Although the forecast looked promising, an unexpected shift in the wind direction made conditions gusty and variable at the Slider Project park for the day’s competition. With only the left foot kicker hits remaining to finish the semi final rounds for both the men’s and women’s divisions, the competition moved forward despite the less than favorable wind quality.
Last hits of the semi-final rounds.
It was a true test of consistency to see who could excel in the challenging conditions. In men’s heat 1, points leaders Brandon Scheid and Ewan Jaspan held on to their leads both earning themselves an 8.0 for their hits and moving into the finals seeded first and second. Also from heat 1, it was local Rich Sabo who scored just above Pierre Vogel to earn himself the third and final spot in the finals.
Ewan Jaspan finishing the round strong.
Men’s heat 2 stayed tight amongst the top three riders with Sam Light, Noe Font and Craig Cunningham all passing through into the final rounds. In men’s heat 3, Christophe Tack held on to his lead to move into the finals with Eric Rienstra in second and Sam Medysky in third.
Sam Light qualifies for the finals first of his heat.
Just after the men’s left foot kicker hits, the women followed suit completing their semi-final round with Sensi Graves qualifying first into the finals followed by Colleen Carroll, Karolina Winkowska, Annelous Lammerts and Lindsay McClure.
Local rider Lindsay McClure qualifies into the finals.
The competition continued straight into the finals starting with the top 9 men taking their final hits of the event on the Cabrinha Transfer box and the North Kiteboarding Up-Down. As the day went on, the wind quality continued to deteriorate and after completing the men’s hits on the North Kiteboarding Up-Down, the competition was called for the day in hopes to finish the competition in better winds.
Craig blasting a gap over the Cab box to take him to the top spot.
Showcasing his technicality and smooth style despite the challenging conditions, Craig Cunningham finished the day as the men’s leader followed closely by Ewan Jaspan, Sam Light, Noe Font, Eric Rienstra, Brandon Scheid, Sam Medysky and Rich Sabo. Make sure to tune in for the exciting final heats of both the men’s and women’s competitions.