Kite-Surfing World Cup draws nearer

THE winds are blowing another international sporting event into the Surf Coast, with the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup holding its media launch this week ahead of the December 12-16 event.

The World Cup is being held in Australia for the first time and the Torquay leg will also be the final, meaning the men’s and women’s champion will be crowned after five days of competition at Point Danger.

The Torquay event will be the last of a series of seven competitions held around the world, with the previous legs held in Cape Verde, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Mauritius and Brazil.

The field will feature 50 of the world’s best kite-surfers – including two Australians, one of which is James “Storm” Carew, ranked #10 in the world and very familiar with the local conditions as he spent much of his youth surfing at Torquay.

Speaking at the media launch at Bomboras in Torquay, Carew said anticipation for December’s event was building on the World Cup tour.

“I’ve spoken to pretty much everyone on the tour, there’s big hype about this, and they all want to see if the hype about Australia is true. Obviously, it is!”

Local kite-surfers will also have an opportunity to compete. In the lead-up to the GKA event, Kiteboarding Australia will hold a national qualifying event from December 7-10 to select the four best female and male riders, who will all receive a wildcard entry into the World Cup final.

Kris Willand, managing director of event organisers Brand Dimensions, said the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup was thrilled to be coming to Torquay.

“Really, what we are trying to do is create an event where the community is involved and the community has easy access to it.”

For more information on the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup, head to kitesurftorquay.com.au.