Kitesurfing
These were the 'good old days'...or were they?
Baggie jeans were cool, Faith Hill was topping the charts and if you didn’t have a 3310, well you simply weren’t with it. The early naughties were pretty rough in terms of kiteboarding too.
We got one of South Africa’s first international pro riders (and now Red Bull King of the Airjudge) Greg Thijsse, to sketch us a timeline and give us the lowdown on just how bad the ‘good ole days’ really were.
Tell us a bit about the early days?
The early days of kiteboarding were quite hairy. Firstly there were no formal schools and almost no way to buy gear. Most people imported their own kites or brought them into the country after seeing the sport abroad where it took off before it did in SA. This was the late 1990’s. People took to water on literally any big power kite capable of pulling you into the air. They also used all sorts of boards from windsurfing boards to skis.
Once you had your gear you were on your own, the lack of schools, meant no help or lessons of any kind. Crashes and broken equipment and bones were inevitable. There’s no doubt that everyone who learnt how to kite board during these early stages has a few ‘kitemares’ to share.
From around the year 2000 and onwards formal kite shops popped up here and there distributing certain brands and offering lessons. From here onwards things became a little easier. The equipment however was still in its infant stages as the sport was so new. The first kites had no depowering mechanisms. This meant that if you were in sh*t you were in sh*t and that was that. It was like going into a corner at full speed and being unable to brake.
Who were some of the big names back then?
In the early days the biggest name was Anthony Berzack. He was the first SA rider (to my knowledge) to compete on the world tour and he did pretty damn well. He was best known for his ‘deadman’ manoeuvre and riding waves. He had a pretty nasty neck injury which took him off tour and then the next guys to tackle the tour was Grant ‘Twiggy’ Baker and myself. There was a handful of good riders at the time in SA but not many ended up venturing across borders to compete internationally.
So equipment has come a long way?
Back then it was not nearly as safe and efficient. Kites had little to no depowering or safety mechanisms. They also could not be used in a wide range of wind. This meant that you needed a handful of kites where nowadays one kite would cover that range. Boards were one directional, big and made similar to that of a windsurf board. These days the boards are bi-directional, very small and made of extremely strong composites.
Back then, did you ever have the notion that the sport would evolve as fast and as far as it has?
Not at all, the sport grew very quickly and I think it exceeded most peoples’ expectations. How can it not? It looks amazing and is amazing, from the moment you get up on the board you’re hooked!
How important are speciality events for the evolution of the sport?
Personally I think the King Of The Air is the most important event we have. Kiteboarding is so unique as it can take ideas from so many sports and incorporate it. It’s almost uncanny how similar a wakeboarder can look to a pro kiter when doing certain tricks. The danger of this is that I feel the sport has ended up copying the likes of wakeboarding, surfing, skateboarding and even snowboarding.
Kiteboarding should have its own identity. The one thing we are able to do which puts our sport apart from any other wind-powered sport, is jump insanely high. This is where the trick aspect of the sport can lie. Extreme height and mixing all the other elements of tricks from all the other sports at the same time. This is what the King Of The Air stands for. It’s more than an extreme event, its guiding kiteboarding in the right direction.
The video entries for Red Bull King of the Air close on 30 November. Enter here.
