MORE than 30 of the nation’s best kiteboarders will flock to Main Beach for the National Kiteboarding League (NKL) grand final championships this week.

Today marks the beginning for the four-day competition where the top male and female kiters from Queensland, NSW, Victoria, Western Australia, South Australia and New Zealand will represent their state in the Wave and Freestyle categories.

The six-round NKL series, which kicked off on the Gold Coast in November, has seen competitors compete in Christchurch, Adelaide, Perth, Sydney and Melbourne with the grand final championships now returning to the Coast.

media_camera National Kiteboarding League

Palm Beach kiteboarder Jamie Symons has been kite surfing for 17 years and is sitting in first place for the wave riding category heading into grand final.

Mr Symons, who has run his Skyhigh Kitesurf school for the past 14 years on the Gold Coast, said the number of perfect beaches around the Coast allowed him to be in the water practising new tricks every day.

media_camera Jamie Symons, local competitor in the National Kiteboarding League championships.

“It’s good to be back on the Gold Coast kiting the beach breaks where I first started,” the 47-year-old said.

“I don’t think being on home turf will give me too much of an edge over anyone else. Most of the competitors are used to the same conditions that we surf in here.

“The NKL comp is heaps of fun mostly because I get to catch up with a lot of old mates and have a few laughs. It’s not too often we catch up and all kite together.”

Kiteboarding Queensland & Northern Territory president and NKL event director David De Witt said the new six-round series had been a great success.

media_camera Catching some big air.

“We have seen some outstanding kiteboarding talent as we’ve travelled to each state round, and

we are very excited to see the best of the best at the grand final,” he said.

“Spectators can expect to see around 30 of Australia and New Zealand’s best kiters really pushing the boundaries with some big airs, front rolls, back rolls and amazing tricks.”

For more details on Classic Holidays NKL locations and dates, visit www.nklseries.com.