Holly Kennedy

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi.

During my Christmas Break from University I decided to go to Perth in Western Australia to do some training. There are many mixed conditions ranging from pancake flat water, through to bumpy chop and on to lush clean waves. Great for training in all sorts of water states. I based myself in Safety Bay and stayed in a pimp house (only one street away from the beach ) with other kiters and friends. It was windy almost everyday so I got to practice lots! I was very happy with my riding and progression so I hope it pays of and shows in the competitions coming up this year

Photos By Ash Garwood. Thank You.

My amazing sponsors : check them out:

North Kiteboarding www.northkites.com

Ion Products www.ion-products.com

Vexed www.vexedapparel.co.uk

As summer comes to an end and the UK begins to get chilly we come to the end of the British Championships Series.

The final event was held at a small surfing town called Westward Ho in Devon. The town was small and sweet. The beach was very nice,  starting with a pebble ridge then moving into sand, and there were big glassy waves with brilliant flat sections in-between. The competition was held over a full week starting with the wave masters. Unfortunately I could not participate in the wave class as I had an important test at University but I hope too next year! With North Kiteboarding having a new ladies specific wave board called the ‘woohoo’ in the market it would be silly not to shred it Anyhow CONGRATS to all the wave heads. Stoked that the Scottish were the winners: Keira and George!

The first possible start for freestyle was the Thursday. I got up early to prepare myself and have a nice breakfast. At this point there was very little wind! However, the wind continued to increase and we eventually started the heats in the afternoon. The sun also came out! I had some great heats fully powered on my 12m North Vegas! As there has been a few events with no wind and we had time, we all decided to to another round of competition. The day went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I WON that event

Sadly there was no more wind for the other 2 days so we did not get more results from the Amateurs, Youths and Seniors. Boo!

For the overall results it was super close between myself and Polly Crathorne. I just didn’t manage to stick it in the end. From taking a 3rd Place at Barrow it lowered my overall score. I am still super happy to take 2nd place overall for 2012.

I am fully committed and motivated to be the WINNER next year and to be crowned BRITISH CHAMPION.

Let the training and FUN begin,

Keep smiling and stay tuned for updates.

Holly xoxo

Thank You To My Amazing Sponsors:

North Kiteboarding

ION Products

Vexed

Airbound

** WELL DONE TO ALL THE COMPETITORS, THANKS TO ALL BKSA STAFF, HELPERS AND ALL  EVENT SPONSORS **

Photos By: BKSA, Mark ‘Ding’ Glendinning, Cally Crathorne, Ash Garwood.

Photo By: Sarah Ross

BKSA Round 4 , Scotland. 2nd Place Pro Ladies!

My Sponsors:

North Kiteboarding, ION, Airbound, Vexed.

Just a little something:

Experimenting: Holly Kennedy from Holly Kennedy on Vimeo.

Beach Break Live! The largest student festival in the United Kingdom!

I was super stoked to be part of the event! I received an email from an old school friend (Rory) who now owns the apparel company Vexed asking if I would like to join the team and join them at this festival. I couldn’t have been more happy to help Rory out and get some promotion for Vexed.

The event was held at Pembrey Sands in Wales, a gorgeous big country park right beside Pembrey beach.

We were over the moon to have VIP and Press passes!

The wind was sweet on the Friday and Saturday so I got some good free ride sessions! Strong wind so was boosting on my 7m North Vegas

Here at this festival they run a student extreme games including kitesurfing, windsurfing, snowboarding, skiing and wakeboarding. I was asked to judge the  student kitesurfing competition which was great Well done to all they guys, they put on a FAB show!

In the evenings there were many parties and we watched lots of the famous acts. I loved Ben Howards performance! So amazing!

Vexed were a proud sponsor of the student extreme games. Congrats to everyone and good show from Pierre Petit Vexed team rider going HUGE on his kneeboard.

Thanks to ALL the sponsors who made the whole festival possible! Too many to name them all but check out:

www.beachbreaklive.com For more Info.

My sponsors also ROCK- Check them out -

North Kiteboarding : www.northkites.com

ION Products : www.ion-essentials.com

Airbound : www.airboundapparel.com

Vexed : www.vexedapparel.com

Photos By: Beach Break Live, Marc, Rory, Vexed. ** Nice Work**

Wakestyle, Boots, Wakestyle, Boots!

It is great to see more wakestyle events coming into to kiteboarding scene!

In the UK we have the great Rhossy Park Jam hosted by Ben Todd and only 2 weeks ago we had a new event called the Morecambe Bay ‘Ride N Slide’.

As I am riding boots more now I thought this opportunity was sweet and I went along.

On the Saturday the wind was super strong so we decided to run a fun Big Air contest. The guys and girls were put in one category! I thought this was unfair but it was only fun so I went along with it

I took my 7m Vegas and was flying so high! I won all my heats up to the final. Was so much fun! I could not believe I had made it to the final amongst all the guys !

In the final I was on a 7m and the other 3 competitors were on 9m ! I still made some huge jumps but I came 4th.

Still super stoked I got up into the final.

Sunday was a glorious day- sun was out and the wind was about 20 knots. We had one big kicker and a rail set up. Throughout the day we all hit them trying to be as slick as possible. There were some really nice presses and some epic crashes too! Everyone had a FAB time and we all hope we can do it again next year.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the men and women who were involved and supported the event. Also to all the sponsors

My Sponsors:

North Kiteboarding

ION

Airbound

Vexed

BKSA

Follow me on:

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Kennedy/149219535146854

Twitter: @HollyKennedy2

Cheers

Shots By Sam Oxley , Jake Moore, Looping it – Gracias Chicos

What can I say!?

