There’s always a warm welcome at Hunstanton and hospitality that’s second to none at Hunstanton Sailing Club, but what can never be controlled is the wind. And whilst it might have been the final round of the BKC 2017, the wind, which has been fickle to say the least, just wasn’t playing ball for the 2017 British Kitesurfing Freestyle Championships.
Friday seemed to be the only day with any wind but even the forecast predicted didnt appear and whilst an impromptu photo session at low tide managed to grab us some shots the riders left the water frustrated and somewhat dejected. It wasn't supposed to get any better over the weekend.
Saturday brought with it light winds and plenty of black flags at Hunstanton Beach. The juniors did manage to get through a full round before the mens and ladies ams took to the water however an incoming tide reclaiming the beach and light winds meant that after a couple of hours of trying to run the competition, the decision was made to move to Heacham beach.
As kitesurfers everywhere will know, the wind, or lack of it, can test the resilience of the most doggedly determined, and Heacham on Saturday, did just that. With riders entering the zone and not being able to plane to being powered within 10 secs and then dropped again the competition was finally called off for the day at 7p.m. Sunday proved no better as the wind just didnt arrive, 10 out of 10 for perseverance and persistence from event organisers and competitors alike; but in the end all the tenacity in the world can’t change the wind. With half the categories to run, and no wind on the Sunday, it was unfortunate that a full set of results couldn’t be had.
The prize giving ceremony on Sunday afternoon, where the British Freestyle Kitesurfing Champions were announced, brought to a close the 2017 British Kitesurfing Championships and a chance to reflect on what’s been and what is to come.
Good efforts have been made over the past few years to get the championships up and running again. But the overall consensus is that what the BKC needs now is more sponsorship to grow the competition, and more exposure to raise the profile of the championships, the riders and all the sponsors. If the determination of those involved is anything to go by, exciting times could once again be ahead.
Results for Round 3 and Overall results for the British Kitesurfing Championship Tour are below the images WITH LINKS TO THE GALLERIES
The results:
Round 3 Hunstanton:
Women’s Pro
1st Sukie Robertson
2nd Jess Tucker
3rd Holly Keenan
Women’s Amateur
1st Lizzie Byrnes
2nd Emma Wolstenholme
3rd Sarah Barkway
Men’s Amateur
1st Harry Way
2nd Russell Farrington
3rd Harry Calvert
Junior Girls
1st Rachel Hooper
2nd Maddie Evans
3rd Roxy Hurst
Junior Boys
1st Stan Hart
2nd Toby Cooke
3rd Adam Farrington
Junior Pro – No Result
Men’s Pro – No Result
Masters – No Result
BKC - OVERALL RESULTS:
Men’s Pro
1st Tom Bridge
2nd George Dufty
3rd Ollie Zabell
Women’s Pro
1st TBC
2nd TBC
3rd TBC
Junior Pro
1st Jakob Stack-Kral
2nd Max Bartholomew
Masters
1st Matthew Bunn
2nd Pete Jones
3rd Kevin Matthey
Men’s Amateur
1st Harry Way
2nd Russell Farrington
3rd Harry Calvert
Women’s Amateur
1st Emma Wolstenholme
2nd Lizzie Byrnes
3rd Sarah Barkway
Junior Boys
1st Stan Hart
2nd Ben Daffin
3rd Adam Farrington
Junior Girls
1st Rachel Hooper
2nd Maddie Evans
3rd Jasmine Wallis
To view the images we managed to get whilst the wind was there follow the link for British Kitesurfing Championship Hunstanton Galleries
