#jadeoconnor – An Irish kitesurfer has taken Ireland's first podium finish of the 46th Trofeo Princesa Sofía 'Palma Olympic Class Event in Palma this evening. Dubliner Jade O'Connor finished third overall in the Formula Kiteboarding Class, six points behind Russian Anastasia Akopova on 23 points. Felllow Russian Elena Kalinna was a clear winner of the Spanish series on nine points in the five–strong fleet after three medal races sailed this afternoon.

O'Connor was named 'Woman Of The Year 2014' at Outsider Magazine's Awards. She had an outstanding year which saw her achieve eighth overall at the Worlds, fourth at the Europeans, and is the current British Ladies Champion. Jade competes in ISAF's Formula Kiteboarding Class which was showcased at ISAF Abu Dhabi Grand Finale last November, and is now included along side the 10 Olympic Classes at future ISAF World Cup events, including Palma.

The kites made their first appearance in Palma this year for the Trofeo Sofia event. Ten challenging races were sailed by a mixed teams of male and female riders coming from all over the world to mark history witht the debut of kite racing alongside the usual ten Olympic classes and the 2.4 pralympic event.

Elena Kalinina from Russia won all the races in the women division: "I am so excietd with my results here. I really didn't expect to win all the races. The racing conditions were not easy but in the end we did 10 races. The venue today in Can Pastilla was much better for launching and for racing. I hope we will be there next year. It was great to be part of the Trofeo Sofia IBEROSTAR with all the other Olympic classes, it is a great start for our future and hope we will be included again in more regattas with the Olympic classes." About her goals for the rest of the year the 18 years old Russian rider adds: "This win is giving me confidence to go and compete in the year main regattas: the European and world championship. Then I hope to be selected for the Sailing World Cup final in Abu Dhabi." Same reaction from Florian Trittel who took nine races out of ten. "I am very proud to win this event in Palma. I hope we will return next year with more riders. This is a good step towards the inclusion of kite in the Olympic Games!"

#kitesurf – On the 7th of March 2014 UCD Kitesurfing club descended upon Duncannon in County Wexford for the first ever Kitesurfing Intervarsities. With a promising forecast there was great excitement on the Friday night to what lay ahead. We awoke on Saturday to a fresh 17 - 20 knots of wind and we couldn't wait to get out on the water. After a filling breakfast everyone rushed down to the beach to pump up their kites and get changed into wetsuits for the day.

The beginners were the first to launch their kites and with the help of the instructors from Hooked Kitesurfing they quickly grasped the necessary skills to move on to more technical kiting during the evening. While the lessons on land were taking place the advanced riders took to the water to quickly show off their skills and warm-up for the competition. An attempt was made at running a big-air competition in the hope of seeing some huge leaps into the sky but unfortunately Mother Nature did not supply the necessary wind.

The call was made to move straight into racing heats. The first of the heats saw DIT, Trinity and UCD battle it out across the waters of Duncannon beach with some exciting action.

An unfortunate start in one of the heats for UCD kiter Colin Torpay who got tangled up in another racers lines at the beginning of a heat. After a few close heats the final race saw the following racers compete: Brian Digan - TCD, Ryan O'Hare - DIT, George Kosinski - UCD, Patrick Haller - UCD and Kevin Doherty - UCD.

In a tight battle at the start of the race Ryan O'Hare got the early lead and blasted towards the mark at the far end of the beach with Brian and Patrick hot on his trail.

At the back of the pack Kevin and George fought to get ahead of each other. In the end the final result saw Ryan O'Hare winning it for DIT with Patrick Haller coming a close 2nd and Brian Digan right behind him in 3rd.

The girls of UCD Kitesurfing also showed impressive skills throughout the weekend dominating the ladies racing final. Although there were great performances all around, mention must be made of Gabriela Drewniak who demonstrated a vast improvement in her kiting ability and also won Club person of the year. James Ryan of UCD won the prize for Rookie of the Year with his dedication over the winter. With the competition wrapped up everyone took to the water to enjoy the rest of the days wind. The results of the days racing were announced after dinner at Roche's Bar with the final score being UCD 5, DIT 3, TCD 1.

