White Air Extreme Sports Festival

The White Air Extreme Sports Festival has fast become the UK's 'Premier Extreme Sports Festival' attracting a combination of enthusiasts from Kitesurfers, Windsurfers, Surfers, Skates and BMX riders to Mountain Boarders, to those with a passion for Thundercat Racing, Mountain Bike Cross Country, Mountain Bike Trials, Duathlon, Parkour, Kayak Racing, and more! The festival offers World Class action from 18 sports on the water, beach, urban and land and has recently expanded into art, 'Have a Go' activities and a full live music stage with 50 groups playing on the beach.

This year White Air moved forward in the Island's social calendar by one month, to the 27th August - 2nd September, in order to coincide with it hosting the World Windsurfing Racing Championships; which in itself is the biggest windsurfing world event ever to be held in the UK. Yaverland once again remained the central hub of all the action.

High temperatures, high spirits & high achievements

Organisers have deemed the 2007 event to be a massive success with pros competing across 15 different extreme sports. Thousands of spectators flocked to the site, and were kept entertained with a whole host of competitions running throughout the week. Thanks to the warm and sunny weather, everyone was in top spirits and the atmosphere was vibrant throughout the event.

On the water, windsurfers took part in the World Windsurf Grand Prix Formula Racing Championships and the UKWA Freestyle Championships. Windier conditions towards the end of the week meant the windsurfers could battle it out on the water at Yaverland. Gonzalo Costa Hoevel took the champion title in the World Windsurf Grand Prix Formula Racing Championships. Following in second place was Jesper Vosterstrom, and Steve Allen in third. In the youth category, Richard Jones took first place. The UKWA Freestyle Championships was won by Andy Chambers, followed by Simon Hurry and Colin Dixon. Richard Jones took the title in the youth category, and Ben Harwood in the juniors.

'Have-a-Go' became an instant hit

The kitesurfers made the most of the windy conditions on Sunday in the White Air BKSA Big Trick Championship. The riders were judged on the height of their tricks, and technical ability. Taking first place was Neil Hilder, followed by Murray and Chris Burke. The event was a real stunner to watch.
The mighty Thundercats held demos and Have-a-Go sessions throughout the week, which were massively popular. The UK Thundercats Championships were held at the weekend, with driver Sean Fisher and navigator Brad Bosman winning the title. In second place was driver Mike Hatting and navigator Candice Pretorius, followed by driver Scott Wilson and navigator Kevin Elford in third. Spectators were treated to some expert racing from the beach at Yaverland.

The YSBC Open Handicap Sailing Race was held on Monday, with 11 boats competing in the race. Completing three laps, in first place were Ian Lawrie and Doug Wright, followed by Darren and Terrisa Jones in second and Paul Grattage and Chris Budgen in third.
Also on the water were the jetski 'Pierats' in the final leg of their Freestyle Tour. Randi Martin, Mad Butcher and Radical Tan were showing onlookers how it's done, performing a range of tricks including barrel rolls, bulldogs and flares. Kayaking events were also held this weekend, at Compton Bay. Although conditions were not very choppy, the freestyle pros still managed to get out on the water. Meanwhile, in the main festival site, the huge ramp was put to good use by mountain bikers, skaters, mountain boarders, parkour, and in-line skaters.

Freestyle flurry with flair

The weekend saw pros from all disciplines take part in a 'composition competition' where professional photographers snapped the best composition shot of pros putting on an excellent display together. The weekend was also host to the MBS European Cup Freestyle Championships. The comp saw Swiss rider Marco Dalher (MBS Dakine) take first place, followed by Arno VDV from Belgium in second (MBS Alpstein Event), and Hill 62 rider Ollie Morrison in third. The mountainboarders were joined on the park by professional mountain bikers Blake and Raymond Samson and Ricky Crompton pulling a number of tricks including no foot cans and superman cans.

Also on the main festival site were parkour pros who ran displays throughout the week, with experts from as far as Bulgaria on the White Air Team. Spectators saw some huge precision jumps between the table top to the lip of the kicker in the skate park. The team were jumping over 6 foot high ramps, stretching across 10 feet!
Professional Freestyle Frisbee Champions were also enjoying the festival and putting on displays throughout the week. There was plenty Have-a-Go action on the beach, in the main festival site, and on the hill overlooking the extreme playground. The champions displayed their flair for wind disc, freestyle frisbee and disc golf.

The Wight Offroad Challenge also took place this year, with over twenty mountain bikers heading out from Yaverland on Sunday on either a 30K or 60K race. In the 60K race, in joint first place were Andrew Barrett and Barry Daniels. In the 30K race, in joint first place again, were Bevin Karlow and Colin White.

Making sure the festival was vibrant and colourful, top graffiti artists spent the week painting a variety of muriels around the festival, including the back of the huge skate ramp. Writers from Team 101, Somnio and Monorex impressed spectators with their artistic ability.

Popular pros, personalities & performers

As well as action in the day, the evenings kicked off in true White Air style, with The Bees headlining on Wednesday night. Aaron Fletcher from The Bees said: "The gig was unbelievable, we never thought we'd be playing at an event at Yaverland. We're always happy to support events on the Island, and White Air was definitely worth it." The band played at the festival site, and really knew how to pull in the crowds. Brett Lawrence kicked the parties off on Friday and Saturday night, together with loads of bands and DJ's playing throughout the week. Spectacular sights were also witnessed in the sky with The Red Arrows flying over the east coast of the Island on Saturday afternoon.

White Air 2007 was even bigger and better than last year, and its reputation has grown as a result. In its 12th year, it can only get better, here's to White Air 2008!!
White Air would not have been possible without sponsors including the RAF, who were delighted to be part of such a reputable, successful event promoting a range of sports. Other sponsors included Corona, Merrell, Wightlink, and the Isle of Wight Council.

For further information relating to the results and finalists of all of the events featured as part of this year's White Air Extreme Sports Festival please visit the official White Air website.

Text courtesy of 'White Air.'

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