The 9th annual Kiteboarding 4 Cancer event kicked off with over 225+ athletes crowding the waterfront of Hood River for one of the most successful kiting derby events in kiteboarding. Participants enter the kite derby as either a four-person team or choose to go it alone and attempt to circle the 2-mile course for six hours solo. Participants raise funds in the weeks preceeding the event, while live and silent auctions, and corporate donations brought KB4C’s 2015 total fundraising beyond $114,000. The proceeds are used as scholarship funds to help young people participate in Camp KORU action sport cancer survivorship programs.
Jesse Richman scores some sportsmanship points by rescuing a stranded Davey Blair.
This year event organizers set a tighter course with shorter legs between buoys, making for some very exciting mark roundings and intense spectator action. With the addition of a foilboarding division this year the racing was entertaining with lightning fast upwind legs and spectacular crashes around the buoys.
Boards of Hope displayed in the silent auction tent where participants and spectators bid on these beautiful works of art by those who’s lives have been affected by cancer.
This year’s participants managed a staggering 3,303 laps around the course, which is a 114% increase over the laps completed last year. Top individual fundraisers at the time of posting was Steve Fisher ($7,553), Jason Jorgensen ($3,515), Whit Collier ($3,310) and Amy Strzalko ($3,125).
Individual Women’s (#Laps)
1) Rachel Callahan (65)
2) Carol Bolstad (55)
3) Savannah Boersma (47)
Individual Men’s
1) Grom Gorley (78)
2) Tony Bolstad (66)
3) Brian Dennis (55)
Individual Foilboarding
1) Cynthnia Brown (71)
Individual Grom’s
1) Bataya Boersma (51)
2) John Michael Harman (49)
3) Savannah Boersma (47)
Team Foilboarding
1) Ride Engine (Patrick Rebstock, Reed Brady, Sebastien Sutter, Brendan Richards)
2) Liquid Force (Brandon Scheid, Julien Fillion, Jason Slezak)
3) LP Foils (Drew Christianson, Fred Hope, Mark Ribkoff)
Team Kiteboarding
1) Naish / Cabrinha (74)
– (Naish: Michael Duhaime, Ewan Jaspan, Katie Potter, Jesse Richman)
– (Cabrinha: Matt Elsasser, James Boulding, Reo Stevens, Damien LeRoy)
3) Team OG 2nd Wind Sports (64) (Mark Barnes, Scott Edgar, Pepi Gerald, John Gilman)
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- Getting ready for the rabbit start.
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- Jesse Richman scores some sportsmanship points by rescuing a stranded Davey Blair.
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- The rabbit start at the windward mark, with riders on their way to complete their first lap.
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- Hood River’s Event Site crowded with KB4C participants. One of the few times kiters get to launch directly from the grass.
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- Reed Brady on his way to the Team Foilboard win on the Ride Engine Harness team.
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- Coleman Buckley and friend at the Ride Engine booth.
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- Tkb’s Jen Jones budying up with Jessie Richman.
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- Carol Bolstad somewhere in the middle of her grueling 6 hour voyage around the KB4C buoys.
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- Patrick Rebstock getting ready for his turn on the KB4C course, with Brandon Kerr and Sebastien Sutter.
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- Davey Blair makes the trip to KB4C all the way from Chucktown.
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- Boards of Hope displayed in the silent auction tent where participants and spectators bid on these beautiful works of art by those who have struggled with cancer.
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- Board of Hope in the silent auction.
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- Board of Hope in the silent auction.
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- Board of Hope in the silent auction.
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- Event organizer Tonia Farman and professional MC/Auctioneer Greg Gnecco posing in the KB4C tower.
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- Danny Schwarz caught in a very deep moment.
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- Board of Hope in the silent auction.
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- Jim Stringfellow donates a custom Stringy Foil for the live auction.
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- Greg Gnecco skillfully auctions off a Board of Hope to the KB4C crowd.
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- Team 2nd Wind/OG on the podium, celebrating their 3rd place win.
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- Choosing the winning team at the KB4C pre-party won this guy a free Slingshot twintip bench.
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- Grom podium: 3rd – Savannah Boersma, 2nd – John Michael Harman and 1st – (47) Bataya Boersma.
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- Women’s Podium: 3rd – Savannah Boersma, 2nd – Carol Bolstad, 1st – Rachel Callahan.
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- Men’s Podium: 3rd -Tamir Hayman, 2nd – Tony Bolstad, 1st – Grom Gorley. (Rachel Callahan standing in for a missing Tamir . . . if Rachel had raced in the men’s division she would have gotten 3rd)
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- 2015 KB4C participants and spectators join for a group photo with photographer Richard Hallman to end an awesome day.
