With Stormboading shutting down operations, the Kitestorms have come to an end as well. Thank you to everyone who has come to ride, race, help and have some fun on the ice for the 8 Kitestorms we have run. The events could not have happened without the support of our amazing volunteers and excellent partners and we appreciate it all as we move on to another big project... cleaning up our ocean, lakes and rivers!
Thank you to our Kitestorm Partners:
HQ Kites
Slingshot Kiteboarding
Cabrinha Kiteboarding
Peter Lynn Kiteboarding
Dakine
Sea Bling
Martignetti Company and Mt. Gay
Best Western Windjammer Inn
PASA
Rhino Foods
Kitezone.ca
Recon Instruments
Wally's Place
My incredible volunteers and people who go out of their way to help make this happen: Barbara, Keven, Ernie, Tom, Doug, Annie, Bette, Ellen, Chris, Dan, Barclay, Kate, Dani, the Carey-Lane family, Marco, Hillary, Bob, John and the riders who offered their hep throughout the weekend.
We would also like to thank Larry, Ashley and the Vermont Dept. of Forest, Parks and Recreation who literally moved a mountain of ice to clear the parking lot.
And they're off. Kitestorm racing in full swing. Every type of kite from brindled foils (open and closed-cell) to Peter Lynns to inflatables were represented on the race course.
HQ, Slingshot and Cabrinha all were on the ice with free demos and great advice.
That is Paul Morse from Maine. He won the race series and gets to replace his goggles with a sweet pair of Recon Instrument's GPS heads-up display goggles.
Rachael had 2 live telephone interviews with The Weather Channel Sunday morning of the Kitestorm this year. During the interview they show footage taken on Saturday of the event. This is the second of the 2 interviews.
This is the first of the 2 interviews from The Weather Channel. Thanks to Dave at WPTZ Channel 5 for getting the great footage and to all the riders for showing off for the camera!
Kitestorm 2011 Race Results:
The racing favored riders with big kites and skis. We appreciate everyone who battled the moderate and then light winds to get around the course safely and swiftly. A big thanks to everyone who helped with race committee and our generous partners who put up some truly inspiring prizes.
Rider Races Total Prize
1. Paul Morse11114Recon Instruments GPS heads-up display goggles
2. Chris Krug22239PASA Membership
3. Seth Merriam355518Slingshot Key HD 7m kite package *1st snowboard
4. Molly Savard784221Sea Bling Pendant
5. Michael Elliot1136425Something Stronger DVD
6. Claude GravelDNS43DNS25(not present for awards)
10. Charlie MedingDNSDNS8636(not present for awards)
11. Dan Delpapa911DNSDNS39Peter Lynn Twister 5.6m kite *1st 8m and under
Action winner: Jeff Dickinson's shot of Seth Merriam going big and inverted.
Action #2: Brian Schaeffer's shot of a snowboarder 'on TV' in front of the Slingshot demo area.
Action #3: Also by Brian Schaeffer (we pick without looking at the photographers). This is of one of the races about to start.
Happy People Winner: Brian Schaeffer captured Seth Merriam's pure joy over winning the Slingshot Key HD 7m kite package by taking the snowboard division of the racing.
Happy People #2: There were a lot of photos of hula skirt-clad (and 8 time Kitestorm participant) Jay Oczkowski. We liked this one by Jeff Dickinson best.
Happy People #3: This is just a plain happy snowkiter. Sent in by Kristin Chudy (who said she got really up and riding for the first time at Kitestorm)!
Vibe winner: Brian Schaeffer capturing open cell, closed cell, bridled, no bridle and inflatable kites in one shot. And that is what the Kitestorm is about - everyone (kites incuded) enjoying the sport of snowkiting together.
Vibe #2: Neal Blanchard got this one, we like the empty chair in the foreground. Why just sit and hang out when there is snow AND wind?!
Vibe #3: Jim Roberts' photo. In the foreground, a fully ready-to-go snowkiter: pads, helmet cam and psyched to head out to all of the action on the ice.
Action Honorable Mention: We liked this shot of Molly Savard crossing the finish line (to cheers) because she came from behind to almost win this one. Barclay Morris got the photo from the finish line.
Happy People Honorable Mention: Barclay Morris was at the racer's meeting to shot riders getting the scoop on the start sequence, course and the great prizes.
Vibe Honorable Mention: There were a lot of photo of this cool multi-kite kite and we liked this one from Brian Shaeffer best.
Jesse Bouman snapped our race committee heading back to shore with the race marks.
This is also what Kitestorm is all about - kites and kiters talking to and learning from each other. This one from Barclay Morris.
Even though there is just one kite in the air, we liked the feel of this one from Jesse Bouman. We have a lot of blue sky, light (but ride-able) days at Sand Bar that look just like this.
For more information, please call Stormboarding at 802.578.6120 or e-mail: [email protected]
Burlington, VT
For those who love the oceans, check out the Rozalia Project for a Clean Ocean - we're picking up marine debris one piece of trash and plastic at a time. www.rozaliaproject.org
