2021 New Zealand Kite Foiling National Championship

This past public holiday, the whole country was celebrating Waitangi day. Kite foilers from around New Zealand gathered and participated in the 2021 New Zealand Kite Foiling National Championship that took place in the beautiful Tasman Bay, in Nelson.

Thanks to Nelson Yacht Club for organizing this amazing event and Congratulations to Ozone New Zealand's Team Rider, Lukas Walton for taking the first place, to Lochy Naismith for taking the second place and to Hugo Wigglesworth, 14 years old shredder for taking the 3rd place!

Some words from the Champion:

I didn’t make it easy for myself, but managed to finish the competition with 12 straight wins and secure the title for the second year in a row. Thanks to Ozone for the awesome kites, although I didn't even ride the new R1v4s, the V3s performed well enough to dominate most of the event, and I look forward to show casing the extra speed on the new kites. The R1s performance in less than ideal wind conditions is where the kite truly shines and I can’t wait to have a full set on v4s! I rode the Levitaz r5 on my custom Axis kiteboarding board.

Congratulations to Lochy Naismith on a consistent performance to take second place. Lochy used his brand new 19m R1v4 most of the regatta and said he loved it. Congratulations to Hugo Wigglesworth for taking home 3rd at just 14 years old. Congratulations to Justina Kitchen for taking home the female trophy again, and for her performance in the open fleet.

This years event was held in Nelson, in the South Island of New Zealand. Nelson was a fantastic place to hold the event, with consistent sea breezes and warm weather. We had 2 light wind days with flat water, followed by a day of over 20 knots and big waves, which was an exciting change in pace. We had 13 kiters on the start line, all Kiwis (due to covid) and there were some epic mid-fleet battles, including 3 brothers, father and son, male and female, old and young.

Thanks to the Nelson Yacht Club for running the event for us, it was an awesome regatta. Thank you to the sponsors of the event as well - Deep Creek Brewing Co, Ozone New Zealand, Flysurfer New Zealand, Wings and Waves.

Finally, thanks for all the photos and videos George Guille Media, Legend!