SEMI FINALS - What park dreams are made of / Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships 2024.

The Columbia River Gorge continued hurling challenging conditions for the start of the Men's Semi-Final at the 2024 Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships. An offshore angle combined with 40 mph gusts kept the riders on their toes as they battled for the last few spots in the Final here at the Hood River Sand Spit.

Things kicked off with the Box to Corrugated going Port Tack. 2023 Vice KPL Champion Noe Font made a statement on his first hit with a Cab 270 Frontside Boardslide 450, the highest score of the heat, giving him the lead by a wapping 1.95 points over Brenden Kerr in 2nd, with Chase Hasch sitting in 3rd. Then on the Naish Kicker, Chris Bobyrk dropped the best score with a Backmobe. This moved him into 2nd, 2.55 points behind Noe, and 0.65 ahead of Brendan. After Feature 2 the event went on hold because the offshore wind direction wasn't filling in enough for riders to get hits on the Starboard side.

The next morning hot temperatures and glassy water kept the event on hold, but those in the know, know that these are the days that park dreams are made of in the Gorge. By afternoon a smooth, mid teens thermal wind broke through the heat and the second half of the Men's Semi-Final was able to commence.

Feature 3 was the Duotone Step Down. Noe started things by putting nails in the coffin, once again putting down the best rail hit with a Frontside 180 Frontside 50-50 to 270 Backside Boardslide Pretzel 270. That propelled him to a 3.8 point lead over Brendan in 2nd. Chase was close behind in 3rd by 0.6, narrowly ahead of Chris and Tim Walsh by just 0.1 for the last advancement spot! Andy Cain scored his best hit of the heat scoring just 0.15 behind Noe's and pushing him within 1.35 points of 3rd Place. It would all come down to the North XL Kicker on Starboard Tack! Noe and Brendan would drop equal scores with back to back Melan Crowmobes to secure their spots in the final in 1st and 2nd. Chase would struggle to perform his Double Tantrum clean in the lighter winds, dropping him to 5th behind Tim in 4th who scored 0.45 higher with a Heelside Backside 540. Making a comeback to take 3rd, with the highest score on Feature 4, was Eric Rienstra! Needing to make up a 1.75 point deficit, he put down an insanely executed KGB to not only tie with Tim, but grant him the higher single score to win the tie breaker!

What a battle!!! That must have been the most hotly contested Semi-Final in Kite Park League history! Now the stage is set and the Finalists have been chosen. Tune in Friday as the action continues here in North America's Kiteboarding Mecca.

Follow @kiteparkleague x @gkakiteworldtour for all the updates and content from the event

Round 1 - Exciting action and impressive performances / Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships 2024.

The first round of the 2024 Qatar Airways GKA Kite Park League World Championships has seen exciting action and impressive performances from top riders from around the globe. Held in intense 30+ MPH winds, the riders didn't just have to battle each other but also the challenging conditions.

Heat 1 kicked off the event on the Duotone Step Down. Two time KPL Champion Sam Light came out with a bang securing an early 1.35 point over Tim Walsh in 2nd. Then it was on to the North XL Kicker where current World number 3 Jack Rider entered the fray with a colossal Toeside Backside 7 propelling him into 3rd place behind World #2 Noe Font who moved into 2nd by just .01. Sam continued to pull ahead with the top score on the Box to Corrugated, followed by Jack moving into 2nd after Noe struggled to make it to the end of the rail. Jack then went on to pull ahead by dropping the highest score on the Naish Kicker, claiming the heat win by .65 over Sam in 2nd. They will move on straight to the final while Tim, Noe, Chase Hasch, and Chris Bobyrk will advance to the Semi-Final.

In Heat 2, Ramiro Gallart started on top with the best hit on the Step Down by 1.05 over Brendan Kerr in 2nd. Brendan then took the lead with a Crowmobe on the XL kicker with Eric Rienstra moving into 2nd by just .05 with a KGB. Eric and Ramiro would then out do Brendan on the Box to Corrugated to move onto 1st and 2nd. Then as Eric struggled to find power for his last kicker hit, defending KPL Champion Ewan Jaspan came from behind with a KGB of his own to win the heat with Ramiro joining him in 2nd to advance straight to the final. Advancing to the Semi-final was Eric, Brendan, John Perry, and Andy Cain.

Stay tuned as we continue with the Men's Semi-final tomorrow.