The Qatar Airways GKA Kite World Tour launched a major kiteboarding initiative, featuring a ProAm Challenge with gear testing opportunities, at the northern French port of Dunkerque. The twin events over four days were part of an ambitious multi-year plan to bring together kiteboarding enthusiasts and the industry for a vibrant celebration of our sport on the historic North Sea strand.
The GKA ProAm Challenge and GKA Test Event, ran side-by-side and united kiteboarding amateurs, professionals, and the industry to advance the sport and make it more inclusive. The heart of the GKA Test Event was the buzzing village of stands for kite brands from around the world to show off their latest developments. These included: F-One, Naish, Nobile, Flysurfer, Slingshot, Xenon, Mio Boards, BOOOMTAG and Duotone.
About the Pro-Am Challenge
Open to all levels of riding no matter if you ride twin-tip, strapless, or foil the Pro-am challenge consisted of a series of race-style courses where riders took to the water together and collected points depending on where they crossed the line!
There were no maximum number of races that could be completed. The forecast determind how many races were completed over the four days, keeping it wide open for plenty of change! New courses were arranged in accordance with the wind direction and the Race director’s goal to create a fun, social environment with plenty of on- and off-the-water activities.
Although everyone was racing together, the categories were separated allowing different winners across the fleet. Categories consisted of:
-OPEN (for all competitors)
-MASTERS (45+)
-YOUTH (U14-U19)
-FUN (all ages)
-HYDROFOIL (all ages)