The First Kitesurfer to Arrive at an “Olympic City”-Promotes Kitesurfing as an Olympic Sport

Bruno Sroka, Champion Kitesurfer is going to kitesurf across the 100 nautical miles of the English Channel tomorrow, May 9, and attempt to beat the world record of 5 hours, 20 minutes. To mark the occasion of Kitesurfing’s inclusion as an official Olympic sport in the Rio 2016 Games-Sroka will promote the sport by doing what he does best-Undertaking a Serious Sporting Challenge!

Brittany, France (PRWEB UK) 9 May 2012

As the London 2012 Olympic Games approach, Bruno Sroka, Champion Kitesurfer is going to mark the occasion with a world record attempt by kitesurfing accross the English Channel May 9, 2012. The crossing will promote kitesurfing as a new official Olympic sport in the Rio 2016 Games.

As soon as weather permits, Bruno is going to rise to the challenge of crossing the English Channel by kite surf. Bruno wants to attempt the record as soon as possible! We have been a little unlucky the past few weeks with a miserable April! But hopefully May will provide some great kitesurfing weather and we can get out on the sea!

He will attempt to cross 100 nautical miles, which is not the shortest crossing, but is definitely the most exciting. Manu Bertin holds the current record, and Bruno wants to beat his 5 hours and 20 minutes.

The world’s eyes will be on London this summer, and it is for this reason that Bruno has decided to train for the crossing now. What better way to promote Kitesurfing as an Olympic sport than to smash a world record arriving in the host country!

Bruno has been training hard mentally & physically so that he can prove to the world that Kitesurfing deserves a place in the historic event. The 2016 games take place in Rio will be an amazing place to introduce kitesurfing to the Olympics!

About Bruno
Bruno Sroka is France’s number one kitesurfer. He has won the Course Racing World Cup 3 times, as well as winning the European Championship 3 times. He is the first and only kitesurfer to cross the Cape Horn by kitesurf. He is also a philanthropist & actively promotes the Green Cross, of which he is an ambassador.

The ISAF Council voted that Kiteboarding will replace windsurfing for the men’s and women’s board events and confirmed the equipment that will be used for the Women’s Skiff and Mixed Multihull Events.

The Mackay FX, referred to as the 49er FX, was selected yesterday as the two person women’s skiff and today the Nacra 17 joins the Olympic equipment family after being selected for the two person mixed multihull event.

The 49er FX received the majority of votes from the ISAF Council in the first round after the six evaluation trial entries were narrowed down to just three; the 29erXX, the RS900 and the 49er FX.

There was an equally animated debate on the final morning of the Council meeting at this year’s ISAF Mid-Year Meeting to decide the equipment to be selected for the mixed multihull event. After discussing the recommendations from the Evaluation Panel, the Equipment Committee and the Events Committee, Council voted between the Nacra 17 and the Viper with the Nacra 17 securing the majority.

The final discussion on the events and equipment for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition was about the men’s and women’s board events with Council voting in favour or kiteboarding.

In November 2011 an evaluation group was appointed to examine kiteboarding formats with the board events for Rio 2016 defined as ‘windsurfing and/or kiteboarding’. The Evaluation Group recommended that kiteboarding be included in the ISAF Event family including the ISAF Sailing World Cup and the ISAF Sailing World Championships but Council went one step further and selected Kiteboarding for the Rio 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition as well.

The ISAF Windsurfing and Kiteboarding Committee will consider and make further recommendations to Council on the implementation of the inclusion of kiteboarding at their meeting in November 2012 at the ISAF Annual Conference.

ISAF President Göran Petersson said, “These announcements mark a new era for sailing and we welcome the new classes into the ISAF family. The equipment selections have fulfilled the criteria set out by the Evaluation Panel and we look forward to seeing the boats not only at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, but the ISAF Sailing World Cup and ISAF Sailing World Championships.

“Kiteboarding has proven to us that it is ready to be included into the list of prestigious ISAF Events and it is a fantastic addition to the sailing programme for the 2016 Olympic Games.”

The events to be contested at the 2016 Olympic Games are confirmed as:
Men’s Kiteboarding
Women’s Kiteboarding
Men’s One Person Dinghy – Laser
Women’s One Person Dinghy – Laser Radial
Men’s One Person Dinghy (heavy) – Finn
Men’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Women’s Two Person Dinghy – 470
Men’s Skiff – 49er
Women’s skiff – 49er FX
Mixed Two Person Multihull – Nacra 17

These ten events will be featured in the 2012-2013 ISAF Sailing World Cup which kicks off in Melbourne in December and will come together in Santander, Spain in 2014 for the ISAF Sailing World Championships.

ISAF Council also approved applications from Kosovo (Group C) and Vietnam (Group K) for full member status.

Instructor Lucan gives us his tips on what to do after your lesson. ‘Once you have completed your two or three day kitesurfing lessons you need to get back in the water as quickly as possible! The next step is to own some kitesurfing equipment of your own and to enter the water at the correct tide time with the correct wind speed and direction (which you should have learnt on your lesson).

Making this first experience fun and safe is very important for you to build your confidence as a kitesurfer. A good idea is to go in the shallow water just with your kite and practice body dragging, leaving your board in your car for this first experience will help as at least you only have one thing to concentrate on. Even if the wind is only blowing 8knots you could always put your kite in the water and practice your safety packdown! We offer 2 or 3 hour private tuition lessons which are a great confidence booster and give you that little extra help, we can use your own equipment or for the same price use our kitesurfing school equipment. Either way you do it, it’s all about getting back in the water straight after your lessons and continuing your learning whether this is with an instructor, your kitesurfing buddies or with a friend’

If you ever need any advise on kitesurfing or kitesurfing lessons the Hampshire kitesurfing centre are always available on Tel. 07863 811 644 or email us info@hampshirekitesurfing.com

Happiness economics suggests that measures of public happiness should be used to supplement more traditional economic measures when evaluating the success of public policy.

At Airtime we think that you just need to get out and go surfing/kiting so give your friends a shout and get down the beach, or check out our range of kitesurfing equipment.

Ocean аnd waves hаνе a very clear impact іn thе emotional health οf human beings. Thе European Centre fοr Environment аnd Human Health hаѕ studied over 2,750 participants аnd hаѕ concluded thаt a simple walk along thе beach οr coastal area іѕ enough tο boost clear feelings.

Ocean waves bring smiles

Scientists found thаt аll outdoor locations wеrе linked wіth ехсеllеnt vibes, bυt visits tο thе coast wеrе mοѕt beneficial аnd visits tο urban parks lеаѕt beneficial.

Thіѕ finding remained whеn thе researchers took account οf factors lіkе people’s age, hοw far thеу hаd travelled, thе presence οf others аnd thе endeavor thеу undertook.

“How To Have Powerful Stage Presence as a Rapper” Part 1

Have you ever wanted to have powerful stage presence and have the crowd in awe of you when performing on stage? In this article I want to tell you 5 crucial things you can do to have awesome stage presence!

I have often done well in live performances to a crowd and I always thought it was down to my lyrics, but under further investigation it wasn’t about lyrics, it was about showmanship.

This is an important point for all Rappers to grasp whether you are just starting out honing your skills or you have been Rapping for a long time. A lot of Rappers get hung up on lyrical content. I have met some Rappers that make great recordings with great lyrics, but when it comes to performing live to a crowd that have not heard any of their songs before, they are not well received and fall apart. They then come to the assumption that their lyrics are still not good enough or come up with the assumption that the crowd are stupid and they are performing to the wrong audience. It is when they come up with these assumptions that they are often missing the point. In quieter settings or in a recording, lyrics do have strong importance, as people will eventually take in what you say and I am not down playing the importance of being a good lyricist. But as a Rapper you inevitably will not always have the luxury of performing in quiet settings. There will be times when you have to perform in a big reverberant room, with average sounding microphones, with loud backing music, that is poorly mixed. This can seriously limit what people can hear from you in terms of your actual words, and will not be able to take in and process your lyrics.

It is on these occasions that we as Rappers or MCs really have to understand what MC stands for. That’s Master of Ceremonies for those of you that don’t know! You are the stage conductor and the showman, who is there to get the crowd hyped and to enjoy the music or event that you are at. To do this takes charisma. Charisma sounds like a very intangible thing that cannot be learnt nor taught, but I beg to differ. I think when you understand some of the things that make a person charismatic you find that it is something that anyone can learn.

