Report By: Holly Keenan Photos by: Samuel Cardenas
Crew and riders were feeling pessimistic for the 2nd day of the Qatar Airways GKA Big Air World Championships as the Levante wind was looking very light on the forecast.
Nevertheless, local knowledge suggested that a 15-knot Levante forecast could easily develop into a 30-knot Levante on the day. So we took our chances and kept the green light up for the competition!
TUESDAY 28th JULY COMPETITION UPDATE
The day started with optimism; the sun was shining, and the Levante wind was blowing, leaving us with hopes that we would have enough wind to continue with the big air event. The wind started to build around 11 am and riders and crew prepared themselves for the competition day ahead.
Skippers’ meeting commenced at midday when race directors and judges briefed riders on the plan for the day. As the event is a big air event, the crew and riders agreed to run the competition only if we had optimal big air conditions, which is roughly around (25 to 35 knots).
The heat durations were set to be 7 minutes with a 3 minute duration in between. To avoid confusion for the judges, riders have been told to adopt a conveyor belt system where they jump one after another.
Some riders went out on the waters to test the conditions, with some of the women riding on 10m kites, but unfortunately, there was not enough wind to continue with the big air championships. Judges and riders were both eager to wait for credible conditions so that they can put on an unforgettable performance for our beach spectators.
NEXT POSSIBLE START FOR THE QATAR AIRWAYS GKA BIR AIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
The next possible forecast for the big air championships to run is Friday afternoon so we will be keeping our fingers tightly crossed for that strong Levante wind that we know Tarifa can deliver.
MAKE SURE TO STAY UP TO DATE WITH ALL THE EVENT HAPPENINGS:
Friday and Saturday are forecasting some strong Levante wind so make sure to stay updated through our social media and webpages!
- Follow our instagram account for behind the scenes action and event updates
- Subscribe to our newsletter for end-of-day reporting
- Check out our youtube channel for daily highlight videos once the competition begins!
If you haven’t seen the highlight video from the weekends Hydrofoil competiton then make sure to check it out below!
We had some fantastic action unfold at the weekend with the hydrofoil big air riders showing us just how far this new disipline has progressed!
Commentators Jo and Lewis summarise the best of the action from Sunday’s Qatar Airways GKA Big Air World Championships in the video below:
