boots and we will even see more variety!

Agreed variation is the key. Once again if it is just mega loops then it falls back into the pkra category...technical yes, to watch no.

Let me ask you this, why don't you see some sports with in prime time viewing and some you do.

And which sports grow as a result?

Why do women's tension players get payed as much Ina tournament as men and yet only three sets...TV baby.

Entertainment is what people want and what the commercial sector will sink money into as a result.

...btw I'd rather the sport stay at the fringe, but alas that cannot be said even now.

Westozzy wrote:Agreed variation is the key. Once again if it is just mega loops then it falls back into the pkra category...technical yes, to watch no.

not even technical...Megaloops are just pulling the bar. But BIG balls yes
The fascination comes for sure with megaloops, but thrown into a mix it is even much better.

And I hope rather sooner than later the pro riders start adding more to the megaloops than just one foot out or a rotation...boardoff megaloop baby! that's what is next in kiteboarding, and long time overdue...time to work on it and show latest at KOTA 2015 !

Yeh true just big balls....mega loop with front roll double rotation board off, then unhook mid air handle pass landing to blind.....

Thinking style and smoothness: leave the HP !

Ah come on nothing like watching someone who looks like they are having a fit in the air..

No wind, spent the last two hours watching your vid Toby, awesome man. My 6 yr old son made me replay the crashes though...weird that

I dont agree with those comments whatsoever....

The Red Bull, at least if you are THERE watching, is the very best out there, and awesome to watch.

Airstyle is not nearly as technical, in the book, but really impressive and flashy, yes - and difficult.

I have an explanation about difficulty and technical difficulty, but will spare you for that

Besides that, there were many cool oldschool moves in the event, jesus walks in the transitions at shore, and just see the latest magazine cover - cool shot right ?

of course, VERY cool shot! The best they ever had!

For pictures the "holding" tricks are the best anyway. hard with rotations to make it look like that for pictures.

Well, it was "King of the air", weighted heavily towards height. Throw too many technical tricks in there and you might end up sacrificing that almighty height. Unfortunately that leads to a lot of windmills, as the riders start thinking about tricks after they hit the crest of the jump. Megaloops are technical and ballsy, for sure, but you won't see them getting the same height (the whole point of KOTA), and after you have seen a couple loops, what's left? Sure, you could throw a loop after the crest of the jump, but that's just a kiteloop. The hold tricks and board-offs are more impressive in the photos, and are more suited for working into the format of the competition.

Maybe next year they will throw a "King of the megaloops" hoe-down for that flavor.