Cabarete beats the world

by Camilla Stendell

If there was one place to be this past week it would be Cabarete. It was for the 7th year in a row that the World Cup tour PKRA in kiteboarding made its way to Cabarete, Dominican Republic. Throughout those years Cabarete has developed from a small sleepy village to a busy tourist beach town and the centre of all kinds of water sports.

This week some of the big names in kiteboarding, like Aaron Hadlow, Alvaro Onieva, Gisela Pulido and Bruna Kaijya amongst others, gathered to compete for the world title and their spot on the world ranking list.

The weather report was amazingly good for the event and the riders showed big moves in the strong wind and choppy waters that made the landings tricky, but very interesting.

The top names got their work cut out by the local Dominicans who showed the world that Dominican Republic is producing a large number of extremely high level kiteboarders.

It was a big accomplishment when the national junior champion Ariel Corniel (16) took out one after another of the top names and made his way all the way to 1. place. The spectators went crazy on the beach when Ariel mass-produced tricks in all varieties and left the top riders struggling in the water.

Ariel himself took all the commotion around him very calmly and professionally."Alvaro is a great competitor but I saw that he had trouble with his landings and I felt very strong so I knew I was winning" said Ariel after the finals in the men's single elimination. The show repeated itself in the men's double elimination final where a very strong going Alvaro again had big troubles with his landings.

4th place also went to a Dominican, the local star Alex Soto, who did a remarkable work on the water after having to stay out for a while because of a smaller motorcycle accident.

Another local did extremely well in the womens eliminations. Audrey Meyer, who trains with the boys every day, came in 4th in her first World Cup competition ever. This shows that if you want to be good at this sport, learn from the best and ride with the Dominicans, because this is where the future top world riders are being shaped!

The womens first and second place went as no surprise to Gisela Pulido Spain and Bruna Kaijya Brazil. These to girls are in a league of their own and pushed it to the limit and left the beach stunned in their incredibly heats. They showed top preferment and that the women soon will be making the same high level technical moves as the men.

The three times World Champion Aaron Hadlow showed that he wanted to regain his title from last year, with amazing moves and landings in the shallow water right in front of the judges. He went for the full power handle pass and landings, but didn't quite nail it every time and he had to see himself defeated. But the entertainment value of his performance was astonishing.  

The competition ended Sunday with a smaller competition a "board off trick day" and again we saw moves that showed that the sport is under an amazing development and we can expect a whole lot more from the elite in kiteboarding.

Next stop on the 2007 PKRA Tour is Tarifa, starting already three days after the final Cabarete day. As the circus leaves the DR North Shore, this years PKRA Cabarete champion Ariel Corniel continues his quest for more victories in freestyle kiteboarding. It might be the first time a local wins the event, but it might not be the last. A new Dominican kiteboarding era has seen the light of day. The achievement means a lot for the future of Dominican kiteboarding, and we are ready for more!

Congratulations to all riders, and in particular to the local hard working young competitors!