North West Kitesurfing is proud to announce that Walney Island will be playing host to the 2nd round of the British Kite Surfing Association Championship from 11th - 13th May 2007.
This idea was first mentioned at the end of August 2006 during a visit to Walney by Richard Gowers, the chairman of the BKSA, when he bumped into Gary Powell of North West Kitesurfing. It was discussed that Earnse Bay was on par with the existing locations used in the present BKSA tour and Gary was asked to approach the local council and funding bodies to see if it was viable to bring the championship here.
The event has been possible with the main funding costs being met by the West Lakes Renaissance who after an initial meeting involving people from all the main areas of the local council, sports and tourism bodies decided it was a viable project for funding. Further to this much more information was provided by Gary and the funding was agreed and confirmed by David Haughian of The West Lakes Renaissance in late December 2006.
The event is expected to bring 50 competitors to the area consisting of pro men, pro women, amateurs, juniors and seniors. Weather permitting there would be 3 days of events, the riders are judged on freestyle tricks and jumps for the competition. Other disciplines may be seen such as highest jump, speed runs and it is always possible a new record may be set. During the 3 days free kite safety sessions will be made available via professional instructors and advice will be plentiful to anyone with an interest in the sport.
There are many free parking spaces for the public and disabled parking will give a view of the competition even from the vehicle, although the location is very accessible for the disabled via a concrete ramp to the sand. There are public toilets, a convenience store and catering and refreshments will be available all weekend on the beach. There will be a Saturday night social event at a large venue including a live band, food and slide show, tickets will be available for this. An event specific website will be running 3 months prior and 3 months after the event, all relevant information including sponsors, location map, times, contact details and links to related sites.
Please feel free to contact Gary regarding the event.
