Youth world championship titles to be awarded in Big Air and Freestyle events at two iconic venues
GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championships St Peter-Ording
20-24 August, 2025 | Ording Beach, St Peter-Ording
GKA Youth Kite World Championships Tarifa
1-5 September, 2025 | Valdevaqueros, Tarifa
Back-to-back Youth world championships within days of one-another will crown up-and-coming kite stars in Freestyle Twin-tip and Surfboard, and in the newly-unveiled Big Air discipline.
The format in Germany will be focused on Big Air, whereas Tarifa will centre around Freestyle. Judging criteria could vary depending on the conditions, as the wind allows, in Germany and shortly after in Spain, where world titles will be awarded in male and female U14, U16 and U19 divisions.
If the wind is strong at the GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championships at St Peter-Ording, Germany, in late August, the usual judging criteria will reward extremity, with height the key factor, along with amplitude, technical difficulty and commitment.
Should lighter conditions prevail during the five-day event at the California Kitesurf Masters, the world’s biggest annual kite expo and test event, the judging could shift focus to see more “old school” freeride tricks, but keeping the emphasis on hooked-in Big Air tricks. The aim is to go as high as possible in the available conditions.
‘Fair and consistent’
The goal of the judging in this inaugural Youth Big Air Worlds event is to provide “a fair and consistent event that champions skill, style, and creativity within Youth Big Air and its development,” says the GKA sports team.
“Like our World Tour judging criteria, each trick has a base score tied to its difficulty, from basic jumps to kiteloops. Style elements like grabs or board-offs can elevate your score, along with the criteria of extremity, height, amplitude, landings, technical difficulty and smoothness. Precision and control tie it all together. A perfectly executed ‘easier’ trick can outshine a sloppy more complex move.”
Liam Dredge, GKA Youth World Tour manager, said the Youth ranks have been pressing for a Big Air competition. He said: “The young athletes desperately wanted Big Air. Every year they’ve been asking me, when are we going to have a Youth Big Air Event? So, it’s great that this year we’ve finally been able to give it to them.”
A week later at the beginning of September, the GKA Youth Kite Freestyle World Championships will go down in Tarifa, Spain. It will feature the Freestyle discipline in Twin-tip and strapless Surfboard.
New mixed format
The Freestyle Twin-tip will remain focused on Freestyle tricks, but the new mixed format may vary depending on the conditions in Tarifa as it seeks to reward the most complete young athletes.
“Big Air elements could be added if the conditions allow and the Levante wind is strong, ” says the GKA sports team. “In medium winds, it could be a mix of both. Freestyle, as its definition suggests, requires riders to show a wide repertoire of what is possible according to the conditions.”
Youth Tour manager, Dredge, said the full and detailed judging criteria for the events would be released closer to the time, but the driving goal aimed to push development and advance young athletes’ careers.
“Both events will look at fuelling progression, getting the Youth together and rewarding riders who master the metrics of their discipline,” he said. “St Peter-Ording will focus on Big Air whilst Tarifa will focus on Freestyle.”
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: Samuel Cárdenas