I just gave an example of some of the Rappers I have seen that are great lyricists, yet for some reason couldn’t cut it on stage. Conversely I have also seen Rappers that are very average lyricists and did not have all the hype behind them that the big names have, yet still managed to kill it on stage in front of a busy crowd. The crowd absolutely loved them! So how could it be that people thought they were any good, without any hype and despite them being very average lyricists? Well, it’s because of what was going through their head in the moment, their body language and to a lesser degree their flow (the rhythm of their voice that people could hear to the music). When they took the microphone and started Rapping, they weren’t acting timid and looking for validation from the crowd. They were simply having fun. It came across as if they had complete disregard for the outcome and went with the flow. They put themselves out there for people to take or leave so to speak, with complete indifference to what the crowd thought of them. You could take their approach as being like this. If the crowd liked them, great! If they didn’t, then at least they would learn from the experience in one way or another. Having this vibe in the moment of performing is a crucial concept to adopt.

When you are performing to a crowd you cannot afford to get hung up on whether they like you or not. It sounds almost counter-intuitive but the less you care about what they think of you, the better you are going to do. You get to focus more on expressing yourself honestly to the people in front of you. When you look for validation in any shape or form you often inhibit yourself and focus more on trying to make them like you rather than expressing yourself honestly and instead hold back through fear that they might not take to it. As a result you are likely to sub-communicate neediness in your body language, voice and general demeanour. This is off putting not just on stage but also in social settings.

I’m sure you can think of a time when you were in school, or work, or at a party or family gathering and can remember being in a conversation with a particular person that just came across as needy. Maybe it was the lonely geeky kid in school that had no friends. Or an old family member that didn’t get out much. As they had no real friends and you happened to be one of the few people that spoke to them, you could sense them being really eager to talk to you. Maybe they kept trying to impress you with average jokes that weren’t that funny, that you pretended to laugh at. Or they kept asking you ‘interview’ questions about yourself. Perhaps they felt they now finally had a friend in you, because they weren’t used to having people actually speak to them. You can probably remember them not being a particularly bad person but also not really wanting to talk to them. You certainly wouldn’t entertain the idea of actually speaking to them on a regular basis and were simply carrying on the conversation out of sympathy rather than genuine interest, whilst in the back of your mind really wanting to get away. Think about the sort of things that person was sub-communicating in their body language, conversation and general vibe…. If you were to think back, you will probably notice they were sub-communicating in their body language and conversation that they felt they were lower value to yourself. As they perceived you as higher value they felt they had a need to have a positive response from you to give them a sense of validation and worth and a general need to impress you and hold your attention.

These same points are things to avoid when performing on stage. You may want attention, positive responses and validation but in this game the hungry don’t get fed! The most charismatic people in the world are more concerned with expressing themselves honestly rather than having positive attention from everyone. That is at least in the moment of performing. As a result they are no longer inhibited by worrying about the outcome. This is why nowadays in Hip Hop people have started to accept others from all backgrounds. You don’t have to fit into the standard Rapper/Gangster stereotype to be accepted by a Hip Hop crowd. You can be anything from a nerdy, suburban kid, a poor homeless person or a Gangster and anything anywhere else in-between. Who you are or where you’re from doesn’t matter as much as the uninhibited expression of yourself or the persona you want to put out. To quote the great Rakim, ‘It aint where you’re from it’s where you’re at…’ You should wear who you are, almost as a badge of honour, especially to a crowd whilst on stage.

Here are 2 crucial points to practice when looking to perform on stage, and give the crowd an awesome performance. In part 2 I will list 3 other points that are extremely powerful and will skyrocket your stage presence;
Let go of the outcome

We always want to do well when we perform in front of people and as I said earlier this point sounds counter-intuitive but you actually need to let go of trying to get a good outcome. Instead look to be present in the moment. This will remove any inhibitions you might have because you are no longer worried about what people may think of you and as a result make the way you hold yourself on stage and all round way you express yourself much more honest, real and powerful. Here’s a quote from a person I’m a big fan of called Dan Millman that always serves me well in these situations. ‘You can’t control outcomes, you can only control your efforts in the moment.’
Have fun or at least enjoy yourself

This is directly linked to letting go of the outcome. As well as looking to be present in the moment. Make sure you are enjoying what you are doing (at least internally if you’re one of those screw faced Rappers). Always have fun or enjoy what you are doing. That’s the whole reason why you want to perform in front of people anyway isn’t it? That sense of enjoyment that you feel is infectious to the crowd and they will pick up on it. I always feel nervous before I go on stage, but I use my nerves to put me in a playful mood. The nerves make me upbeat and give me the fun buzz I need to go and perform, much like a child on too much sugar. In fact learning to take to the stage with the same fun approach you did when you were a young child about to play a new game, is a very good approach to adopt. I say this to all you Rappers, including those looking to drive a serious message.
There are 3 other crucial points to practise when wanting to have powerful stage presence.

