Up and at ’em for the final day of this year’s nationals, I tumbled out of bed around 9am and headed to Flavors of Italy for their killer breakfast buffet (second morning in a row), then on the way back I stopped to chat with Paul and Barbara LaMasters who had been kind enough to pick up the Gibian Revolution kite from the auction on Friday night… I must say, tons of applique or not, it flew great.
On to the southern fields… Kicking things off, the Delta Mass Ascension gave me an opportunity to pick up my first ascension pin ever in ten years attending the AKAGN! My teammate Jim and I flew our sport kites (Quantum Pro and Sea Devil) politely off in a corner, surrounded by delta single line kites, but hey… We’re deltas too!
Following the mass ascension, we started the hot tricks event where fliers let loose with their best tricks and trick combinations and are judged by their peers. Fifteen fliers from all over the USA and one from France went head to head in 4-7 mph winds, dueling two at a time through single elimination rounds until there were only two fliers remaining… Ron Graziano and myself.
I was having flashbacks of this past May in Wildwood when we ended up in the same position and had to refly… Ron proved himself the superior flier on this day however with an amazing repetoire of slack line tricks and the practiced skills to get them done in nearly any wind condition… It’s really not so bad to be beat by the best!
Fliers had already jumped in and brought the fields down, then the speakers as Hot Tricks finished up… It’s always nice to see kite people working together so efficiently!
On the way back to my room I saw Lee Sedgwick flying his Revolution stack around one of Jose Sainz’s creations, with the two of them almost performing an aerial dance of sorts… They were then joined by someone else flying a power foil, and it just struck me as really cool that I was seeing single line, sport kite and a traction kite all sharing the sky, even playing together… It says a lot about the kind of community we are particpating in.
At the awards banquet, we were surprised by a last minute visit from world renowned indoor performers Lee and Deb Park who put on a brief but beautiful indoor show for attendees in a neighboring banquet room… David Gomberg even jumped in afterwards, hoisting Deb Park onto his shoulders just as Lee does during many of their routines!
The selection of People’s Choice kites was not as broad as in some years past, but those that were on display really set the bar high… All kinds of different styles and motifs to choose from!
This banquet definitely proved to be one of the most sentimental I’ve seen in my ten years of attending, with many acknowledgments all around, and more than a tear or two being brought to eyes around the room… And to provide comic reflief, David Gomberg serenaded the room with several short songs about various people throughout the awards ceremony.
In turn, he received a standing ovation when he announced that this would be his last year serving as the AKA President… While we’ve benefited immeasurably from his presence and leadership in ten years of service, he made clear that it is time for new blood and new direction within the AKA, in the very best way.
Enough chatter, on to the results…
Individual Sport Kite Events
| Novice Ind. Precision | Novice Ind. Ballet |
|
1st – Andy Burchfield
2nd – Dave Smith 3rd – Rudy Yueng |
1st – Richard Mervine
2nd – Dave Smith 3rd – Jennifer Brown |
| Experienced Ind. Precision | Experienced Ind. Ballet |
|
1st – Rob Autrey
2nd – Doug Charleville 3rd – Paul Koepke |
1st – Wayne Fu
2nd – Andrew Albosta 3rd – Rob Autrey |
| Masters Ind. Precision | Masters Ind. Ballet |
|
1st – Josh Gordon
2nd – Aaron Champie 3rd – Zach Gordon |
1st – John Barresi
2nd – Ron Graziano 3rd – Shawn Tinkham |
| Experienced Multiline Precision | Experienced Multiline Ballet |
|
1st – Karl Berg
2nd – Doug Coates 3rd – Aaron Champie |
1st – Karl Berg
2nd – Mike Mosman 3rd – Doug Coates |
| Masters Multiline Precision | Masters Multiline Ballet |
|
1st – John Barresi
2nd – Zach Gordon 3rd – Shawn Tinkham |
1st – Shawn Tinkham
2nd – Scott Weider 3rd – Zach Gordon |
| Open Freestyle | Open Indoor |
|
1st – Andrew Albosta
2nd – John Barresi 3rd – Paul LaMasters |
1st – Scott Weider
2nd – Jerry Cannon 3rd – Wayne Turner |
| Hot Tricks | .. |
|
1st – Ron Graziano
2nd – John Barresi |
Pairs Sport Kite Events
| Experienced Pairs Precision | Experienced Pairs Ballet |
|
1st – Rainman Forrest
2nd – Fire & Ice 3rd – Wing Nuts |
1st – Rainman Forrest
2nd – Fire & Ice 3rd – Sky Jester |
| Masters Pairs Precision | Masters Pairs Ballet |
|
1st – Siberia
2nd – Fly By Nite 3rd – Abstract Mayhem |
1st – EOS
2nd – Fly By Nite 3rd – Air Therapy |
Team Sport Kite Events
| Experienced Team Precision | Experienced Team Ballet |
|
1st – TKS Mid-Air
|
1st – TKS Mid-Air
|
| Masters Team Precision | Masters Team Ballet |
|
1st – 6th Sense
2nd – Air Zone 3rd – Cutting Edge |
1st – Cutting Edge
2nd – 6th Sense 3rd – Air Zone |
| Open Team Train | .. |
|
1st – That’s My Line
2nd – Heaven Help Us 3rd – Old & New |
People’s Choice
|
Best Kite
Cliff Quinn |
|
Best Accessory
Steven Ensign |
|
Best Aerial Photo
Craig Wilson |
Kitemaking Grand Champion
|
Cliff Quinn
|
|
Special AKA Awards
|
Volunteer of the Year
Russ Faulk / Steve & Chris Hall |
|
Regional Director of the Year
Marla Miller |
|
Kite Club of the Year
Bay Area Sport Kite League |
|
Lee Toy Award
Randy Tom |
|
Bob Ingraham Award
Susan Gomberg |
|
Steve Edeiken Award
Pete Dolphin |
Another amazing year… Great flying, great friends… It’s always sad when it comes time to go home, but I take comfort in knowing that I will get see many of these wonderful people and even more new creations next year in Des Moines, Iowa… And you’re invited!
Thanks to all for checking in with our daily updates from here in Ocean City, Maryland. It’s been a lot of work, and very little sleep… But it’s been my distinct pleasure to bring this service to you for the fourth year in a row, and I hope to hear from each and every one of you in the near future.
Good night, good flight!
John Barresi