Ramsgate to host prestigious National Freestyle Kitesurfing Championships

Ramsgate has been put firmly on the map as one of the UK’s top kitesurfing destinations, with the announcement that it will host the final leg of the 2018 National Freestyle Kitesurfing Championships.

Following a glowing endorsement from record breaking kitesurfing champion Lewis Crathern, who broke the British record for the highest jump on Ramsgate Sands in November 2016, representatives from Active Ramsgate successfully concluded talks with the British Kitesports Association (BKSA) to become one of just 4 destinations to host this year’s championship.

Active Ramsgate, an initiative of Ramsgate Town Council, is designed to support economic development in the town by promoting the Ramsgate area to visitors and local residents through an inspiring range of outdoor activities. The team at Active Ramsgate are delighted to not only be hosting the thrilling final leg of the championships, but to be a headline sponsor of the whole event across all 4 championship destinations – Skegness, Hayling Island, Westward Ho!, and Ramsgate.

The final leg of the championships will take place on August 18 and 19 on Ramsgate Main Sands and around 70 competitors from all over the UK will be competing for the title of National Freestyle Kitesurfing Champion.

Any kitesurfer of competition standard can enter. For more information, visit www.britishkitesports.org

Ramsgate will also be one of the venues on the BKSA’s National Kitesurfing Youth Tour, the BKSA’s Youth Tour Manager visited the town on March 14 to talk to local secondary schools about the sport. Together with Ramsgate-based Kent Pirates Kite School, the tour visited Chatham and Clarendon Grammar School and the Royal Harbour Academy.

There are also other exciting events planned for the year, details of which will be released on the Active Ramsgate website. There were free kitesurfing taster sessions for children run by the BKSA on Ramsgate Main Sands on Saturday April 7.