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02.12.2020
Red Bull King of the Air 2021: Updates and Entry Videos
Cape Town is opening up and the King of the Air 2021 – will be on… or not?! In this blog, we will dive into the current status quo of KOTA 2021 in Cape Town and will be dealing with the question: Is the King of the Air 2021 going to happen?! Also, we will take a sneak peek at some of the very promising KOTA 2021 entry videos.
Of course, as anything in 2020, also the Red Bull King of the Air 2021 is heavily affected by the development of the Corona-Virus pandemic. Usually, riders and visitors fly in from all around the world for those weeks of the year, gather at the beach during the event and party hard afterwards. Well, this year KOTA event will be much different probably, if it’s going to happen at all.
Most professional athletes, average kitesurfers and sponsors of course, cross fingers for the contest to happen anyways. The King of the Air 2021 would be the first opportunity for the riders to show their skills, after the last King of the Air in February 2020. All other major events including all qualifier events for KOTA 2021 got cancelled, except for one. Luckily, the Cold Hawaii Games 2020 could happen in September 2020 in Nørre Vorupør, Denmark. Our Kitemana crew took some days off and drove up North to visit the event and we were super stoked about it. If you did not make it to the event, you should check out our Cold Hawaii Games 2020 blog post with all the details and why you should definitely go as well next year.
The Cold Hawaii Games 2020 was the only qualifier event that could happen in 2020. If a rider wins one of those satellite events, he or she will automatically have a spot on the King of the Air riders list. For the Cold Hawaii Games 2020, Kevin Langeree made it to the top of the podium and is therefore automatically qualified for the next KOTA. Usually, there are six satellite events, where riders from all around the world can participate. The aim is to have at least one per continent to really open up the competition to all riders, as Sergio Cantagalli (KOTA Event Director) pointed out. For 2020, Red Bull planned to have one event each in Denmark, Netherlands, USA, Dominican Republic, Taiwan and Argentina. The reason to have two events in Europe is also to life up to the demand in Europe… Europe is one the most important markets, many talented riders as well as a very large part (if not the majority) of visitors and spectators come from Europe.
Planning scenarios for KOTA 2021
Back to the upcoming KOTA 2021: Red Bull is planning to execute the event in a format adapted to the current and local situation. Therefore, Red Bull is working closely with the local authorities to make it happen. Sergio Cantagalli shared that he is very positive (almost surprised) about the cooperation with the South African authorities this year. In comparison to the past years, the support in permits and logistics is very strong. He interprets that as a good sign for the event to happen in February 2021. To increase their chances to make the event happen, the team around Sergio is preparing a multitude of scenarios to be able to rapidly adapt to the quickly changing challenges that the pandemic brings. One example are the visas to the Republic of South Africa for all riders. Red Bull South Africa is checking options to bring riders into the country on business visas, since all of them are professional athletes.If KOTA 2021 is going to happen, this definitely means less or no crowds at the beach, no after-parties etc. and maybe some no-shows or last minute changes in the riders fleet, due to travel restrictions. However, King of the Air is more than an event – it is actually like a short but intense season, during the Cape Town season. Also the fact, that some riders might be unable to participate raises the question: Even if it is possible, should Red Bull postpone the event? According to Sergio, Red Bull and all riders are on the same page regarding that: an adapted Red Bull King of the Air is better than no King of the Air. Many riders are eager to compete and we want to see a great show… as easy as that!
Format and judging updates for KOTA 2021
Other changes that will be implemented for the KOTA 2021 are the reduced riders fleet, new qualification rules and slightly different judging criteria. The riders fleet was reduced to 18 riders from 24 riders in 2020. This brings the advantage of running the event more efficiently in one day if needed. Also, each individual rider receives more attention from the crowd, so it is easier to build up a story around each heat. This more compact format also changes the number of riders within the heats. Instead of mainly four riders in 2020, a few heats will be now run with three riders but mostly it will be 1:1 heats for 2021. To open up the competition to new and upcoming stars only the top 3 are qualified instead of the top 6 from the previous King of the Air. This equals in more available spots for video entries. Also the judging criteria have been adapted. Instead of judging the biggest move, now the three biggest move are taken into account to generate final scores.KOTA 2021 Entry Videos
By now, the time period to submit video entries has closed and we have been watching all available KOTA 2021 entry videos (yes… trust me… all of them). The riders list will be announced on the 10th of December. The same judges, that will judge the main event, will also review all video entries. They will pick 11 riders out ofall video entries. On top, three wildcards will be given to candidates with high potential. Kevin managed to win the Cold Hawaii Games and Jesse, Nick and Aaron are automatically qualified by taking the podium at the last KOTA 2020.As mentioned, we have been going through all video entries during November and now again after the video application period ended. We are super hyped and cross our fingers for the King of the Air 2021 to happen! We can´t wait to see if Airton Cozzolino is coming back on his directional. Also, the strapless rider Camille Delannoy send in a video clip, so maybe we will have two riders pushing the limits of Big Air strapless kiteboarding this time? Also, what about the girls? We have seen a last-minute upload by Pippa Van Iersel banging out a Kung-Fu-Pass, so we can´t wait to see if she makes it to riders fleet. Young guns like the 11 year old British Max Tullett or the 14 year old Dutchie Jamie Overbeek have put in strong clips, just like many local riders like the Germans Rene Barner or Simon Bruhn. Some really impressive clips come from bigger dudes like Joshua Emanuel and Marc Jacobs, who show who’s boss when the wind really picks up. Also, the Frenchies have some promising candidates in the race with Clement Huot or Paul Serin. Also, it never gets boring to watch legends like Lasse Walker, Lewis Crathern or Gijs Wassenaar reach sick heights and throw some smooth rotations… we could go on for hours now!
On the 10th of December, we will announce here on our blog the complete riders list for the King of the Air 2021. So, sign up for our newsletter here to not miss out on this update!
See here all of the KOTA 2021 Entry Videos that mentioned above:
Airton Cozzolino
Camille Delannoy
Pippa Van Iersel
Max Tullett
Jamie Overbeek
Rene Barner
Simon Bruhn
Joshua Emanuel
Marc Jacobs
Clement Huot
Paul Serin
Lasse Walker
Lewis Crathern
Gijs Wassenaar
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