Bath Kite Festival, UK

Head-to-Head Freestyle

Saturday 27th May 2000

Winner: Robin Smith
Runner-Up: Richard Beckett

Reporter: Andy Wardley

Gnarly Flying
The first UK Freestyle Knockout of the 2000 season at Bath saw Robin Smith narrowly beating Richard Beckett in an exciting final. Richard pulled off some gnarly tricks on his Gemini, including a sensational Broken Yo-Yo launch at the start of his first set, but Robin just managed to nudge ahead, impressing the judges with some very clean moves. Flying an Outer Space, Robin included some excellent 540 Flat Spins, Cascades and Fades combined with some balanced routine flying and even a few traditional figures. Bob Marley provided the musical accompanyment (although sadly, not in person), allowing Robin to clearly demonstrate his control of the kite in pulling off not one, but two Elevator Fades, the second of which was launched from the ground and both perfectly choreographed in time to Bob, who "Woke up this mornin', smiled at the rising sun..."

Harsh Conditions
All of the competitors flew well and produced credible performances despite the difficult conditions. The wind was gusting from 10 to 30mph+ at the top of the window, and then dropping to a turbulent mess near ground level. Nevertheless, the standard remained high and the flying contained a good balance of controlled flying and rude tricks.

Blapp's Horn
The Freestyle Knockout Competition was first staged in its fledgling form at Bath Festival 1998. In the two years since then, the competition has flourished and gained wide acceptance from fliers. This year saw the introduction of Blapp's Horn which the judges sound to demonstrate their appreciation for good flying. Aside from the purely comical effect, it also provides valuable feedback for the fliers and was enthusiastically received. May Blapp's Horn blow long.

Results

Judges: Andy Wardley, Carl Robertshaw.

Current UK Rankings