gka : 45 videos

The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour hosted three Big Air disciplines - TwinTip, Hydrofoil, and Surfboard - on the shores of Jericoacoara, Brazil. The new World Champions in the Hydrofoil Big Air category are Swiss Andrea Zust and Charles Brodel from France. Australia’s James Carew retains his Surfboard Big Air world champion title after coming back from a year-long injury break.

The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour 2024 made its debut at the Brazilian break of Ibiraquera, where the Kite-Surf discipline held its final stop of the season. The event took place from October 19 to October 26. On the sandy beach break of Ibiraquera, 21 men and 12 women from 10 countries competed for the title of World Champion. The new Qatar Airways GKA Kite-Surf World Champions are Brazil's Gabriel Benetton and France's Capucine Delannoy. In the men's competition, Brazilian Gabriel Be...

The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup 2024 in Dakhla, Morocco shows one more time that Kite-Surf is a spectacular discipline mixing surfing and kiteboarding. The Dakhla stop is the third of the season and is crucial for those athletes with world champion title hopes. Women: Brazilian Kesiane Rodrigues is a sensation in tricky Moroccan waves
while Capucine Delannoy (FRA) still tops the rankings. Men: Australian James Carew lands the victory in Dakhla with powerful display ahead of Pedro Matos (BRA) and...

The race for the Qatar Airways GKA Kite-Surf World Championship title is set to hot up when the tour returns to Morocco for a mid-season showdown in Dakhla’s long right-hand point-break. Margins between the leaders at the top of the standings shrank after the tour’s second call in Sylt, Germany, where the pack was shuffled. That will put added pressure to perform at the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup in Dakhla for those who want to keep their title hopes alive.

The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour is set to debut in the Brazilian break of Ibiraquera, where the Kite-Surf discipline makes its penultimate call of the season. The top riders from across the globe perform at the paradise of Ibiraquera, a brand new location for the tour! The Ibiraquera stop is the first of two back-to-back calls in Brazil, after which the 2024 Kite-Surf world champions will be crowned. Cape Verde-bred Airton Cozzolino (ITA) and France’s Capucine Delannoy head the stan...

Finally perfect conditions at the GKA Big Air Kite World Championships in Tarifa, Spain for the Surfboard and TwinTip Finals. In the Women`s Twintip Big Air competition, nobody could stop the US- American Mikaili Sol – only 18 years old- winning her 7th world title, solidifying her status as a true champion. She secured victory in the women’s Big Air Tip-Twin division. Her dominant performance echoed her win at the tour’s first stop at Lords of Tram in France, in April, and gave her the c...

In the women’s three-rider heats, each athlete had seven trick attempts with the best three counting. The winner of each heat advanced to round three, while the losers get to battle for survival in round two. Spain’s Liam Whaley and Italy’s Andrea Principi threw down the gauntlet in the much-anticipated opening clashes in the men’s Twin-Tip division of the Qatar Airways GKA Big Air Kite World Championships in Tarifa, Spain. The pair, who head the standings in the race for the title, racked...

The opening of the GKA Big Air Kite World Championships in Tarifa (ESP) starts with the Surfboard and Hydrofoil Big Air competitions. Swiss Camille Losserand manages the big surprise in the Surfboard discipline. Frenchman Charles Brodel defends his title from last year in the Hydrofoil Big Air discipline.

The GKA Big Air Kite World Cup 2023 season kicked off in Barcarès (FRA) from April 1st to 2nd. The event was 100% dedicated to the twin-tip Big Air discipline for a total of 24 men and 12 women from 13 different nations. The final offered challenging conditions for the riders and plenty of excitement for the spectators.

At the opening of the Lords of Tram GKA Big Air World Cup in Bacares (FRA) reigning world champion Mikaili Sol (USA)putting on an assured performance that saw her advance to the semi-finals in nuking conditions in the south of France. The 18-year-old multiple world title holder took no prisoners, throwing down massive mega-loops with back rolls as the wind headed towards 50 knots approaching the end of the day in Barcarès. But in a sign that the teenage prodigy may not get things all her own...

The first event of the GKA Twin-tip Big Air season is about to kick-off at the famous Lords of Tram event at Barcarès in southern France. Twenty-four men and 12 women are registered for the event, including most of the top names in Big Air kiteboarding, promising a spectacular show. The “green” light alert was given to the selected riders, telling them to get to Barcarès as the competition would begin at least three days later.The forecast strong Tramontana winds have shown up right on cue....

