Inaugural one-stop world championships in Germany boasts a big field of teenage athletes eager to battle for titles
GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championship St Peter-Ording
20-24 August, 2025 | Ording Beach, St Peter-Ording
A remarkable 64 young athletes have thrown their hats in the ring, eager for the chance to battle for title glory at the first Youth Big Air World Championships at St Peter-Ording, Germany.
The inaugural GKA Youth Big Air Kite World Championship St Peter-Ording will take off over five days and some of the young riders who have already established themselves on the senior Big Air circuit are to join the fray.
The biggest group is in the Boys U19 division with 31 riders ready to fight for the world title, with the contests set to take place during the California Kitesurf Masters before crowds of summer visitors to Kite Village, the biggest kite expo in the world.
But for the GKA and many of the young athletes who will be battling in a Big Air World Championship for the first time, the St Peter-Ording event is about more than competition. Crucially, it is about the bonds that are formed when the young riders are brought together and allowing them to compete in a safe environment.
Sankt Peter-Ording sits in the heart of Wadden Sea National Park, which brings with it a responsibility for sustainability and conservation. The young athletes also engage with seminars to help them on their journey in the world of competitive kiteboarding in an increasingly-fragile ocean environment.
The youngest athlete set to compete is France’s Sohan Denne, who is 10. He will be joined by two 11-year-olds, the Netherlands’ Figo van Ekeren and Spain’s Niam Martinez, in the Boys’ U14 fleet of eight.
The Boys’ U16 category has a roster of 14 young athletes from 10 countries around the world, from lands as far afield as the US and Australia—a measure of the huge interest in Big Air Twin-Tip.
The girls’ competition has a smaller fleet of eight riders so far, with riders as young as 14 moving up into the single U19 category. The youngest athlete, Bulgaria’s Aya Kasabova, 14, has already carved out a niche for herself, competing in her first senior Big Air World Cup when she battled at Lords of Tram in France, in March.
The Boys’ U19 category will undoubtedly be the most competitive. Italy’s Leonardo Casati, 16, the brother of Red Bull King of the Air Lorenzo Casati, is set to take a tilt at the crown. At this year’s Lords of Tram he took the third podium spot, competing among the best in the world.
But Germany’s Finn Flügel, 16, a GKA Freestyle World Cup winner, will be hoping he can upset the Italian teenager’s rhythm when he goes into battle on home water before his hoards of fans.
Israel’s Shahar Tsabary and Estonia’s Martin Rahnel, who have also been tested in the heat of battle on the senior Big Air tour, are also set to fight for championship honours.
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words: Ian MacKinnon images: Samuel Cárdenas