Saturday 28th October 28, 2006

All eyes were on the water today as competitors hit the sea making the most of the weather conditions. After the successful ‘Deep Blu’ party at Sandown last night, spectators and competitors were ready for a day of action. Whilst kitesurfers and kayakers headed to Compton Bay, one of the UK’s premier surfing spots, windsurfers, the thundercats, and jetskiers battled it out on the water at Yaverland.

The UK RRD BKSA Wave and Big Air Championships took place with top UK and international kitesurfers competing in the Wave Masters this morning at Compton Bay. Event organiser Nigel Howell took first place, with Neil Gent in second place and Denzil Williams in third. Spectators gathered along the cliff and beach at Compton to watch the kitesurfers compete for the Wave Masters title. The kitesurfers finished the day with a big air display back at Yaverland.

The White Air Kayak Surfing Open was held at Compton Bay, a new extreme sport added to the event calendar this year. The event was a huge success, despite the wind picking up later in the afternoon. Andy McCullough took first place in the open category, with Kev Richardson coming second.

Windsurfers made the most of the wind at Yaverland fighting for the Wightlink British Open Slalom Champion title. In the challenge fleet category, Rob Stack currently stands in first place, leading both his fleet and the series. Alan Jackson currently stands in first place in the top flight pro’s category, with Dan Simpson leading the top flight youth category. The action will continue tomorrow at 10am, weather dependent.

Whilst further along the beach, and at Niton, there were more windsurfers competing in the White Air Freewave UK Championships in association with IWEP (UKWA), combining the skills of freestyle and wavesailing. Ben Profitt currently stands in first place in the pro’s category. Competitors currently standing at first place in the following categories are; Richard Jones (Junior), Graham Woods (Youth), Dan McGonigle (Amateur), Tanya Saleh (Ladies). They will continue with the event tomorrow, also weather dependent.

Also thrashing it out on the water at Yaverland were the Thundercats. Crowds gathered on the beach to watch the international competitors battle it out on the waves with the wind against them. There were 13 powerboats in total, running three heats in two groups. The South African team triumphed; driver Sean Fisher and navigator Bradleigh Bosman won the event today. The finals will be held tomorrow at 3.30pm.

The notorious ‘Pierats’ also featured on the water at Yaverland today, with jetski displays running throughout the day, although the waves made it difficult to perform tricks on the water, later in the afternoon the waves were in their favour and the team performed a number of barrel rolls and other tricks. The Pierats Freestyle tour for 2006 will be completed this weekend at White Air. The choppy water made it a challenge to perform loads of good tricks, but it didn’t stop the ‘Pierats’ heading out on the water several times today.

Back on the land the action continued in the extreme playground; top names entertained the crowds with displays and demos throughout the day. Have-a-Go workshops were yet again a success, as more people were keen to get involved in extreme sports, both on the land and in the water. Top name skaters, Greg Nowik, Bod Grest, Flynn Trotman, Jed Cullen and Mark Churchill descended on the island to perform their best tricks on the skate ramp. Skate clinics were held again today as beginners were taught given advice from top names in the sport.

Mountain boarders hit the ramp again today, although the wind meant the RAF Mountain Board MBS European Cup UK Freestyle has been delayed until tomorrow due to the windy conditions. Top international riders meanwhile kept everyone entertained with displays and demos, performing yet more extreme jumps. Later on in the afternoon, the RAF White Air Mountain Board Freestyle Jam got underway, with cash prizes up for grabs. The winner will be revealed tomorrow.

The Traceur Team performed parkour demos today, demonstrating their skills to keen have-a-goers and spectators alike, showing off their various acrobatic and gymnastic-type movements on scaffolding units. Yesterday’s winners of the Parkour competition were Simon Stainton, 15 and Nicola Lock, 29. 19 people took part in workshops yesterday, ranging from age eight to 32.

The Wight Offroad Mountain Bike Challenge started early this morning, with 100K competitors heading out at the crack of dawn. The keen mountain bikers headed out to find the five checks along the route from Yaverland, through Ventnor Downs, Godshill, St George’s Downs, Brading and back to the event site. The challenge takes in riders of all abilities, with three routes; 25K, 50K and 100K. Here at the park, Wight Offroad have been holding displays, and trials workshops throughout the day.

After an action-packed, fast moving day with some of the biggest names in extreme sports competing for top titles, the fun will continue tonight with the White Air Party kicking off at 8pm featuring live bands and DJ’s.

Saturday 28th October

Results

Kitesurfing

Class Position Wave Masters Category 1 Nigel Howell 2 Neil Gent 3 Denzil Williams 4 Will Bennett 5 Chris Martin

Windsurfing Slalom

Class Position Top Flight Fleet (Pro’s) Top Flight Fleet (Youth’s) Challenge Fleet 1 Alan Jackson GBR-53 Dan Simpson GBR-323 Rob Stack 667 2 Xavier Ferlet GBR-451 TBC Liam Round 948

Windsurfing Freewave

Class Position Junior Youth Amateurs Ladies Pro’s 1 Richard Jones Graham Woods Dan McGonigle Tanya Saleh Ben Proffitt 2 Sam Neal George Shillito Ben Hiett Camilla French Chris Audsley 3 Mathew Leonard Andy King 4 Dave Woods
5 George Bolwell

Thundercats

Class Position Driver Navigator 1 Sean Fisher Bradleigh Bosman 2 Jason Wyatt Darryn Harrison 3 Chris Reid Mike Littler 4 Darren Hook Nicola Wainwwright 5 Abhai Pandya Steve Drew 6 David Webber Scott Kershaw 7 Scott Wilson Kevin Elford 8 Kevin Crellin James Tapp 9 Nelson Vinning Matt Dykstra 10 Paul Berkinshaw Piere Engelbrecht 11 Daniel Williams Max Ridd 12 Tom Williams-Hawks Oli Redfern 13 Bryn Fisher Mark Toman

Kayak Wave

Class Position Open Category Master Category Plastic Category Youth Category 1 Andy McCullough Tim Student Chris J Paul Robinson 2 Kev Richardson Paul Barnett Kev Richardson
3 Del Elsmoore Lee Jones Dave Hunt
4 Chris J Paul Robinson
5 Lee Jones
6 Paul Barnett
7 Tim
8 Dave Hunt
9 Paul Robinson