The Kite Park League's 2023 Hood River Team Battle Begins!

This week you can't miss all the content that our friends at @kiteparkleague are going to publish, and if they allow me, I'll publish it for all of you 🤪🤙

Here we are again, ready to bring you a chronicle of the season's most beloved event: the 2023 Team Battle presented by Knot Future and organized by the Kite Park League! While there are numerous fantastic kitesurfing spots around the world, few are as historic and challenging as Hood River, Oregon, the birthplace of park riding and the driving force behind its continuation.

For those who missed last year's excitement, here's a brief overview of the event's significance. Unlike more conventional venues that determine the best rider through a series of heats, both male and female, Team Battle takes a progressive leap forward by introducing a format that showcases the best while making the event more friendly and accessible to the public. As its name suggests, Team Battle is a team-oriented competition that fosters camaraderie and group collaboration to determine the winning team. In this 2023 edition, the five competing teams and their respective colors are: Team Forrest, Team Gold, Team Scarlet, Team Navy, and Team Ice. Together, these five teams are responsible for recording and editing a video highlighting their best skills within the confines of the Hood River Slider Project. Teams have from August 26th until noon on September 2nd to film and produce their video (the full rulebook is available on our website).

Regarding video criteria, each entrant is required to include a minimum of two clips in their video, but a single entrant cannot exceed ten clips. Beyond these basic parameters, team creativity, collaboration, and innovation will be the determining factors in crowning the winner of the 2023 Hood River Team Battle. On September 2, competitors will have the opportunity to exercise their own judgment by voting for the team they believe produced the best video, in addition to awarding individual riders. Starting today, day one, the five teams have approximately 168 hours to assemble, film, edit, and present the highest level of competitive skills at the kiteparks.

The KPL's top-ranked riders, along with a renowned KPL veteran, represented the five team captains who will lead their teams to victory or valiant defeat. KPL referee and general manager, "Dude," explained the rules of Team Battle and then instructed the captains to roll a pair of dice to determine the order in which they could select their team members. Similar to a playground game, the kiters lined up, and the captains chose their riders one by one in an effort to build their ideal team. Each of the captains rolled the dice, and the Team Battle began. The teams and the resulting order are as follows:

- Gold Team, led by Brandon Schied: ALEX LEWIS-HUGHES, SENSI GRAVES, NICK BAINES, DEVIN CARBOLL and KRISTEN COOPER.

- Scarlet Team, led by RAMIRO GALLART - JACK RIEDER, ALEX MEINDI, CHASE HASCH, EINAR SAAD and NADJA BIANCHET.

- Armada Team, led by Noe Font: BRENDAN KERR, ANDY CAIN, ZACH ADAMS, RYAN GOLOVERSIC and LAUREN HOLMAN.

- Team Ice, led by Xander Raith: KATIE POTTER, TIM WALSH, Ian DALY and ASHER CLARKE.

- Team Forrest, led by EWAN JASPAN - ERIC RIENSTRA, CHRIS BOBRYK, COLLEEN CARROLL and LEO VERRECHIA.

With the teams selected, the countdown has officially begun. Without a doubt, this will be a week to remember and another exciting chapter in the history of the Kite Park League and its distinguished influence on the kitesurfing industry.

Stay tuned and get ready, because the 2023 Hood River Team Battle has just begun!