King of the Air 2019 - all info here

[Toby]

Welcome to the topic for all updates for KOTA 2019 !

26 January - 10 February 2019

Livestream: https://www.redbull.com/int-en/tv/live/ ... of-the-air

Results: https://www.redbull.com/za-en/events/re ... ir/results

I added all video entries to a topic on kiteforum...the according page on RB site has been taken down.

Here you still can see all entries: http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2401309

Will we see a foil kite for the first time in the Capetown KOTA? Maybe...follow the discussion here: http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?t=2401308

The 18 confirmed participants, in alphabetical order are:

Aaron Hadlow (UK) (2015, 2016 winner)
Aurelien Petreau (France)
Carlos Mario (Brazil)
Gijs Wassenaar (Netherlands)
Jerrie Van De Kop (Netherlands)
Jesse Richman (USA) (2013 winner)
Joshua Emanuel (South Africa)
Kevin Langeree (Netherlands) (2014, 2018 winner)
Lasse Walker (Netherlands)
Lewis Crathern (UK)
Liam Whaley (Spain)
Marc Jacobs (New Zealand)
Nick Jacobsen (Denmark) (2017 winner)
Posito Martinez (Dominican Republic)
Ross Dillon Player (South Africa)
Ruben Lenten (Netherlands)
Sam Light (UK)
Janek Grzegorzewski (Poland) (replaces Steven Akkersdijk who got injured)

Judging Criteria:

The Red Bull King of the Air judges evaluate the rider on the basis of and overall impression score that will combine:

Height: Go as hard and high as possible! The height in combination with extreme moves is priority, but we will also take the horizontal distance traveled in account, combined with certain powered moves

Extremity: Controlled extreme high moves! Think about extremely powered and/or extremely technical, or ultimately a combination of this as long as it is performed on a proper height. As well as: progression, amplitude, variety, execution, and grade of difficulty of the trick.

NOTE: Extreme action does not relate to low freestyle tricks, or lame/straight/easy jumps, for that matter. We will look only for high jumps, skill and combinations of moves. Other things we take into account are: angle of the kite, length in the air, control, landing. The final score determines the definitive winners

[Toby]

Pre qualified riders:

Kevin Langeree
Liam Whaley
Lewis Crathern
Jesse Richman
Aaron Hadlow
Steven Akkersdijk
Lasse Walker
Sam Light
Gijs Wassenaar


Wildcard:

Nick Jacobsen

[Leon van Bergen]

Thank you Toby for this topic, this is nice and clear!

[Kees]

Rube Lenten is missing from this list? I have heard he was not happy last year with the way the competition was held, not extreme enough in his opinion, and now he submitted an old video of him.... I would not be surprised if he is missing from the final list this year.

[longwhitecloud]

I don't get it, what could be more extreme than dangling, board handles and even a possible foil kite?

Follow colin_colin_carroll on insta for coming insider information I guess.

https://www.instagram.com/colin_colin_carroll/

[Toby]

Rube Lenten is missing from this list? I have heard he was not happy last year with the way the competition was held, not extreme enough in his opinion, and now he submitted an old video of him.... I would not be surprised if he is missing from the final list this year.

It is not the complete riders list yet.
So be patient until it has been released to see who is in and who is not.

The judges already gave their list to the press office, so I assume we will have a press release today.

[Toby]

Rube Lenten is missing from this list? I have heard he was not happy last year with the way the competition was held, not extreme enough in his opinion, and now he submitted an old video of him.... I would not be surprised if he is missing from the final list this year.

Ruben needs to understand that the event evolved from a Megaloop to a true freestyle big air competition.
Judges demand more diversity in tricks shown, which is a good thing. And still, extreme is one judging point as well. So we can see a mix of all kinds of tricks.

Ruben needs to adjust to the competition, not the competition to Ruben.

I hope he will be in as well, showing his style, but I don’t see him winning if he just does Megaloops. If he changes to straps and shows diversity, he can win it again. The skills he has for sure.

[Lanc]

I see they released the full list of riders here https://www.redbull.com/za-en/events/re ... r/athletes

Top 9 from the previous year's ranking of Red Bull King of the Air
Steven Akkersdijk
Sam Light
Jesse Richman
Liam Whaley
Lewis Crathern
Lasse Walker
Kevin Langeree
Gijs Wassenaar
Aaron Hadlow

Top 9 from the ranking of the online video competition and wildcards
Aurelien Petreau
Ruben Lenten
Ross Dillon Player
Posito Martinez
Nick Jacobsen
Marc Jacobs
Joshua Emanuel
Jerrie van de kop
Carlos Mario

[Pemba]

Somehow I'm a bit disappointed. Only two people (PM and CM) that weren't there last year ?

[james]

I don't get it, what could be more extreme than dangling, board handles and even a possible foil kite?

Follow colin_colin_carroll on insta for coming insider information I guess.

https://www.instagram.com/colin_colin_carroll/

So you get your fully clear and open judging criteria spelt out in advance and you are still not happy? Wtf do you want now? A cost cap on gear so it’s “fair”for the unknown grom?