KiteFoil Gold Cup tour begins this week

The town of La Ventana, Mexico, will host the 2nd annual Kite Foil Gold Cup kitesurfing races from March 23-28, 2015, kicking off a series of three events during the year drawing professional racers from around the world. Racers will be competing to win a cash purse totaling $10,000 USD, and will be in the ranking to win the Gold Cup at the end of the three regattas, stopping next in San Francisco and finishing in Townville, Australia.

Activities will be centered around Playa Central Beach Club, which also hosted the first ever Kite Foil Gold Cup last year in March, attracting 33 competitors. A total of three International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) sanctioned events, including one in Switzerland and one Australia, were held to crown the winner of the 2014 series to San Francisco resident Johnny Heineken. He will be competing to hold on to the Gold Cup, but will have to hand over the cup if someone takes his title. This year, La Ventana expects to receive 50 or more competitors.

Kite hydrofoil racing is a relatively new sport where riders use a hydrofoil on their board to lift them out of the water. Similar to hydrofoils used in sailing regattas, the lift off the water reduces friction, allowing kitefoilers to reach speeds of over 30 mph / 48 kph.

Adam Withington, one of the masterminds behind the Kite Foil Gold Cup and co-owner of Playa Central Beach Club, has been racing for 4 years and switched from a regular race board to a hydrofoil two years ago. “I saw the technology changing so fast that I wanted to create a forum to bring together the professionals, enthusiasts, and designers to show off and push the boundaries of the sport.”

Withington is not the only one. Since it’s introduction, hydrofoil kiteboarding has rapidly developed a large and growing following. The Gold Cup event will also have an Expo on March 22-23 where professional and casual kitefoilers, as they are often called, can scope out the latest gear. “We are still discovering new levels to take kite hydrofoiling, and the expo is a place where advancements in design and technology can be showcased” says Withington, who has organized a series of presentations with the manufacturers called Tech Talks.

The tech advancements are changing how the categories are defined for competitors during the race as well. New for this year’s race, a new type of kite category called a foil-kite, will be separated from competitors flying an inflatable kite.

The Expo will be held from March 22-23, and the races will be held March 24-28 with first possible race starts at 13:00.

Updates and race results will be posted to www.playacentralkiteboarding.com.

Edited by Rebecca Woodcock

2015 Schedule
March 24-28, La Ventana, Mexico
July 30-August 2, San Francisco, USA
October 8-13, Townsville, Australia

Information regarding the KiteFoil Gold Cup tour can be found at www.kitefoilgoldcup.com