Sundays forecast was much lighter than expected and unfortunately we could not get out on the kites. After some creative thinking UCD helped created a new sport- Stand Up Kite Boarding (SUK-Bo). Thanks to the help of Patrick Haller we also did a few wakeboarding runs along the seas edge with Patrick's car. Overall the weekend was a resounding success for the first ever Kitesurfing Varsities and we hope to see it continue and grow in the future. A special thanks to the guys from Hooked Kitesurfing, TCD, RCSI and DIT Kitesurfing Clubs in helping us organise such a successful event. George Kosinski, P.R.O - events manager.

#kitesurf – Current Course Racing World Champion, German Florian Gruber, has been crowned the inaugural Kiteracing Oceanic Championship winner. The laid-back 19-year-old won convincingly, taking out all but three races in the five-day competition at Leighton Beach, Fremantle.

Hot on his heels all week, 16-year-old current European Champion, Olly Bridge from Devon in the UK, claimed second place, while Italy's Riccardo Leccese claimed third, despite Poland's Blazej Ozog making a last minute run for the position.

Two Australians finished in the top 10 - WA's Torvar Mirsky and Ric Black from NSW. Black also took out the Masters award.

Since the start of competition, there has been fierce competition between Poland's Aga Grzymska and France's Ariane Imbert but Grzymska proved too strong, winning all three of today's Women's races and 11 of 17 overall, relishing the lighter winds. Spain's Nuria Goma placed third and top Australian female kiter was Lisa Hickman from Queensland placing fourth.

The Kiteracing Oceanic Championships will return to Fremantle in early December 2014 and is officially sanctioned by the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA) and the International Sailing Federation (ISAF).

Top 3 Men overall:
1. Florian Gruber, GER, 16 points
2. Olly Bridge, GBR, 33
3. Riccardo Leccese, ITA, 54

Top 3 Women overall:
1. Aga Grzymska, POL, 24
2. Ariane Imbert, FRA, 36
3. Nuria Goma, ESP, 70

#kitesurf – With favourable and suitable weather conditions forecast for this weekend three times World Champion kitesurfer Bruno Sroka should be able to start his crossing from France to Ireland today, writes Claire Bateman.

The 17 hours of kitesurf will be undertaken in one day leaving from France (l'Aber Wrac'h, Brittany) arriving to Ireland (Cork Harbour), a distance of 240 nautical miles or 444km.

Accompanied by the Tourism office of Ireland for the first crossing out of a three year series of kitecrossings ( France / Ireland in 2013, Trans-mediterranean crossing in 2014 and New York - Brest kitesurf crossing in 2015 ), the World Champion of kitesurf is impatiently looking forward to this departure and has been preparing and waiting for it for several months! He will leave the Aber Wrach beach in brittany with his kite that is marked with it's shamrock symbol at 5.30 am, heading towards Crosshaven (Cork Harbour). And the action will continue for 17 hours!

So, within 24 hours Bruno Sroka will start the first of the three year series of crossings. This is not just a simple crossing. The first crossing will allow him to measure his different capacities as well as approve the different points for next challenges.

" I admit that it is complete stress, but it's exciting! This crossing has never been done. I want to succeed, and I do not want to disappoint the team I work with and who have supported me from the beginning. A dream comes true... »

Bruno Sroka, fascinated by kitesurf for over 13 years, has trained every day in the sea as well as on the ground for several months and feels ready for his challenge. Accompanied by a team aboard a 12m boat he is ready to kitesurf 240 nautical miles (444km) for 17 hours at 15 knots speed. Some ambition when one remembers the Pont Aven crosses from Cork to Roscoff in 14 hours at 27 knots so it is some ask for the Kiteboard!

I quote Bruno " I will not climb aboard my safety boat but I will need to stop and rest one or two times on my board during the crossing knowing that after this little break it will be much harder to continue. My main crossing goal is to test my physical capacity during the crossing as well as some other essential points that will help me to organize, analyse and succeed the other two kitecross projects",

The arrival is scheduled at the mouth of the harbour, all going well, 22.00 hrs. Of course we all realize that schedules can be upset with wind and tide. However, there is a tracker where the record attempt can be followed. For anybody interested it may be a nice experience to have a trip to Roche's Point to greet the French visitors.