Where are the old riders of the pkra?

[Pedro Marcos]

I think that the competition must change into more big air as one of the required features.
If not, no sponsors will pay the bill anymore, because people without a comprehensive wakeboard/kiteboard background will not be able to separate a backflip from a slimchance.
And therefore what looks lame to some is the supercool move to another.

Get back the variety in the heats so that you must do a number of tricks airs transitions kiteloops and so on to score high.
Not just go out so underpowered that you cant stay upwind, and do one big trick and you win the heat.

Thats my 2c.

But then again, i am an old school rider.


Best Regards
Ronny Basso
http://www.kitefilm.com

You have to push the sport limits... no sponsor will pay anything if he have some local guy doing the same as the pros!!

We have to go more and more powerfull, more and more dangerous...

"it is all fun and games until someone loses an eye, then it becomes a sport"

I mean,
Anyone can go out in 20 knots and try 1080 board varial for 4 hours until he lands that... he will have like 5% chance of getting hurt.

Now try to pratice powered Kiteloop Slims for 4 hours... you have 95% of getting hurt !!!

[Gary]

I agree with you guys,
It's got to be dangerous to be impressive. and it's got to be full of style.
so look like we got to wait for theses new kids to get style!
too bad andre philipp, Vari or Abreu are not competiting. they would show them the style.!!

[bragnouff]

You have to push the sport limits... no sponsor will pay anything if he have some local guy doing the same as the pros!!

We have to go more and more powerfull, more and more dangerous...
I mean,
Anyone can go out in 20 knots and try 1080 board varial for 4 hours until he lands that... he will have like 5% chance of getting hurt.

I think everything should come back to style and diversity. To win a heat, it shouldn't be about one big trick, but about an overall impression as well.

And it is not because you send your kite that you will necessary dangle. A huge grab stretched and frozen for seconds or a 30ft Matrix-slow-mo front loop (just one single loop, not as many as you can do while you're airborne) is a proof of control and style. Sure the local rider can do them as well (it's just a grab, or just a loop), but not with the same height and style and with this feeling of being so easy to do... and most of the time he would dangle, because he doesn't have the same experience in controling the momentum.

I guess pro skaters still do ollies. Obviously they don't score many points for them, but they still do some, and the average skater looking at them can still know that he has still a long way to go. Why? It's just a ollie, but here comes the style, the fluidity of the move, the right place to do it so that it feels natural and perfectly mastered.

So my point here is that aside from the big über-technical trick during the heat, riders should still express themselves through all aspects of the sport, maybe not for points sake, but to demonstrate their style and to please the crowd. This should be rewarded somehow.

Just my 2 kopecs.

[Rockstar]

Reading the crap here about whats "style" "hardcore" "powered" etc. and the arguments makes me realise what happened to the "old" PKRA riders.

They realise that competitions are FUCKED !!!!!!!

[Ozone Kites AUS]

Reading the crap here about whats "style" "hardcore" "powered" etc. and the arguments makes me realise what happened to the "old" PKRA riders.

They realise that competitions are FUCKED !!!!!!!

Yeah that too for sure!!
Comps have always been BS, IMO!

We could take a leaf out of the motoX book, look what Crusty Demons have achieved!!

Same could easily be done with kiteboarding, all it needs is someone from PKRA to have the energy and vision to see something like that through to reality

It could easily include big air stuff, and a kitercross section with kicker and slider action with wakestyle powered stuff thrown in.

That what would give the sport the respect and cred that so many have talked about. It would also make room for a select group of pro's to live the life of their dreams, being paid well to kite to the extreme!

Cya and

Goodvisions

Steve McCormack

[Kitedude]

expression seessions are whats its all about just look at the asp tour

[Olfje]

the first thing i have to make clear is that i love watching wakestyle, i'm a photographer and i love shooting wakestyle aswell...though i do not agree with what half of those people are saying on this forum....so yeah some people don't like dangly shit but hey the backloop in windsurfing is not out of style yet or is old school. 3 years ago every one was doing the board off and it wasn't gay and dangly and easy...then it was the high handle pass that came along and that wasn't gay at the time....now it's the powered handle passes, for sure this will be gay in about a year time...
kiteboarding is about jumping, handle passes, stylish grabs, kiteloops etc....what is up with people,the one that can do it all is for me a good rider.

it is true that the PKRA is not at it's highest in riders and i personnally think whatever happens Vari, Shinn, Herraiz, Doyle, James and christ how many others wont be coming back and i think they kind off blew it....and that's not core!

[Larpy]

Don’t you think that the problem lies not in big air vs wake or style vs. difficulty but rather that it’s pretty subjective and at the end of the day we can all appreciate all sorts of different styles. I think the whole Idea of competitions is sort of screwy. I would rather seen more videos.

[selassie]

nothings fun about some guys throwing down some sick shit then trying to one up each other all day and doing stupid dangles just to impress judges/sponsors, and some civilian lurkers on the beach ....gh3Y

look at surfing; comp after comp all year, its gets lame

old school sucks / comps suck / lurkers suck

id rather see film of guys ripping huge overhead waves / hitting gnar rails than watch some no skill dangle fest

[fskite]

watched hadlow and lenten on satellite the other night - my wife says "thats dull they never get more than 4ft off the water - you can go higher than that" tried to explain that thier moves were really technical - but to tell the truth I was bored too and thats the problem. If it makes dull TV for an addicted kitesurfer then what hope has the sport for TV coverage? Id much rather watch surfing for the grace and style. So to cheer myself up I put on "FLOW" Man these guys ripped on - what was the most advanced Kite an ARX? Have we really progressed? Lou's handlepasses were timed to perfection - no dangle - I think these guys rode way overpowered and just lived with it - where as today we have some spoilt brats with 20 kites who spin a bit and then sail off with a trophy. Dont get me wrong maybe thaey can do it - its just that the competition format sucks - IMHO todays comps have more in common with Ice skating than surfing - maybe we could get them spangly costumes and make-up!