Pippa Van Iersel sets the tone at the Queen is Born

Team rider Pippa, took to the skies of Cape Town for the first ever Queen is Born, proving that female Big Air riding is being represented in a phenomenal way and these women are only just getting started. Showing that when a community comes together only then does the magic really starts to happen, this fresh face pulled off some late backroll kiteloop,s leaving us excited about her potential in the future.

This was your first visit to Cape Town, what was your overall impression of the kite scene and vibe?

The conditions in Cape Town (CPT) are amazing, I’ve never kited in such strong but really stable winds. My first impressions of CPT felt good in a direct way. Table Mountain is always there in sight and the cloud above, which represents the famous Cape Doctor wind, is awesome. What I didn’t expect was to get some good freestyle sessions too. The wind is normally super strong, which we had for the first 10 days and then was lighter for the rest of my stay. My overall impression is really good. The wind is super dense, consistent and strong. I don’t think there’s another spot with the same conditions. Besides kiting, the scene is really cool. There’s a lot going on with good food, cafes and places to chill.

What Duotone gear did you travel to CPT and what were your goals?

I travelled with 7m, 9m, 11m Vegas and 8m Dice. Two Team Series 134cm - one with boots the other one with straps - and Click Bars. My goals were to loop in stronger winds and to get confident with it. If I could control that, I wanted to work on my late rolls whilst going higher and higher. The only thing I struggled with was that I loop and jump right-foot-forward, which is the opposite to the kickers in CPT which are left-foot-forward. It pushed me to go for it and I got a lot better in jumping to the left and even tried some loops.

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You came 2nd in The Queen is Born’ the first female big air competition here in CPT, what did you think of the event, judging criteria and support?

Yes I’m really happy with that result. It was a really cool event and we had a complete ladder so it was good for the competition. The judging criteria was the same as the King of the Air and was organised by riders. Some pro male riders were judging and there was loads of support from the kite community to help set up the event. We definitely need more support to make this an official event with live stream so we can show the rest of the world what we can do.

Where you surprised by the high level of the other competitors.

I was yes. All the girls were doing loops even though the wind was really strong, it was definitely cool to see and be part of, especially Angely who is pushing hard in the Big Air discipline.

What have you taken away from CPT and your experience that you will use going into the up and coming world tour season?

I rode in many different circumstances and I was surprised that I could still do my freestyle tricks on the rough sea’s, even on my 7m Vegas. That gave me a lot of confidence for the upcoming freestyle tour.