John Barresi

I've never had a rod broken in transit... Just make sure you've got at least 5 or 6 solidly framed kites rolled tight, and add a couple more if you are still concerned. Breaking down for suitcase use is just too much of a &^*&$^ to deal with.

Uh oh... Now the world wants to know, what picture?

Or was it Alejandro from Atemoc?

I was lucky enough to receive a .85 Fury with AeroStuff rods... So feel free to ask me for a test flight at Westport.

Remember, there is no spoon! FYI - SMACK was me and Carl's impromptu pairs team at NWSKC.

We're pleased to yet again announce the next prize being given away to our most appreciated supporters, the Kitelife Subscribers... For roughly 10 cents per day they play a major role in keeping KL growing in every way. Big Bang Pro, thanks to New Tech Kites! You can sign up here. Odds of winning for this prize is currently 1/147, and will be drawn on July 30th! http://www.kitelife.com/prizes/bbpro43/index.htm Our thanks, and the very best to you!

Drum roll please... The winner of this great prize is: Edmund Shaw - Subscriber #15 Congratulations Edmund!! Our new prize(s) will be announced by the end of the day.

Hear hear! Determination and practice was the key to their success, and they definitely earned the right to call themselves World Champions. Plus, it's the first time in 11 years that we've brought it home to the USA!

For those who don't know, Carl was kind enough to come visit the Northwest Sport Kite Championships this last weekend in Long Beach WA... Having come over to the USA for the World Sport Kite Championships, he made a last minute decision (literally) to come compete and have fun with us. As one of the best sport kite fliers and designers in the world, he really raised the bar and brought a whole different flavor to the field. His website - http://www.kitestudio.com Cheers Carl!

Final update is uploading now, should be accessible within 5-10 minutes.

I turned in at 3am... Team Atemoc and I were partying in their room at our hotel, well into the morning.

Most definitely! Please do let me know what you find, and if there's enough to write from. Cheers Jorge!

Our pleasure kram, we also got all 15 ballet routines on video yesterday. As for WSKC "stuff", I have seen t-shirts and sweats for sure... Not sure about pricing, and I don't have the cushion in my budget to pick anything up (we're making sandwiches in the room!). If you would really like, it would be possible to send me some money via PayPal (with a tiny bit extra to cover the processing fee we incur)... Then I could ship it out to you when we get home next week. Just let me know if this is something you're up for doing (by email as well)... I leave the room just before 9am, and won't be back in it to check email until about 5pm or so. I will try to remember and check pricing today.

We're here... Weather was GREAT yesterday, teams looked awesome. So far, Elément' Air and Tame Bird seem to have all the moves... But we'll see how it all comes out when the dust settles. First update goes up late tonight, or very early tomorrow morning.

DOH! Lead post in this thread has been edited, so as not expire a decent topic.

I hear that Graziano will not be entering the NJSKC Tricks Party for that exact reason... He has to judge, being one of the few fully educated trick fliers in the USA. Good on ya Ron, I have no doubt things will go well.

Sweet Bill, thanks for the update... I look forward to flying in the peer-judged Hot Tricks events this year, looks like NWSKC is the next one (2 weekends away!).

Agreed on both counts... As a flier, I really like "earning my way to the top" via peer appreciation. It seems to mean a lot more to me personally, and might render a more accurate scoring of trick usage since all judges are in the same boat. Tying Graziano in the final round of Hot Tricks at ECSKC wouldn't have such a warm place in my memory if it wasn't for the other fliers who voted to make that happen. Matt Epstein did an AWESOME job of announcing, we could use more like him.

This is a great event, and we look forward to attending again this year. See you all there!

As of this moment, the Hot Tricks event is being run two different ways... A couple years ago, the Hot Tricks event was being run two different ways... West Coast: All fliers enter into elimination rounds, judged by a mix of spectators and other fliers who are not competing in the event. East Coast: All fliers enter the same elimination rounds... However, the whole group of fliers serves as the judging panel... Two compete, and the rest judge. As any two fliers finish a round, they cycle back into the judging panel which allows two more to compete against each other. The question I have here is, do you prefer to be judged by a panel of judges who may or may not understand every aspect of trick flying, or do you prefer to receive recognition and award from your peers? This debate is exclusive of the Tricks Party format, which stands alone and is currently under development for the USA competition scene. Please share your thoughts.

Yeah.. We'll see if it'll axel, fade, backspin and roll up into a wap doo wap with a side order of tip stab, any bets?

I'm writing from Seaside... Heather, Brian and Eli are all rearing to go, just getting down the coffee and getting ready for a day on the beach. Slight chance we might head down to Manzanita if the wind doesn't pick up a bit this morning. I'm looking forward to trying out a KGB!

Rock on Mike, you've got a really unique and worthwhile product... We're glad to see it available to the general public yet again.

Kitelife Magazine is delighted to announce our upcoming Daily Updates from the World Sport Kite Championships held in Lincoln City, Oregon, USA June 21st through June 24th. This intensive four-day event is a competition based on total points earned, with a cumulative score for all four days counting toward the honor of calling the best team “Champions Of The World.” The daily updates for this international event will include daily highlights, on-site practice field and comp field photos, and both daily and cumulative score results for each day of this semi-annual event. Kitelife’s Daily Updates from the World Sport Kite Championships will be posted online each evening, and will be fully accessible to all Kitelife visitors. If you can’t make it to this competition, visit our site every day and follow all the action. Kitelife is the premier place to find up to date competition results, action photos, and all the inside scoop on the entire event. http://www.kitelife.com/archives/wskc05 The 2005 WSKC will feature 15 teams from 7 countries: 6th Sense (USA) Team AirZone (USA) Team Cutting Edge (USA) Team Garuda (Germany) Watnu (Germany) Air-Rex (Japan) Kamikaze (Japan) Neo (Japan) Elément' Air (France) Tame Bird (France) Tatoueurs du Ciel (France) Flame (UK) Scratch Bunnies (UK) Atemoc (Columbia) K3P (Malaysia) Check in and support your favorite team(s), even if you can’t be there in person!