So many things went on at this great event! The weather was very mixed with sun and no wind combined with strong winds and rain. We got the competition done, so that was the main thing

In the Single elimination I had 2 of my best heats landing all my best tricks For place 4 and 3 , the wind completely dropped so I took my 12m Vegas. We were put on hold for a while then the wind filled in and we commenced. However, by this time I was pretty overpowered on my 12 and did not have time to change. I crashed a few times therefor I end up 4th.

I am still very happy with that result All the girls now are really pushing the level which is SUPER

In the double elimination the wind was very strong and offshore. The heat area was out in the middle of the lake! My friend and North team mate Sabrina came up against me, we were both powered on our 9m vegas’s! The heat was fun! I ended up with a 5th place overall for this event.

I’m ready to take on the next event with great determination !

The parties were AWESOME too!

Thank you to all the sponsors that made the event happen

AND Thanks to my perfect sponsors : North, ION, Airbound.

Check out their sweet kit :

www.northkites.com

www.ion-essentials.com

www.airboundapparel.com

Photos By : Kite Tour Europe

After 2 and a half months in Venezuela I came home excited and well prepared for the first stop of the BKSA.

Round 1 was held from the 6th-8th April in Clacton- On- Sea on the South East Coast of England. This was the first time the BKSA had been at this venue. There we found a large sandy beach with a choppy and an occasionally flat water state. Pretty nice.

I drove my Mercedes Vito Sport Van fully packed with all my equipment and camping things down on Thursday for a Friday start.

Friday-

A very COLD day and night! At 9am we had a riders briefing- where we discussed the weekend plans. Unfortunately on this day there was no wind what so ever! Some of the riders (including me) did some lifestyle shots throughout the day. In the evening/night we had a lovely BBQ (actually Indoors because of the weather)  and then chilled and caught up with everyone.

Saturday-

A little peep of sun but still bitter! Again the riders meeting was at 9am we were put on hold until 11.30am. By then the wind was getting stronger but only enough for the racing and the youths freestyle. I helped out North team mate little Tom Bridge (also youngest competitor) and he won all of his heats.

The evenings entertainment was a full roast dinner carvary! Was delicious

Sunday-

Frosty with a bit of wind! Riders meeting was held at 9.30am

By 12 noon the wind was just enough- so we started with the amateur ladies.

All the girls were riding with 12m kites and even at that they were struggling a little. The wind continued to be on and off the whole day. It just was not enough to run anymore heats.

It was a shame the wind just did not pull through.

Well done to all the racers though!

A big thank you to ALL the sponsors that made this event possible:

Title Sponsor – Dong Energy

Location Sponsors – Push Kiting , Edgeriders

Working with – Tendring District Council

BKSA Tour Sponsors – Best , Mutiny, King of Watersports, Ion , Palmera Local

And a big cheers to my personal sponsors: Check them out :

North Kiteboarding- www.northkites.com

ION Wetsuits + Products – www.ion-essentials.com

Airbound Apparel-  www.airboundapparel.com

THANK YOU TO DAVID URSELL ( PUSH KITING) FOR THE PHOTOS!!

HEYA EVERYONE.

So for the past month I have been pushing my training schedule, landing some sweet new tricks and teaching at the cool chilled out Jack Sparrow kite school with some awesome people on the beautiful Venezuelan island of Margarita. This spot rocks, has a great atmosphere and fantastic kiting options.

Here are a few photos of my trip so far:

Photos by: Stefano, myself and Tom Brendt. Thanks

What a great adventure and result!

After missing the PKRA World Tour Stop in Brazil because of some British competitions I really wanted to make the final stop in Noumea New Caledonia.

I had never been before, however, I had heard many  good things and had seen some awesome pictures and videos. The journey was going to long so I decided to stay for 2 weeks to make it more worth while. I arrived 1 week before the competition started, there was wind everyday!  The spot there reminded me of Woodmans Point in Western Australia, strong cross offshore winds good for 7m kites and flat water in the inside. I had some amazing sessions landing my first few Blind Judge 3’s . STOKED Also during the first week I kited with some of the other guys on the tour which pushed my riding, Ewan Jaspen, Mario Rodwald, Reno Romeu, Youri Zoon, Asia Litwin, Maika Monroe and judge Ian.

It is just typical as soon as the competition starts the weather and wind changes! So the wind on the first day was a different direction and not so strong. There were also a lot of clouds in the sky causing great gusts. We started the mens trials and then part of the singles. Unfortunately I lost my first heat to Rachel Baglin from Australia so I was out until the doubles!

For the next 2 days the wind was not strong enough But then on the Sunday the wind picked up in the afternoon and we completed the whole double elimination. I was fully powered on my 7m North Vegas.

I started at the bottom of the ladder and worked my way up all the way to the final, winning 6 heats in a row! I was SO happy and by the time the final came I was pretty tired! I still managed to get a few good tricks which I am pleased with. I took 2nd place behind Asia Litwin who was riding very very well!

We had 2 big parties at the end of the event which were so much fun

Overall for the PKRA World Tour 2011 after attending 5 events I am ranked 5th in the World

I am very pleased with this result and it had been a great year. I have gained some super experiences and would like to congratulate and thank all the PKRA crew for a fab year.

Bring on 2012!!

I would also like to say Thank You Very Much to my BRILLIANT Sponsors

North Kiteboarding: www.northkites.com

ION Products          : www.ion-essentials.com

Airbound Apparel  : www.airboundapparel.com

Photo Credit: Sweet Shots By:  Toby Bromwich/PKRA