Eurocup Feature
F.U.C.K. Eurocup
Eurocup Photos
Live Photo Album
Video
Discussion Thread

Introduction

The Flying Unit of Competitive Kitefliers system has been devised by the Committee Of Competitive Kitefliers to be a new international standard for kite flying competitions throughout the world and possibly beyond.

At Eurocup this year we trailed a hybrid system that incorporated the old fashioned notion of 'judging'. The judges themselves were selected from whoever happened to be walking past at the time. We applied the Hybrid Intentional Judged Approach to Competitive Kiting to the Dual Line Individual Ballet competition. The H.I.J.A.C.K. was, we feel, very successful.

Scoring

As usual we considered each competitor under 5 main areas, with up to 20 points awarded in each area:

Kites

Is the kite cool. Is the colour scheme cool? Do we like it? Has it any unusual features? Do we own one?

Clothes

What is the fliers dress sense like? Are they with this seasons colours and styles? Do they clash with their kite / or themselves? Would we be seen dead in that outfit?

Music

Would we listen to it in the car or at home. Would a decent radio station play it? This is the most common cause of an instant DQ from scoring 0.

Flying

Is the guy or gal actually any good?

Style

Now this is the most important score - the X-Factor. Did the flier get dragged down the beach, buy us a drink last night or organise the festival? Do we fancy them a lot? Are they just really cool?

Results

We have decided to give you the top 6 results, in reverse order:

6th Place

	6th: Stephen Versteegh - 75pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
12	17	13	14	19

Stephen's kite may not have impressed us - we just didn't feel it was pretty enough, and we struggled to see it against the rather gray sky. The 12 was a fair score however as he was flying with his own kite, and the other colour schemes available are much nicer. Yes we know his competition kite was in the colours of the Dutch flag ... but we weren't sure if flying a national flag was a positive or negative point. However Stephen dressed well not just on the competition field but throughout the whole festival. Mid range scores for Music and Flying are topped up by great marks on the Style factor - running Eurocup, a festival and competing yourself is very cool indeed. Well done Stephen.

= 3rd Place

	= 3rd: Richard Debray - 79pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
15	14	14	18	18

	= 3rd: Dave Morley - 79pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
19	12	10	18	20

	= 3rd: Mat Mayet - 79pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
18	14	16	16	15

Richard scored 15 for his kite - it may well be a the most attractive Nirvana in the world but it is still a Nirvana. Sorry. Solid choice in clothes and music were enhanced by some great flying, and a strong aggressive style. If Richard was a little bit cooler then he could be a top F.U.C.K competitor - still 3rd is not to be sniffed at.

Dave scores highly on kites, not just because we like the Fury - but because he had made it himself (well burnt holes in it anyway) - quality. Dave's dress sense left much to be desired - he pulled his socks up which lost him 6 points automatically. Music ... again ... Dave we have heard it too often. We felt Dave flew very well indeed, and gets 20 for style because he integrated skudding into the routine. We really think Dave's focus on precision is holding him back, and suggest he competes next season with a Blade 4.9.

Mat Mayet had a solid result. His Transfer is probably the coolest kite without holes burnt in it on the field. Mat dresses well. His music caused some contention amongst the judges. Eventually the F.U.C.K. Extra Reconciler had to be called in. The Chief F.U.C.K.E.R. likes French music and French vocals so gave a high score - however Mat remember in future that the chance of finding a cultured Judge in any international competition is minimal - I am not saying that Judges, even F.U.C.K. judges are all knuckle dragging (all that precision flying I suppose) Neanderthals but ... well let's move on. Mat flew well, but by the time Style was considered the Chief F.U.C.K.E.R. was distracted and Mat scraped a 15 when his 'dancing arms technique' probably deserved a few points more.

2nd Place

	2nd: Robo Spitters - 86pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
13	20	20	13	20

Beating Robo is a tough job, he is one of the biggest People Really Into Competitive Kiting in the world. However he just missed out being the top P.R.I.C.K this year. Robo was let down by the rather uninspiring STX - we know you can design better Robo - maybe that will change next year. However Robo's Clothes and Music are impossible to fault. The younger fliers should look, learn and maybe investigate the mans tattoo parlor. Robo's flying wasn't the best in the field, but he just oozes X-Factor and is an instant party - so top marks for style to Robo. But who could beat him?

1st Place

	1st: Sasha Redding - 88pts
Kites	Clothes	Music	Flying	Style
20	16	17	17	18

The self vented Fury again, but this time it belonged to one of the F.U.C.K. judges so 20 points were automatic. Sasha was heading for a perfect on his clothing score but the cap knocked four points off that one. Good music and solid flying helped him out. His high Style score is entirely down to the way he managed to break the Fury, and not only break the Fury but break Robin's Fury, and not only that but break it on a beat. If he hadn't have managed this feat then Sasha would not now be holding the coveted F.U.C.K. H.I.J.A.C.K. cup. Well actually he isn't because there isn't a F.U.C.K. H.I.J.A.C.K. cup but if there was one he would be holding it - or at least it would be sitting on a shelf or maybe in a dusty box somewhere in that pit he calls a bedroom. Now that is what Competitive Kiting is all about.

Full Results

Click here to open the full results table.