Report: Sensi Graves / Photos: Svetlana Romantsova / Videos: Julien Leleu
WATCH LAST YEAR’S RECAP
LOCATION: DAKHLA, MOROCCO
The spectacular location of Westpoint in Dakhla is no stranger to the world tour. This will be the 12th iteration of a GKA Kite-Surf World Tour event at the wind capital of Morocco.
This sandy locale is known for its consistent wind and epic waves, making for the perfect first stop on the GKA Kite-Surf World Tour. The event kicks off on September 27th and wraps October 2nd. The live stream will be running with all of the wave action, rider interviews and more so be sure to tune in!
Dakhla is undoubtedly among the world’s best kiteboarding locations when it comes to wave riding and we’re looking forward to another amazing world cup here soon!
While the 2023 season is shaping up to have a packed calendar due to a more positive event outlook after the pandemic (and also thanks to the support of the tour’s new headline sponsor, Qatar Airways), this upcoming event in Dakhla will only be the first Kite-Surf event of the 2022 season due to several cancellations.
PREVIOUS WINNERS
The 2021 event in Dakhla saw four days of wind, with a few days of lighter up and down conditions and a few days of pumping conditions.
In the Men’s Final, World Champion James Carew faced Sebastien Ribeiro, who returned to this event after almost two years of not competing, more motivated than ever. The Final could not have been closer, with James scoring 16.40 points and Sebastian just gaining the advantage with 16.74 points, meaning the Brazilian gains a well-deserved podium here in Dakhla, a great come-back for this season.
For the Women’s Final between Capucine Delannoy and Marcella Witt, the sun went down before the heat could be completed, making it extremely hard for both the riders and the judges.
The final result for the Women was joint 1st place for Marcella Witt and Capucine Delannoy, and joint 3rd place for Catharina Edin and Peri Roberts.
The final results for last year were:
Men:
1. Airton Cozzolino 🇮🇹
2. Pedro Matos 🇧🇷
3. Sebastian Ribeiro 🇧🇷
4. James Carew 🇦🇺
Women:
1. Capucine Delannoy 🇫🇷 and Marcela Witt 🇧🇷
3. Catharina Edin 🇸🇪 and Peri Roberts 🇦🇺
NEXT UP
Following Dakhla, the next three events of the season will be:
Qatar Airways GKA Freestyle World Cup in Neom, Saudi Arabia– October 19th-23rd
Qatar Airways GKA Freestyle World Cup in Cumbuco, Brazil–November 8th-12th
Qatar Airways GKA Kite-Surf World Cup in Taiba, Brazil–November 16th-20th
This will be the first appearance for a GKA event in Saudi Arabia. In 2019, Neom hosted its first-ever international beach sports event and this year the Qatar Airways GKA Freestyle World Cup is one of the featured sports for the 2022 event, alongside Super League Triathlon, beach soccer, 3×3 Super Quest Basketball and Titan World Series Cycling.
