By REBECCA WALSH
Some of the world's best kitesurfers will take to the waves and skies north of Auckland today for the first international Australasian kitesurfing competition.
Perfect conditions at Mangawhai Heads will bring plenty of "big air" and "radical tricks" as 24 athletes - including world champion Marcus "Flash" Austin, of Hawaii - from around the world compete in the Red Bull Skyride for a prize pool of $19,600.
Described as a cross between surfing and flying or skating and windsurfing, kitesurfing has taken off around the globe in the past eight years. Windsurfers, snowboarders and surfers are among those strapping themselves to a board, hitching on a kite and taking to the water.
Austin, aged 25, relishes the free, three-dimensional, dynamic nature of the sport.
"For me, kitesurfing is like freedom of expression. It's a creative format ... it's like nature's drug. It's very addictive but it's a healthy addiction."
He started seven years ago when he was living in Florida and became frustrated at the little time he got on the water. Unlike surfers, kitesurfers do not have to wait and pray for the right waves. If the wind is right, they can do their thing on still water.
Austin believes it is the easiest "entry-level extreme sport" around, but acknowledges it can be dangerous if not done properly.
In good conditions - winds of 20 to 25 knots and "nice clean waves" - kitesurfers can reach speeds of up to 70 km/h and jump up to 10m in the air.
Twenty-seven-year-old New Zealand champion Kane Hartill, took it up two years ago when a couple of "bad snow years" forced him to look elsewhere for his "freestyle fix."
He now travels the world competing.
"If we get good conditions, it will be going off at Mangawhai because the whole time people are jumping, flying through the air, spinning four, five or six times. It's quite dynamic."
Contestants will compete in two sections, freestyle and the "hang time contest," where the biggest jump and the longest air time take top prize. Olympic windsurfer Barbara Kendall is one of five judges.
Surfing the air is nature's fix
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