Carlos Mario (BRA) showed the best performance of the men’s heat. Mikaili Sol (USA) was unbeatable once again at the women’s fleet. The crowd on site could follow world class kitesurfing with lots of big air combos at a wonderful beach in Salinas del Rey, Colombia.

Third day of the GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup in Salinas del Rey, Colombia: With three days in a row of solid, building wind, the crew is stoked on the conditions. Coming off an action-packed day yesterday, the judges and crowd are looking for another day of big tricks, interesting combinations, and one of the most powerful displays of strength and execution in kiteboarding!

Second day of the GKA Freestyle-Kite World Cup in Salinas del Rey, Colombia began with the men's first heat - the seeding round - where the hungry competitors try to make a name for themselves. The tension was rising as the competitors were eager to get on the water. Jack Rieder (CAN) and Posito Martinez (DOM) were the two standouts of the Second Round and were among the riders that utilized the wave kickers the most. They also executed handle passes in both directions demonstrating excellent...

On Day 1 the first heats of the women started off. In the first round, Nathalie Lambrecht wasn’t messing around, putting down four solid scores and taking the heat win over Alexandra Torres. In the quarterfinals, Estefania Rosa overtook Therese Taabbel securing her place in the semi-finals and Alexandra Torres laid down a huge S Bend Back 180 to beat out Matilda Roux. The highlight moment of the day, was Mikaili Sol who took home the top score, scoring a solid 8.0 for a stylish Hinterberger 5...

Reigning GKA Freestyle Kite World Champion Gianmaria Coccoluto and past title holder Bruna Kajiya are looking to cement their early success in Qatar and further their claims to the coveted 2023 crowns at the world tour’s upcoming second stop in Colombia. The triumphant pair, Coccoluto and Kajiya, won the tour’s opening stop at the Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup and are set to battle in the idyllic setting of Salinas del Rey’s Caribbean coastline. It is the second of six scheduled to...

The first World Cup of the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour season has taken place in Furwairit, Qatar over the last five days. The Tour’s freestyle riders did put on an exciting show of high-performance competition in this unique, natural set-up. A shallow water lagoon makes it perfect for freestyle competition. In the end, it was brazilian Bruna Kajiya and the italian Gianmaria Coccoluto who secured the victory in the first World Cup of the season, opening the fight for the title in 2023.

A packed house at Fuwairit Kite Beach in Qatar witnessed the first clash of the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour season where Bruna Kajiya made an ecstatic return to the top step and Gianmaria Coccoluto’s title defence held firm.

The opening day of the Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup at Fuwairit Kite Beach Resort in Qatar saw bright blue skies and warm southerly winds at the event site all day. In the end the wind didn’t become suitable to make a start to the competition at this opening event of the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour season, especially as there are stronger northerly winds forecast later in the week. Competitors took advantage of the available conditions to hit the lagoon at this amazing new...

As was forecast, conditions continued to deliver the lighter southerly winds on day two of the Visit Qatar GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup, though a positive start was made to the competition and the line-up for the women’s final is complete. The riding fleet is very compact at this event with just 16 men and eight women. The level amongst the competitors is incredibly high, but with this reduced fleet the men started directly at the quarter final stage, with four heats of four riders. There wou...

Day 3 of the Copa Kitley GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup in Taiba, Brazil was the third and final round of the Freestyle discipline with lots of technical tricks. The new GKA Freestyle Kite World Champions 2022: Mikaili Sol (BRA) and Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA).

The women were up first and Bruna Kajiya got the day started with her ever impressive clockwork style. But it was women’s tour leader and reigning world champion, Mikaili Sol, who hit the alarm for what was to come, opening her account with a huge stalefish slim 5 and then a 317 on trick four. In the men's race, Manoel Soares had the chance to win his first world title. As the draw would have it, he faced second ranked rider Gianmaria Coccoluto in that quarter final, as well as Valentin Ga...

The final freestyle stop of the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour season at Taiba got off to an incredible start on day one. The men took centre stage with all eyes on the five title contenders and notorious Brazilian wildcards who were in action in round three. It didn’t take long for the conditions to show their worth and for the competition firsts to start dropping. There’s no forgetting that there’s a world title up for grabs, with Manoel Soares and Mikaili Sol in the driving seats for th...

For all four riders (Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA) / Juan Rodriguez (COL) / Arthur Guillebert (FRA) / Manoel Soares (BRA)) in the final, this wasn’t their cleanest performance, but that can of course be the result of the pressure in the final. There was no doubt though that Soares dominated the final and deservingly took the win. His best trick was the heart attack 7 he threw on trick three, scoring 8.73, right at the moment that the other riders in the heat were really starting to have words wit...

