GKA joins with WOO for team competition in Cape Town to start 2026 with a bang
GKA Kite World Tour Big Air Challenge 2026
17–24 January, 2025 | Western Cape, South Africa
The GKA Kite World Tour Big Air Challenge 2026 is to take to the skies for the second edition of the team competition, in collaboration with WOO Sports’ popular WOO sensor.
Teams of riders—which may be made up of pro-riders and amateurs—will battle on the beaches of Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa. The highest jumps of the top five riders during the week from 17 to 24 January, 2026, will be combined, with the biggest team total getting the win.
Any rider can upload his or her WOO session during the competition window. Riders will automatically be allotted a team based on their kite brand ridden and registered on the WOO platform.
For the groundbreaking 2025 edition, more than 200 riders registered for 16 brands for the week-long competition. Duotone took the honours, with its top five riders posting a total of 121.3 metres, including the individual max height of 24.26 metres.
The competition is restricted to Twin-tip riders only. Recently, New Zealand’s Hugo Wigglesworth broke the WOO World Record with a jump of 40.0 metres, on a hydrofoil, in Cape Town. But he had long held the WOO World Record of 36.7 metres on a Twin-tip.
The aim is to encourage as many riders as possible to join the teams. While only the top five riders’ combined total height will count towards the team total, all the team members’ jumps will be shown on the brand leaderboards, which will be updated each day. Duotone, for instance, had a team of 65 in the first competition.
All the riders will have eight days to record their jumps, from 00.00h on 14 January through to 12.00h on 24 January. Each day riders will have until 23.59h to upload that day’s session, otherwise the scores will not count.
Brand teams are being encouraged to nominate a Team Captain for the event. The Captain will receive WOO Demo Kits that include WOOs, WOO mounts and a portable battery.
Riders will be able to use their own WOO sensors, with the latest firmware and mounted correctly, or demo devices will be available for pick up in Cape Town. All kite brands are invited to take part, including non-GKA members.
Team Captains can contact Arlin from WOO – arlin@woosports.com – to arrange collection of the Demo Kits at The Brand Stable, 4 G Horizon Bay, 4 Blaauwberg Service Road, Table View, Cape Town.
Individual WOOs will also be available for daily demo at The Brand Stable and the Dirty Habits/High Five Kitesurf Club. Dirty Habits/High Five Club: 68 Beach Boulevard, Table View, Cape Town.
The GKA Kite World Tour Big Air Challenge perpetual trophy will be awarded to the winning team on 24 January, at the Dirty Habits Social Club. The five top-scoring riders will be award WOO 4.0 devices.
words: Ian MacKinnon
images: WOO Sports