By ROS BLANCH
LOCAL teens Manny Blanch, Kye Evans and Jonathan Blanch represented the Sunshine Coast in outstanding fashion at the recent Australian Freestyle Kiteboarding Competition, at Doll’s Point, Sydney. They finished first, third and fourth in a nail-biting conclusion to the under-16s division. Kye Evans fought back in six consecutive heats to take out third on the podium. Manny Blanch took out the under-16 Australian championship in a super final against Aaron Kenny from Victoria, beating him twice. Jonathan Blanch finished fourth in his first time at Nationals, showing great control with his tricks. The judges were surprised and impressed by the technical level of tricks in the under-16s. Sydney produced diverse weather in the four days, challenging the athletes on all levels, including choice of kite size. Manny and Aaron received encouragement awards from the judges for “showing great promise in the future”. Manny also finished fifth in the men’s open division. Keep an eye out and you might just see them practising on Noosa River.
