Day 6 - All the cards are on the table.

When all the conditions align, park riding thrives, and for day six of the Team Battle, the Slider Project was the host of this perfect storm. In an ideal scenario, every day of the contest would have been this pristine. Nonetheless, kiteboarding’s fundamental reliance is that of wind, and sometimes it is less abundant than would be desired. In standard Hood River fashion, the morning was absent of this essential resource, which allowed teams to congregate, sort footage, and begin constructing their timelines. In a race against time, as soon as the leaves on the trees began to rustle, all Team Battle riders, filmers, and event staff hustled to the Slider Project park in an effort to capture and showcase the preeminent potential of park riding. As the teams circled through the park like a merry-go-round at a fair, the level of riding and creativity continually increased. Some of the most notable riding was displayed by Team Tan and Team blue, who have made their presence amongst the other teams and their park riding aptitude unmistakably prominent. However, the efforts of Team Yellow, Team Green, and Team Burgundy are not to be dismissed as they, too, have been strategically positioning themselves.

Along with the principal award for best overall team video, there are a plethora of distinguished awards that will be presented to those who showcase mastery in different specific aspects of the event. For example, there will be awards given for the best kicker hit, best line (consecutively linking together tricks on multiple features), best rail hit, best rookie, best overall male rider, and best overall female rider. These awards, along with others, will be presented on the evening of the third following the premiere of each team’s video. The white flag is out for the second to last lap of the Team Battle. Tomorrow is the last attempt. All the cards are on the table. Day six is a wrap. To the respective teams - may the odds be ever in your favor; day 7 is the nail in the coffin…

KPL TEAM BATTLE COURSE PREVIEW

The Slider Project park in Hood River is the world's first public kite park in the world. This year stacked with more features than ever before thanks to the crew of riders and sponsors making it happen.

Day 5 - The push toward the finish begins now

Hello world, welcome to day five of the Team Battle. Along with the warm welcome of the western breeze, the Slider Project is happy to re-introduce the Duotone A-Frame to the park. Although the wind has been less than idealistic for a contest of this caliber, today did not disappoint, and the park was bustling with life. Team Tan, Team Yellow, Team Burgundy, Team Blue, and Team Green proudly wore their team jerseys and cascaded the park in a rainbow of color. Although the park has a variety of features, often, once a progressive tempo is set, everyone floods to a particular feature to claim their stake in the session. Today the feeding frenzy began on the Duotone A-Frame and then progressed into the Airush handrail. As the day began to fade into the evening, the wind followed suit, which allowed the teams to alternate to larger kites and take advantage of the Cabrinha box, along with the Naish and Slingshot kicker. While the level of riding was on full display, teamwork was equally as transparent as each team would siphon through their riders, sharing the rolls of both filming and riding.

Day five was nothing short of glorious and a phenomenal display of The Kite Park League’s innovative and progressive take on competitive kiteboarding. As teams approach day six of the Team Battle, video quantity and quality is becoming increasingly paramount. Only two days remain until the midnight video submission deadline. Day six is forecast to deliver some hopefully western thermals, and the teams have their fingers crossed that the wind will persist and deliver to sustain the park riding momentum. The next two days are valuable, and every second of riding counts. Day five is complete - the push toward the finish begins now.