Compete With Us: Tips from the Best Pro's
It’s competition season and the pro team at Best are inviting you to "Compete With Us!"
Whether you’re riding in your first ever competition, or a seasoned pro, every kiteboarder needs some tips on how to perform well in competitions, so we thought we’d ask around our pro team for some advice!
With experience spreading from seasoned world champions, to up-and-coming kiteboarding stars, and even Mr Mega-Loop himself, the Best team is seriously talented when it comes to competition riding. Follow these great competition kiteboarding tips and find yourself on the podium this summer.
Compete With Us: Tips from the Best Professional Riders
“You want to have a load of tricks solid, at least 5 tricks you land solid in any conditions. From there, you can push harder to do double and harder tricks. But like everything the most important is the basics! That’s where you will gain the most in a heat.”
Name: Youri Zoon
Fame: Two Time World Freestyle Champion
“Use a watch with a countdown timer in training and competition. In training you can imitate the stress and the pressure of performing your tricks within the seven minutes. In comps you'll always know how much time it is till your heat and how much time you have left.”
Name: Mike Schitzhofer
Fame: Currently 12th Place in the PKRA
“Competition riding all comes down to landing your tricks. An empty scoring sheet doesn’t do much justice and crashing takes time and is annoying. So you could try to lay down a solid heat by stomping some of your more confident tricks early on in the heat. Then you can step up your game and go for more difficulty and power as the heat progresses… just get into the groove and let it flow! Ride hard & fly high!”
Name: Ruben Lenten
Fame: Mr Mega-Loop
“Always try to stay upwind well, this way you can watch your opponent whilst he can't see you and also you give yourself room to land in the box. My other tip is to know exactly what tricks you’re going to do. If you crash your first attempt on a trick, see the second one as a 'Second Serve' It has to go in! But maybe with less power"
Name: Lewis Crathern
Fame: Jumped over the Brighton Pier
“The most important thing when you compete is the attitude. You have to have courage and strength but at the same time be really focused and calm. Go and do your tricks with speed and remember to keep your kite in a good position. Then control the landing and think about your next move”.
Name: Gisela Pulido
Fame: Youngest Ever World Champion
"Hydration is something not many of us think about in our day to day life as kiteboarders. Most of us drink when we are thirsty but not always enough. The average person should consume up to 3 litres of water a day. The body is made up of 60% water so it's very important to stay well hydrated. You will have more power on the water and will have the ability to push just that much harder and ride that much longer. Try filling up two 1.5 litre bottles on the morning with water and make it your goal to finish them by days end. A lot of fruits are heavy on water as well. Melon, peaches and pineapple are a few tasty ones!"
Name: Sam Medysky
Fame: The BEST Moustache in the world!
“Wear a watch while riding. Set your watch for however long your heat is for the upcoming event and do all of your tricks with in that small amount of time. Try and start with a trick you land every time and move on to the more difficult ones. If your are not landing a trick move on to another and come back to that trick after you have a few good ones under your belt.”
Name: Chris Bobryk
Fame: Triple S Wildcard Winner 2014, and the raddest kite movies online!
MAROUBRA, NSW