2021 World Champion Arthur Guillebert put on one of the best performances we’ve ever seen from him, not only locking Maxime Chabloz from the final, but he also kept the two in-form Brazilians at bay. Guillebert pulled out the highest heat score of the day in the second semi-final with all four of his counting scores in the high 8 point range. Current tour leader Manoel Soares is a definite contender here and followed Guillebert through to the final in second. The Brazilian stomped a 9 point s...

The second day of the Qatar Airways GKA Freestyle Kite World Cup in Saudi Arabia, Neom offered riders a real mix of conditions: A mix of very challenging winds in the morning, which gradually died down and became perfect freestyle conditions at the end of the day when the men's quarterfinal round was completed. Making it through as top performers in the men’s division, we can’t look past the Brazilians Manoel Soares and Carlos Mario, clearly at home in these lagoon and warm wind conditions....

The wind dropped just before the end of round three, but winning their heats and already advancing directly to round five were Juan Rodriguez, Maxime Chabloz, Gianmaria Coccoluto, Arthur Guillebert, Manoel Soares and Posito Martinez. Juan Rodriguez (COL), currently lying in third on tour, was the first big name to test the waters against Belgian Goetgebuer and Egyptian Moussa. Maxime Chabloz banging home a win in R3 heat two that contained a high trick score of 8.33 for a massive 319. Only h...

The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla had its third day of competition. Carew and Delannoy turn up the heat at just the right moment to defeat all comers in Morocco! Re-joining the competition at the quarter final stage, this was always going to lead to a day of intense action. The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla is the first round for the Kite-Surf discipline on the Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour that culminates in Brazil in December.

The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla had its second day of competition. This is day Men’s Round 5 and Women’s Round 4 were completed. Brazilian Sebastian Ribeiro has given us several high 9 point scoring waves in his career. His round five heat performance was once again from the top drawer, with two high 9s. However, it was perhaps Mohamed-Ali Beqqali who delivered the individual high performance of the day as he fought back impressively through the losers round 4 to meet Gabriel Benetton i...

Day one is complete at the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla 2022 and waves are definitely back on the agenda as 41 male and female riders from 15 countries assembled to battle it out at Westpoint in Morocco. The opening rounds of the men's event saw conditions build through the day, peaking with an incredible wave ride by Sebatian Ribeiro, earning the highest score of the day: 9.0. Watch the full, all-action highlight summary video now! The GKA Kite-Surf World Cup Dakhla is the first...

Here are the highlights with incredible airtime and tricks of Qatar Airways GKA Big Air World Championships Men's Twin-Tip competition from Balneario, Tarifa.

Here are the highlights with incredible airtime and tricks of Qatar Airways GKA Big Air World Championships Men's Twin-Tip competition from Balneario, Tarifa. The young guns in the big air scene met their icons; the riders that paved the way for the competitive extremity and popularity of big air kiteboarding. In the end a rising Italian star claimed his first World Championship title! RESULTS: QATAR AIRWAYS GKA BIG AIR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEN'S TWIN TIP: 1. Andrea Principi (ITA) - Worl...

WOMEN'S FINAL: In the Women’s Finals, Bruna Kajiya (BRA) took on Rita Arnaus (ESP), Mikaili Sol (BRA) and Estefania Rosa (BRA). Conditions were strong and the women were powered on 6-9meter kites. The heat started with Estefania Rosa landing a solid 313 and Hinterberger mobe. It was a close heat with Rita Arnaus landing a super clean Slim Chance scoring a 7.37 and backing it up with an S-bend to blind with an air pass. Veteran Bruna Kajiya laid down a solid heat with a Slim Chance followed u...

On Day 3 Round 4 and 5 of the men was completed with standout moments such as a seatbelt Mobe 5 from Maxime Chabloz (SUI), and a massive Slim 9 to the moon from the Luis Cruz (DOM). To everyone’s surprise, Juan Rodriguez (COL) threw down a solid heat, demonstrating to everyone that home court advantage is real, advancing along with Manoel Soares (BRA) into the Semi-Finals. In the final heat of the day, Gianmaria Coccoluto (ITA) scored a 9.3, for the highest score of the day for a massive 319....

Day 2 of the GKA Freestyle World Cup Event in Salinas del Rey, Colombia saw a full day of action as Women’s Round One and Men's Round Three were completed.

