Last year Sam Medysky won the men鈥檚 Canadian Freestyle Championships at Kite Clash, but a hard landing Friday afternoon put him out of contention.
He looked comfortable during his first tricks until he tried a KGB, a type of back roll, late in his heat and came down hard during his landing. He was conscious but was later taken to hospital as a precaution.
鈥淗e鈥檚 at the clinic. He鈥檚 doing well,鈥� organizer Steve Turk told the crowd watching at the Spit.
Tulk later said Medysky experienced a concussion and whiplash and was also being checked for a broken foot.
The absence of last year鈥檚 champ opened the door for others, and, in the end, it was P.E.I.鈥檚 Lucas Arsenault on top by 2.5 points.
鈥淚 think Lucas was really gnawing to walk away with it this year,鈥� Tulk said.
He beat out almost-local Jack Rieder from Horseshoe Bay in the finals.
Rieder has only been kiteboarding for two years and comes to 麻豆社国产as often as he can. He is still only 16 and does not drive yet, so he cannot get himself here as often as he would like, though he still makes opportunities.
鈥淚 try to get out at least three or four times a week in the summer,鈥� he said.
Rieder first took up the sport while competing at a sailing competition in Squamish.
鈥淚 saw a whole bunch of kiteboarders out. It just looked like more fun,鈥� he said.
Brothers Daniel and Stefan Koenig battled for third, with Daniel taking the bronze by two points over his sibling.
Rieder also competed as a junior in the first event of the day and ended up on top, edging out twins Liam and Sean Karam, as he managed many high-level tricks and landed cleanly.
On the women鈥檚 side, Kenzie Carlstrom from Nelson, B.C. took first place with a clean final at her first-ever Canadian competition, beating out Corrie Coons, who took second place, and local Kalena Neilson, who finished third. 麻豆社国产favourite Josee Fontaine was not far behind the top three.
Friday ended with the kite slalom, a new event this year. On the women鈥檚 side, Coons was up against Lia Feriancek, Squamish鈥檚 Alex Waterson and Jennifer Wormald. She finished in first, with Wormald in second; Feriancek, third; and Waterson, fourth.
For the men, the finalists, made up of Andrei Mortila, Jack Rieder, Lucas Arsenault and Daniel Koenig, were close around the first mark until Mortila broke away to win, followed by Rieder, Arsenault and Koenig.
Saturday saw high winds of up to 34 knots and some of the best conditions for kiteboarding in the Big Air competition.
鈥淭hat was the single most impressive day of kiteboarding,鈥� Tulk said. 鈥淭here were big waves rolling into the spit.鈥�
Most notably, in the women鈥檚 final, Coons took advantage of an updraft and finished in top spot. At 13 metres, she made the highest jump of anyone that day, the second year in a row she has accomplished the top jump.
On the men鈥檚 side, Phillipp Schronger of Seattle beat out Peter Martel, four-time champ Lewis Crathern and Koenig for the title.
On Sunday, Rieder again ended up on the podium, winning the Open Freestyle junior boys event, finishing ahead of Tomas Aguirre and Vetea Boersma.
For the women, Coons put on a strong performance despite the light winds, beating Alex Waterson, who landed her first front roll in front of a crowd, and New Zealand鈥檚 Rachel Hughes.
As the afternoon wore on, the wind died down, forcing the cancellation of the men鈥檚 final.
鈥淚t鈥檚 always a challenge with the wind sports,鈥� Tulk said.
He credited all the members and volunteers for making this year鈥檚 event happen. Kite Clash has also set its schedule for the 2017 event, as the organizers have to consider tidal information well in advance to find times when the winds will be best suited for kiting. The event is slated for the last week of June and first weekend of July.
