KTA Sri Lanka Asian Freestyle X Championships kicks off

The KTA, Asia’s long-established kiteboard competition organisation is heading Sri Lanka to bring the countries first every international competition in the sport – the KTA Sri Lanka Asian Freestyle X Championships.

Kiteboarding has been growing steadily in Sri Lanka, as its strong wind reputation and stunning riding locations became known across the kiting world. 

The KTA Sri Lanka is taking place in Kalpitiya from 4-8 September, sponsored by Sri Lanka Tourism http://www.srilanka.travel/. The KTA will also be collaborating with the Kalpitiya Windsports Club http://bit.ly/2OmG74F which acts as the umbrella organisation for all the kite schools in the area. 

 KTA Sri Lanka comprises of four events:  Asian Freestyle X Championships; Sri Lanka freestyle X Nationals; International Freestyle X Open and Hangtime.

All the action will be taking place at Kalpitiya the ‘hotspot’ for kiteboarding in the country which is located in Katunayake. While it is an exquisite coastal region located on the Western coastal belt, north of Colombo. Kalpitiya is a peninsula set in between the deep lagoon of Puttalam to the east and the magnificent Indian Ocean to the west. It is an unrivalled marine sanctuary with a diversity of habitats ranging from bar reefs, flat coastal plains, saltpans, mangrove swamps, salt marshes and vast sand dune beaches.

Little wonder the area is known for its natural environment which consists of 14 islands, with its population traditionally earning their living from fishing.  Kalpitiya though is being transformed by the kiteboarding scene and is now considered the best location to kite in the country. It has a great summer season from May to October, with strong consistent winds pumping in during the south west monsoon. The winter season runs from around from mid-December to mid-February, during the north east monsoon.

KTA Sri Lanka offers a cash prize purse of 5000 USD, plus a whole stack of equipment prizes across the four events, so plenty of opportunity for competitors to make their mark and walk away with honours. 

Of course no KTA event would be complete without its strong social scene, key to welcoming its field of international competitors and growing the off-water friendships the sport is renowned for. Hosted by kite schools from the Kalpitiya Windsports Club, the official opening party take place at Sri Lanka Kite, to be followed with mid-week competitor’s chill-out night at De Silva before proceedings for the week close with the Awards night at Kitesurfing Lanka featuring the infamous KTA DJ Erwin from Area 51 on the famous Philippine island of Boracay. 

The KTA was formed to give an international platform to the skills and talents of kiteboarders throughout Asia, and to bring professional level competition and training to the region. The KTA launched the first international kiteboard event in Asia in September 2009 and has since then run over 50 competitions from national level to international, Asian and world championships, including this year’s Asia/Oceania Youth Olympic Qualifiers.

The KTA is open to everyone from anywhere, amateur and pro riders alike. It is the one and only officially Asian continental tour sanctioned by the International Kiteboarding Association (IKA), the kitesurfing world governing body, which in turn is the class representative to World Sailing (WS) sanctioning international sailing competitions from world championship to Olympic levels.