Lords of Tram 2023

Cedric Vandenschrik, Race Director at Lords of Tram 2023

And once again, Lords of Tram delivered!

The Window period for this premium Big Air Event on the kiteboarding circuit was from the 1st to 30th of April. 
Mother nature decided to deliver 2 days of strong Tramontana winds to the Parc des Dosses in Barcares 

GKA World Cup event

Last year I had briefly taken on the job of Tour Manager for Big Air Kiteleague. Unfortunately things didn’t work out and I stepped down in August 2022.
However, last year I had been contracted directly by Tristan Hattu for Lords of Tram. He was keen to continue the working relationship and insisted on having me as race director.

Lords of Tram this year was affiliated to Global World Kiteboarding Association to become a Qatar Airways GKA World tour stop. 
This added a new dimension to the contest as it is now part of the coveted title of Big Air kiteboarding world champion.
This also meant working closely with the GKA team of Judges and crew.

The Forecast

Cedric Vandenschrik checking wind on beach with forecast below

And in a repeat of last year, almost to the day, the forecast came through on the first days of the window period.

The ladies started the event on Saturday 1st of April with a nice solid 30/35 knots. 
Around mid day, the wind dropped and I had to put the contest on hold. 
It then picked up again and went wild in late afternoon and literally blew the semi final of Angely Bouillot and Nathalie Lambrecht off the water. 

Finishing Lords of Tram

With having to suspend the contest with unsafe gusts over 55 knots, the pressure was on. The forecast on Monday was dropping slightly and the city was keen to have a result on the Sunday.

Sunday started at day break with some of the set up team being there before light-break to get everything set up.
The first heat touched the water just after 8 am and the contest was underway. 
Thankfully, besides one accident on a triple loop attempt by Clement Huot which resulted in a violent impact, and a few accidental kite releases, the event ran smoothly. 
The last few heats of the day were challenged by variable winds. The Judging team was very flexible with the format and we mostly got through it with only some riders upset at being unlucky with the wind in their heat.
Unfortunately we deal with a variable that we do not control. It’s part of the game and makes the kite choice tricky, especially at this spot. 

Cedric Vandenschrik at Briefing of Lords of Tram 2023 with riders in background

Lords of Tram Team

Cedric Vandenschrik on microphone with Tristan Hattu looking on at Lords of Tram 2023

Any event of this nature and stature has challenges. 
Once again, the team assembled by Tristan Hattu was amazing at dealing with issues when they occurred. 

If you have never been on the organising side of an event like this, you will never understand what it takes to pull it together and how awesome it is to have people you can rely on and who can identify problems before they occur. 

So again, Team Lords of Tram, Well done!

Off course well done to the riders! What an epic show you put on! I sometimes wish I had more time to look at your performances on the water (preferably from the water) as you have truly taken this sport to the next level.

Also special mention to the main sponsor, the city of Barcares which seem to have removed the word “No” from their vocabulary. 
They have bent over backwards to accomodate requests from the event but also literally accommodated and fed just about everyone involved.

As we go forward, new friendships are solidifying and the future for the event looks very bright. I can see people and projects burgeoning and expanding.

For my part it has been an interesting experience working at the top level of Kiteboarding contests and seeing how different people deal with pressure.  The Job of Race Director is not always easy, and I hope to bring a small contribution to the sport in my own little way. 

Now it’s back to kiting for myself and other missions.

You can find the live stream and other videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@lordsoftram

Ced

All photos by Arnaud Wareck

Merci

Takla Sterkies Classic 2022 Race Director

The Takla Sterkies Classic 2022 -
Jump to Action!

On Monday the 8th of August, I came across a message (by total chance) from Josh Emanuel on a wind report group about an event in Sterkfontein Dam. The Takla Sterkies Classic.

The event was to take place on Saturday the 13th and was aimed at amateurs. 
I just messaged Josh and wished him luck with event.

Josh’s reply; “Are you in SA and available?…”

Read more

BIG AIR KITELEAGUE 2022 TOUR

BIG AIR KITE LEAGUE 2022 TOUR

Cedric Vandenschrik on beach at Full Power Kite event

For 2022, I decided to challenge my sanity and work with the Big Air Kite League.

The tour is in its infancy and is still dealing with some of the issues one would expect from any such organisation, but one thing is for sure: It’s the best thing to have happened to Kiteboarding in a long time. 

I have always believed that the true soul of Kiteboarding is in the ability to send yourself into big jumps. No other sport can really do that, not in the controlled way kiters can.
So when Kiteboarding contests became driven by pure Freestyle (Which is more akin to Wakeboarding) and Racing (Which is closer to sailing) I was, to say the least, a little perplexed.

Then came Michael Macdonald who with incredible drive and enthusiasm decided to create the Big Air Kite League

It not only filled the void that existed for all upcoming big air kiters to compete and push each other, but it also created the spectacle that only the “king of the air” produced only once a year for a handful of riders. 

 

It’s for the riders!

It is with this in mind that the big air kite league was created.
All the people involved have a passion for riding big air kiteboarding style. Everyone has an understanding of how it works, what it takes and the respect the riders should receive for busting out those moves.

It’s a complicated process running a big air kite contest. It is risky! It is entirely reliant on the weather! It’s expensive and stressful. But when it all comes together it is quite a thing! 

Lords of Tram

After organising the Cape Town event, Michael had offered me to be tour manager for the next two stops. The first one was Lords of Tram.

Tristan Hattu, the local organiser had already contacted me to be Race Director at the event, so being used to jumping in the deep end, it is with two hats that I caught my delayed QATAR flight. 

First, by absolute chance I saw there was a problem with my flight and I had been re booked 2 days later than planned. That was followed by long discussions on the phone with Tristan… There was a massive forecast for the 1st day of the waiting period.

As a result of these coincidences, I traveled for 40 hours to reach the contest just in time. 

It was wildly windy, it was brutally cold, but what a great event! An amazing team on the ground and a great venue at BARCARES with an amazing welcome. Tristan and his team really did an amazing job! 

As race director, I had to deal with a contest with over 50 knots gust on the first day, and a fast disappearing wind on day two. But thanks to an amazing team of judges and head judge Philipos Tsamantanis we thundered through all the heats smoothly.  

One serious event! 

Full Power

Full Power Tarifa was a different event from my point of view. Not being Race Director, I was going in purely as BAKL tour manager. 

Once again encountered amazingly friendly people in the mecca of Kitesurfing that is Tarifa.
Ian Avera and Wladi Rodriguez were absolute champions in pulling this whole contest together. The venue lends itself to a spectacular show and the riders gave it their all. The images speak for themselves. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwWT8cOti58

 

TATAJUBA FEST

The next event is Tatajuba Fest in September. 

Sadly I will not be attending.

It has been a great experience to be at the forefront of kiteboarding. Wishing all the best to BAKL in the future

Rock on!

Cedric Vandenschrik Kiteboarding adventures