Team kite competitors to string ‘em up for a high-flying exhibition.
Take the high-flying acrobatics of Michael Jordan, add a pinch of the precision execution of Kristi Yamaguchi and a dash of the funky choreography of the Fly Girls, tie the mixture to a string, multiply by four and wait for a gust of wind. The result is the breathtaking aerial sport of team kite flying.
This weekend’s Sport Kite Expo on the sand south of the Redondo Beach Pier will showcase kite teams from Redondo Beach, El Segundo, San Pedro and San Diego.
The free, two-day exhibition is a prelude to next weekend’s 17th annual Festival of the Kite at the same location.
Team kite pilots raise flight to a higher level of excitement and artistry.
“It’s aerobatics,” said Jim Graham, marketing director of the Redondo Beach Harbor Enterprise. “With the kites flying in unison . . . it’s like ballet on string.”
These are no ordinary kites. Typically triangle-shaped and made of nylon and fiberglass, sport kites have an eight-foot wingspan and two operating lines.
“They are the high-tech, high-performance end of kites,” said Randy Joe, owner of the Sunshine Kite Co. and a member of Redondo Beach’s Tsunami Flight Team. Light and maneuverable, the kites are capable of dizzying speeds and dazzling moves in winds from 2 to 30 m.p.h.
Most teams have four members and each member controls his or her kite with two lines, one for each hand. Team members stand side-by-side but fly their synchronized kites at various predetermined heights. Many of the routines are done to music. During competition, judges consider the precision, style, creativity and difficulty of the moves.
“We plan and choreograph maneuvers,” said Joe, who is also the event’s principal organizer and a kite instructor. “The lines will look like they’re getting all twisted up. People wonder what happens when the lines get tangled, but tangled is the wrong word. It’s natural for the lines to become twisted, intertwined and come together. It’s no big deal.”
Maybe not, but Jay Robinson, who got hooked on the sport after taking a seminar offered by Joe, remembers “monumental, mega-crashes and chaotic pileups” when his team first began flying. “You’ve got to have a good sense of humor and a durable kite,” Robinson said.
But before long, “we were wrapping, twisting, intertwining and coming out of it OK,” Robinson said. Nevertheless, his team’s skill, concentration and creativity can’t dispel the mood expressed by their team name: High Anxiety.
“We’re totally anxious out there all the time,” Robinson said. “It’s like, are we going to get away with this?”
Joe agreed that team flying is intense. “But it’s exhilarating when you’ve flown well,” he said.
Saturday’s lineup features High Anxiety and Team Tempest of Redondo Beach and Up in the Air of El Segundo. Sunday’s master class teams are Team Top of the Line of San Diego, Tsunami Flight Team of Redondo Beach and Zephyrus Flying Team of San Pedro.
What: Sport Kite Expo featuring team kite flying.
Where: On the sand south of the Redondo Beach Pier at the end of Torrance Boulevard.
When: Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Admission: Free.
Information: Call (310) 372-0308.