Untitled - KiteLife

With the winter gone, the Europeancompetitive stunt kite scene wakesup to a very full 1991 . Even during thewinter, local leagues, which STACKhas been very keen to promote,have been held and it is here thatthe development of the sport, atgrass roots level, is beginning totake place .Inspired by Steve Negen's (of RoaringFlamingo's fame) league concept,UK fliers started leagues in 1990 .The idea has spread fast and thereare now some eight leagues establishedin the UK alone with great interestbeing shown by other Europeancountries .Leagues enable Novice,Experienced, and Open class fliers tocompete on a regular basis withouthaving to travel long distances to doso . Usually three figures are pre-publishedand one surprise figure is chosenon the day of the competition .STACK has a league package, writtenby Jacob Twyford (STACK U .K .National Director) and Viv "CaptainBiff" Walters (STACK Head Judge,which is available to anyone whowants it. It is hoped that the leagueconcept will greatly broaden thebase of competition and bring it toall fliers . So far, only individual eventshave been held but with the evergrowingnumber of teams, a move inthis direction can't be far away .1991 sees a number of shake-upson the Team front . The Blitz have splitup and given birth to two new teams .Paul Jobin, former Blitz team leader,will be fielding The Team With NoName, joined by former Blitz teammembers Johnny Claffey, NealYoung, and, rumor has it, Mike Ward .The Blast sees former Blitz membersTony "TC" Cartwright, Andy King andSarah Kent (also a member of thenow legendary Ballet Tutus) teamingup with Laurie Paget (also a BalletTutu) . European Cup winners, theDecorators, retain their 1990 line-upand other U.K. teams include : STACKof Three, Team Merlin, Fliers FX,Organised Chaos, The Bermuda Triangle,and The Wicked Allsorts .The Paris-based Team Flashbackhas also seen some changes .Maxime Fellion and Denis Perriothave left to form a new unit andFlashback, led by Julian Wolfe Patrick,has added two new members intheir place . A Team Flashback II hasalso been formed .Word from Holland is that this yeara number of new teams will be seenwith names like the Crash and All atOnce . Meanwhile, the Dike Hopperscontinue their career with up to sixmembers . The Berlin-based UpAgainst The Wall lost their leader,Mark Heitman, at the end of lastseason, but have found a new memberin his place . Belgium now hasHigh Life; Italy, Team Vulandra ; andSwitzerland, Heaven Sent, so 1991promises to be a very interestingyear .