Check out http://www.lordlav.com for more

End of Part 1

Copyright LordLav.com 2011

Kitesurfers have got the speed sailing record back again and great run
by Alex Caizergues with a speed of 54.1 knots at Luderitz speed challenge
in Numibia

Interview with the designs of the New Best Taboo.

You will be able to buy the Best Taboo at Airtime from mid September

DUNGENESS, England — Tycoon adventurer Richard Branson was forced to abandon a bid to kitesurf across the English Channel on Tuesday due to rough seas and high winds, a spokesman said.

The entrepreneur, who was attempting the stunt to mark turning 60 last month, had travelled five miles (eight kilometres) out to sea from Dungeness, Kent, when his support boats were forced to turn back.

Without the support team, Branson and his fellow kite-surfers, including his children, Holly and Sam, and other relatives and friends, could not continue their attempt to reach the northern French port of Boulogne.

Branson said: “It was fantastic conditions for kiting but hellish conditions for the chase boats. The boats couldn’t have done it and it’s too dangerous for the kites to continue without them.

“We knew when we set off there was a risk of that.”

He added: “We had a big argument with the boats as we did want to carry on, but in the end sense prevailed.”

Branson was about one hour and ten minutes into a 24.4-mile (39.3-kilometre) crossing expected to take about four hours when it was aborted.

He vowed to make another attempt on Wednesday, when conditions are expected to be better.

He said: “I don’t think I’ve ever done an adventure where I’ve succeeded the first time.

“I’m looking forward to getting the job done tomorrow.”

Grabbed from AFP. http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i94JypMFyvO7lTzBxnPW4abX7JCg

To celebrate turning the ripe age of 60, Sir Richard Branson is attempting to Kitesurf cross the English channel. He hopes to become the oldest person to cross the Channel by kite-board and to make the fastest crossing by a kite-board team. The team consists of Aaron Hadlow, Laird Hamilton, Susi May, Tom Court and Martin Hogg.
For those of you that don’t know, Laird Hamilton is Regarded as the greatest big wave surfer of all time as well as one of the most powerful, innovative, talented and humble of water men. A few of the sports that laird has excelled at (if not invented) are: Kite surfing, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, Foil boarding and windsurfing.The foil-board is an innovative surfboard which incorporates hydrofoil technology allowing a higher degree of precision and effectiveness of aerial techniques within the water.

Aaron hadlow is a 5 time kite surfing freestyle champion winning his first championship at 15. he stands in the industry as being one of the most influential riders inventing a long list of spectacular aerial tricks.
On his site he says “I would have usually stayed longer but I had to fly back earlier as either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday I will be doing a crossing from England to France.
Richard Branson is celebrating his 60th Birthday by doing this challenge.
Flexifoil are providing all the equipment and have especially made kites with Virgin Active logo’s for the hole crew to ride.”

Richard Branson Talks Kite Surfing
A spokes man for Richard Branson commented “Richard wants to do a fun, crazy challenge in the vein of the balloon crossing that he’s done before, but he wanted it to be something his friends and family could get involved with.”

Writing on the Virgin.com website last week, he said: ”I absolutely love the amazing rush you get when going at high speeds, in high winds, with the most beautiful kite acting as your only guide.”

”I know that kite surfing across the Channel will not be quite the same as kite surfing in the beautiful waters of the Caribbean but I can’t think of anything I’d rather do, with my family and friends, to celebrate turning 60!”

”My wife swears I get more barking as I get older – this year I’ve almost crippled myself running 26.2 miles in my first marathon and now I’m putting my poor 60-year-old bones through an arduous 24.4 miles, over water, hanging onto a giant kite! Joan could have a point!”

Sir Richard’s challenge could take up to four hours.

Everybody is welcome so if you have time come down for a skate.

Airtime