It was a mellow morning as super stars such as Mikaili Sol (BRA), Bruna Kajiya (BRA), Jeremy Burlando (ESP) and Carlos Mario (BRA) started filling in to confirm their event participation. Welcoming ceremonies began and spectators flooded the event site, eager for the action. Riders began warming up with the current world champion Arthur Guillebert (FRA) throwing huge tricks . The competition of 22 men and 6 women representing over 10 countries started following the freestyle format of the G...

It's been another day of 40+ knots howling Levante. Each and every rider showed up with courage, bringing everything they had to the nuking shores of Tarifa for the final battle of this event. Watch this video to see the finals and who took the podium wins! The GKA Freestyle World Cup Tarifa 2021 | BIG AIR podium MEN: 1. A. Guillebert (FRA) 2. J. Burlando (ITA) 3. E. Jaspan (AUS) 4. A. Corniel (DOM) WOMEN: 1. M. Sol (BRA) 2. P. Van Iersel (NLD) 3. H. Whiteley (GBR) 4. R. Arn...

On Day 2 in Tarifa, the wind blew the riders into action right away as the riders began to set up their quivers and were blasting their zone-in playlist upon arrival. Although the wind was nuking beyond expectations, bearing in mind this was a Freestyle competition the judges tried to maintain the Freestyle element as primary as they continued with the Mixed format applied from the previous day at first (7 trick attempts, best 4 counting: 2 Freestyle 2 Big Air tricks). Nico Franco (ESP) and R...

After a long wait, the GKA Freestyle World Cup Tarifa is back! What better place to hold the first event of 2021 than the OG Mecca of kiteboarding. Sitting on the most southernmost tip of Spain where the Mediterranean and Atlantic meet. Because of its unique position, Tarifa is the wind capital of Europe and is constantly buffered by two conflicting winds: the Levante from the east and the Poniente from the west. The energy of Tarifa is electric. Kilometers long white sandy beaches, and throu...

Last year we had barrelling waves here in Cape Verde, but this year it seems that the wind, and wave gods wanted to test our rider’s and team’s nerves, sending some challenging conditions our way. Lighter wind and a lack of swell, saw the crew pack up the event site not once, but twice, and move to a new location. Proof that we go to great lengths to bring you the best possible action here on the GKA Kite World Tour! Ines Correia and Peri Roberts, two event favourites faced each other in the...

Today we saw all the top seeds hit the water for the quarter finals on day 4 of the GKA Kite-Surf World Cup – Cape Verde 2020. Riders were battling it out in tough conditions for a place in the next round. In the men’s division scores were high across the board, making for some exciting, and very close results. In the first heat Titik Lopes CV and Pedro Matos BR were pushing each other to the limit, both riders proving themselves to be technical and powerful in the waves. Pedro won the heat w...

Today we’ve had higher scores, mixed conditions and some surprising results! The wind was slightly stronger at Kite Beach, but it came with a side onshore wave, making riding conditions tricky for our competitors. The day got off to a great start with Titik Lopes CV setting the bar for high scores in the first heat of the day, with a complete score of 10.24. He will go on to face Pedro Matos BR, the rider with the highest overall score from Day 1 in the first heat of the next round. Pedro sco...

The second day of the GKA Kite-Surf World Tour got off to a smooth start this morning at Kite Beach. The wind was (slightly) more favorable than yesterday, with around 25 knots blowing cross onshore, the swell was coming in a little bigger too. We ran a Pure Wave format with 14 minute heats, and three minute breaks in between. Men were riding 7-9m2 kites and women were riding 6-9m2 kites. The sun came out, the crowds were dancing and the riders were excited to get on the water! Titik Lopes CV...

The GKA Kite World Tour is in Cape Verde for the first event of the season. 30 men and a record 23 women registered for the event this morning at Ponta Preta, there are numerous new faces on the tour this year and we’re looking forward to introducing them to you in the coming days. Riders spent the afternoon warming up for tomorrow at Kite Beach, it looks likely that the event will be starting here, due to the conditions not being favorable at Ponta Preta. There was an autograph session at Po...

Today we decided to run a Pure Wave format, with best two waves counting to final scores, after judges decided conditions were not suited to a mixed format. Fourteen-year-old Charlie Martin RE dominated his heats, the youngster from Reunion showed impressive skill, with powerful hacks in the small waves and advanced to round 5. Judges were looking for riders who could adapt to the conditions of the day, and those that could link their turns in the mushy waves were scoring high. The smaller wa...