Four words from Royal Brighton Yacht Club Commodore Alan Woodward made history and changed the face of sailing forever in Australia this week: “Kiteboarders, you are welcome.”
As those words were spoken to competitors, families and media at the National Kiteboarding Championships an overwhelming sense of belonging to something consumed the competitors.
Mr Woodward added: “It is exciting to see this club taking this step into an exciting new arena.”
Western Australian freestyle kiteboarder Simon Wichtermann summed it up.
“This is the first time the nationals for kiteboarding have been held in a sailing club,” he said.
“The community here has made us all feel really welcome. The facilities here have been amazing, it’s so nice to be able to use the gym, sauna, steam room and then have a nice coffee while overlooking the ocean.”
Kiteboard freestyle, racing and foiling national championships will continue until Sunday the 23rd at the Royal Brighton Yacht Club.
Competition for all three disciplines racing, foiling and freestyle has been exciting and consistent throughout the week with competitors being blessed with strong and consistent winds.
For freestyle competitors, the competition is now at the serious end with final heats and finals to be run today.
Racers and foilers are now bracing themselves for 30 knots of wind, which will see them exceeding speeds of 60km/h.
For more information visit www.rbyc.org.au/. For more details contact George Ierodiaconou on 0422 305 416 or contact@kitemag.com.au