International riders coming to Aitutaki

It’s just one week out from the Cook Islands’ international kiteboarding competition, and the wind gods are giving local riders a chance to get in some last-minute practice.

This year the competition is looking to be bigger – more riders, more media and hopefully more wind – and the Cook Islands Kitesurfing Association is urging people to take advantage of Air Rarotonga’s promised specials and get up to Aitutaki for a good show.

This year is the competition’s first as an official stop on the Kiteboard Tour Asia (KTA) professional world tour.

Head judge and competition director Stephan Hertig arrived two weeks ago and spent last week in Rarotonga fine-tuning the details.

Hertig says next week’s competition will comprise both freestyle and course racing components, and as usual the ”best heat will win“. Competitors will go head-to-head, and this year there will be a kicker, or ramp, to amp up the level of freestyle competition.

Hertig has been kiting for 12 years and co-founded KTA, for which he has spent the last three years as competition director, travelling all over Asia to judge kiteboarding competitions. Originally from Switzerland, Hertig lives in Boracay in the Philippines.

This is his first time to the South Pacific.

Joining him in Rarotonga this week are KTA judge Willy Kerr and a handful of international riders on the Asia tour.

On what will set this year’s Manureva competition apart from last year’s, Hertin said: ”We are bringing the professional side in with our experience in the kite industry and bringing our own media“.

A videographer and photographer will be travelling to Aitutaki and feeding coverage to the KTA website, social sites like Facebook and Vimeo and Youtube, and television channels in the United States and Asia.

Aitutaki will be the only Pacific stop on the KTA tour.

Telecom Cook Islands is putting broadband wifi on Motu Maina Iti, and Cook Islands Tourism and the Kitesurfing Association have organised a big night market for the Friday following the kite competition.

The association is also running a recyclable sculptures competition for school kids and donating, via the Aitutaki Sailing Club, kite gear to the locals.

The competition formally starts next Monday and will run for two days next week – which two will depend on the wind.