Thursday started off pretty slow, with no wind but a possible forecast kicking in at lunch time so it was just a case of waiting. There was plenty to look around and see, with Ozone’s 2016 range I was looking forward to riding the new ENDURO which is replacing the 2015 Catalyst. Mid afternoon the wind kicked in briefly, but enough time to run the first few heats of the Open Men’s division and a pumping session to be had by myself on the 9m ENDURO. It was great to be back out on the water for some training time before the event after the travelling. Scoring some blind judges I was feeling ready for the competition. Unfortunately the wind didn’t hang around for very long, after increasing so much I needed a 7m, it then dropped completely. We would try again for the competition the next day on the Friday. Friday was beautiful… Incredibly sunny and intense heat, it was a good day to get burnt. Being down at the event early meant that I was around to see the local school come down and support the event. The wind was on the lighter side, but enjoying the fact that the sun was out I decided to make the most of the weather and start the day with a ride on my 12m and the 2016 Axis New Wave. The forecast wasn’t promising for the rest of the day.. Managing a border X event with mostly CHRONO’s. It was all down to Saturday! The original format of the competition was to be dingle elimination, but as we were down to two days to finish the event on forecast that wasn’t constantly windy, it got changed to single elimination. The pressure was on. There were 12 girls in total competing in the Open Ladies, 8 of them being English. They started off with running the Juniors mid afternoon, with the Novice’s following. The wind was slowly increasing and I came off the 12m ENDURO for the 9m whilst they made the call to run the first heats of the Open Men’s. When it was actually time for my first heat in the Ladies I was on the 7m C4. I was feeling a little anxious for this heat as I never normally ride the C4, but I felt that my 6m Catalyst would have been a little too small so I made the decision and took it out. But the heat was great, I rode with three other girls and the wind just kept increasing, to the point where un-hooking to perform freestyle was beginning to become impossible. But the 5 minutes were up and I secured first place putting me through to the semis. I had a little time until my next heat against Jemima Crathorne, a good friend from the UK! I got my 6m Catalyst ready. The wind was only forecast to hit 25 knots tops but Sunday’s forecast came through early and soon enough the sand was blowing so hard off the dunes you couldn’t see… Just how Foxton Beach usually is this time of year. My second heat I also won but the conditions were just getting tougher, unable to get any passes down as I had too much power even on my 6m, I was wondering how we were all going to perform in the final as we were all smaller riders. The final was with my fellow team mate Sukie Robertson and Polly Crathorne from the UK, we were smashing it out there and did the best we could, passing in the middle of the competition zone just grinning.. It was a lot of fun to be tested outside my comfort zone. Finishing our final at 7.30pm it was a long day and time to head to the prize giving. They made the call to complete the other categories the Sunday in the remaining wind. After competing at the last New Zealand Nationals in 2014 at Christchurch and taking the title for the Ladies, it was great to see so many more girls entered this time raising the level of the riding. I took home 2nd at this years event and I’m stoked!! I’ve never competed in conditions as tough as Foxton or been to an event of that size, so seeing lots of other stoked riders and that many girls into kitesurfing was just fantastic. Sukie took the title with Polly claiming third. Unfortunately for Sunday the wind wasn’t as strong as hoped for the big air so that got called off but it was enough to complete the Legends.
I headed back to Wellington Sunday night for my flight back to Melbourne on the Monday. It’s great to be back in Australia, sunshine and wind for the first day so it’s all smiles here. I'm Looking forward to spending the rest of the season here and round 6 the NKL that’s coming to Melbourne on the 4th-7th of February.
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February 2017
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