Chamnan Puengjoh/ Supansa Kraiwaad Â
Hua Hin turned celestially fabulous again and was a great success as Asian and European kite boarders attended the Hua Hin Kite Board World Cup 2011 from 12 to 19 March. Â The opening ceremony for this event took place on 12 March at 4 p.m. on the beach at the Intercontinental Resort Hua Hin. It was attended by the Prachuab Khirikhan Governor Mr. Weera Sriwattanatrakul, the Mayor of Hua Hin Mr. Jira Pongpaiboon and more than 100 kite board competitors.
The competition for this event was divided into 3 categories: the World Class, the Grand Slam and the Free Style kite boarding. The trophies were awarded to winners of each category by Mr. Suwat Liptapanlop, the former Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand. Â Not only is the Hua Hin Kite Board World Cup 2011 an annual water sport event of Hua Hin, but it also encourages Thai youths to participate and hone their kite boarding skills. This event will enable kite boarding to be an option for national and international sport competitions. Above all, it will promote Hua Hin as one of the premium venues for kite boarding to the world.
The Chairman of the Kite Boarding Association of Thailand, Mr. Natthaphol Eawattanakul,, added that the recent earthquake and Tsunami in Japan, fortunately did not affect the event as all competitors registering attended the event. The weather, particularly in the afternoon, was ideal for the competition.  The closing ceremony was chaired by Mr. Suwat on 19 March and he handed out the trophies to the winners. He said that this year’s event was highly successful in spite off strong winds and some bad weather. There were kite boarders from 30 countries in Europe competing in the event, which was held for the second time in Hua Hin. In addition, since the Kite Boarding Association of Thailand has been officially registered, Thai kite boarders can compete in both regional and international competitions.
In the next few years, the association will nominate Thai contestants to take part in an Olympic kite boarding in Brazil.  Throughout the event, many Thai and foreign tourists gathered on the Hua Hin beach to watch the competition which was also aired on TV in Thailand and many other nations.  This year’s highlight also included a beach fashion show with Thai models.
Thanks to its huge success this year, the next Hua Hin Kite Board World Cup 2011will definitely be held in Hua Hin again. Â Results:
Men Off Board Women Off Board
1.Rolf van der Vlugt ( Ned)1. Karolina Winkowska (Pol)
2.Toby Braeuer (Ger)2. Gisela Pulido (Esp) 3.Tom Herbert ( NCL)
3. Sofia Lennartsson (Swe)
Open Class MenOpen Class Women
- Rolf van der Vlugt (Ned)1. Steph Bridger (Uk)
- Bruno Sroka (Fra)2. Katja Roose (Ned)
- Dirk Hnanel (Ger)3. Caroline Adrien (Fra)
