And once again, Lords of Tram delivered!
The Window period for this premium Big Air Event on the kiteboarding circuit was from the 1st to 30th of April.
Mother nature decided to deliver 2 days of strong Tramontana winds to the Parc des Dosses in Barcares
GKA World Cup event
Last year I had briefly taken on the job of Tour Manager for Big Air Kiteleague. Unfortunately things didn’t work out and I stepped down in August 2022.
However, last year I had been contracted directly by Tristan Hattu for Lords of Tram. He was keen to continue the working relationship and insisted on having me as race director.
Lords of Tram this year was affiliated to Global World Kiteboarding Association to become a Qatar Airways GKA World tour stop.
This added a new dimension to the contest as it is now part of the coveted title of Big Air kiteboarding world champion.
This also meant working closely with the GKA team of Judges and crew.
The Forecast
And in a repeat of last year, almost to the day, the forecast came through on the first days of the window period.
The ladies started the event on Saturday 1st of April with a nice solid 30/35 knots.
Around mid day, the wind dropped and I had to put the contest on hold.
It then picked up again and went wild in late afternoon and literally blew the semi final of Angely Bouillot and Nathalie Lambrecht off the water.
Finishing Lords of Tram
With having to suspend the contest with unsafe gusts over 55 knots, the pressure was on. The forecast on Monday was dropping slightly and the city was keen to have a result on the Sunday.
Sunday started at day break with some of the set up team being there before light-break to get everything set up.
The first heat touched the water just after 8 am and the contest was underway.
Thankfully, besides one accident on a triple loop attempt by Clement Huot which resulted in a violent impact, and a few accidental kite releases, the event ran smoothly.
The last few heats of the day were challenged by variable winds. The Judging team was very flexible with the format and we mostly got through it with only some riders upset at being unlucky with the wind in their heat.
Unfortunately we deal with a variable that we do not control. It’s part of the game and makes the kite choice tricky, especially at this spot.
Lords of Tram Team
Any event of this nature and stature has challenges.
Once again, the team assembled by Tristan Hattu was amazing at dealing with issues when they occurred.
If you have never been on the organising side of an event like this, you will never understand what it takes to pull it together and how awesome it is to have people you can rely on and who can identify problems before they occur.
So again, Team Lords of Tram, Well done!
Off course well done to the riders! What an epic show you put on! I sometimes wish I had more time to look at your performances on the water (preferably from the water) as you have truly taken this sport to the next level.
Also special mention to the main sponsor, the city of Barcares which seem to have removed the word “No” from their vocabulary.
They have bent over backwards to accomodate requests from the event but also literally accommodated and fed just about everyone involved.
As we go forward, new friendships are solidifying and the future for the event looks very bright. I can see people and projects burgeoning and expanding.
For my part it has been an interesting experience working at the top level of Kiteboarding contests and seeing how different people deal with pressure. The Job of Race Director is not always easy, and I hope to bring a small contribution to the sport in my own little way.
Now it’s back to kiting for myself and other missions.
You can find the live stream and other videos here: https://www.youtube.com/@lordsoftram
Ced
All photos by Arnaud Wareck
Merci
