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A Double Late Winter Adrenaline: Snowkite

The world's longest and toughest snowkite-race, VAKE, boasts 25 teams from 9 nations in Varanger, Norway for three days, 6-9 April.

50 contestants from Norway, Russia, America, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium, South Africa and Denmark are ready for the VAKE, while the other teams are on the waiting list, hoping that one team may withdraw their spot.

- “We will now go through the list, to make sure that all the contestants are qualified to compete. We demand the best physical strength and endurance besides excellent kite experience and winter survival training,” says VAKE organizer Bjørn Breivik Several of the signed up teams have competed in VAKE the previous years. The participants must be in extremely good physical shape, have excellent kiting experience, and must know how to survive out in arctic winter condition. Out of the 50 contestants, there are only two women competing.

What is VAKE?

VAKE is a long distance snowkite contest where two-man team together kite over three stages from Berlevåg via Vadso to Vardo (Smelror). Participants must bring the necessary equipment to survive outside in arctic winter for a minimum of 5 days. Each team must navigate from the leg’s start to the leg’s finish line via the established checkpoints. If the participants with their own gear or equipment cannot kite to the finish line within the stipulated time, they will have to get to the road / snowmobile track for transport to the finish area. The three-day event is a 200km distance race brought up by the Varanger Kite Club, the Norwegian Kite Association and the International Snowkite Association.

There is an entry fee of approx. 1500,- NOK (approx. 200 Euro) pr. pers. This covers bus Kirkenes - Berlevåg, Berlevåg accommodation which includes breakfast, transportation to the starting area, bus with driver available during the event and finally the banquet expenses.



Facts about Snowkiting?

Snowkiting, or skikiting as it is also known, is the latest craze in adrenaline soaked sports in Norway. A pair of skis or a snowboard, a helmet, harness, kite, some windproof clothes and some practice are what you need to reach speeds of up to 100 kilometers per hour.

The sport is similar to kitesurfing, but with the footwear used in snowboarding or skiing. In the early days of snowkiting, foil kites were the most common type; nowadays some kitesurfers use their water gear such as inflatable kites. Snowkiting differs from other alpine sports in that it is possible for the snowkiter to travel uphill and downhill with any wind direction. Like kitesurfing, snowkiting can be very hazardous and should be learned and practiced with care. Instead of riding a chairlift to the top, snowkiters can use the wind to power them up a mountain and deep in to the untouched powder.

Varanger: A Paradise for Snowkiters

In Norway, Varanger provides a truly exotic snowkiting experience far up in Northern Norway. Located next to the powerful Arctic Ocean, Varanger offers the unique opportunity to snowkite whilst watching out over the sea - an unbeatable combination. The heavy and pretty constant wind here gives you tremendous speed.

Another unique feature is the openness of the landscape - there is hardly a tree in sight. So it is not surprising that Varanger has been hosting the Snowkite Championship since 2005.

TAGS: Snow-Kite

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	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	P
1	Molde	30	17	7	6	54	38	58
2	Tromsø	30	15	8	7	56	34	53
3	Rosenborg	30	14	7	9	69	44	49
4	Odd Grenland	30	14	6	10	44	44	48
5	Brann	30	14	6	10	51	51	48
6	Haugesund	30	14	5	11	55	43	47
7	Vålerenga	30	14	5	11	42	33	47
8	Strømsgodset	30	12	9	9	44	44	45
9	Aalesund	30	12	7	11	38	38	43
10	Stabæk	30	11	6	13	44	50	39
11	Viking	30	9	10	11	33	40	37
12	Fredrikstad	30	10	6	14	38	41	36
13	Sogndal	30	8	10	12	24	31	34
14	Lillestrøm	30	9	7	14	46	52	34
15	Start	30	7	5	18	40	61	26
16	Sarpsborg 08	30	5	6	19	31	65	21

Games week 29

Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team
2011-11-20	18:00	Strømsgodset	2 : 1	Vålerenga
2011-11-20	18:00	Tromsø	3 : 1	Rosenborg
2011-11-20	18:00	Fredrikstad	3 : 1	Aalesund
2011-11-20	18:00	Brann	2 : 0	Lillestrøm
2011-11-20	18:00	Odd Grenland	1 : 0	Sogndal
2011-11-20	18:00	Molde	3 : 1	Sarpsborg 08
2011-11-20	18:00	Viking	1 : 1	Start
2011-11-20	18:00	Stabæk	1 : 2	Haugesund

Games week 30

Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team
2011-11-27	18:00	Sogndal	2 : 1	Molde
2011-11-27	18:00	Haugesund	5 : 1	Strømsgodset
2011-11-27	18:00	Aalesund	5 : 1	Brann
2011-11-27	18:00	Rosenborg	3 : 2	Viking
2011-11-27	18:00	Start	1 : 6	Tromsø
2011-11-27	18:00	Sarpsborg 08	3 : 2	Odd Grenland
2011-11-27	18:00	Vålerenga	2 : 0	Stabæk
2011-11-27	18:00	Lillestrøm	0 : 0	Fredrikstad

	Team	Pl	W	D	L	GF	GA	P
1	Hønefoss	30	16	9	5	61	28	57
2	Sandnes Ulf	30	18	2	10	58	32	56
3	Sandefjord Fotball	30	16	5	9	61	38	53
4	Bodø/Glimt	30	15	7	8	52	38	52
5	Ranheim	30	15	7	8	61	39	52
6	HamKam	30	14	9	7	52	40	51
7	Kongsvinger	30	14	7	9	50	36	49
8	Hødd	30	13	7	10	54	42	46
9	Bryne	30	11	11	8	47	38	44
10	Mjøndalen	30	10	10	10	42	51	40
11	Alta	30	10	9	11	45	51	39
12	Asker	30	9	7	14	38	56	34
13	Strømmen	30	9	7	14	43	58	34
14	Nybergsund	30	6	5	19	42	72	23
15	Randaberg	30	4	5	21	39	87	17
16	Løv-Ham	30	4	5	21	32	71	17

Games week 29

Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team
2011-10-23	15:00	Bryne	2 : 2	Nybergsund
2011-10-23	15:00	Sandnes Ulf	6 : 0	Løv-Ham
2011-10-23	15:00	Hønefoss	3 : 0	Mjøndalen
2011-10-23	15:00	Ranheim	3 : 0	Randaberg
2011-10-23	15:00	Kongsvinger	2 : 0	Bodø/Glimt
2011-10-23	15:00	HamKam	1 : 4	Sandefjord Fotball
2011-10-23	15:00	Strømmen	1 : 2	Alta
2011-10-23	15:00	Asker	0 : 3	Hødd

Games week 30

Date	Time	Home team	Score	Away team
2011-10-30	13:00	Mjøndalen	1 : 2	Ranheim
2011-10-30	13:00	Løv-Ham	2 : 5	Hønefoss
2011-10-30	13:00	Nybergsund	2 : 6	Strømmen
2011-10-30	13:00	Sandefjord Fotball	5 : 1	Asker
2011-10-30	13:00	Alta	0 : 0	Bryne
2011-10-30	13:00	Hødd	3 : 1	HamKam
2011-10-30	13:00	Bodø/Glimt	3 : 1	Sandnes Ulf
2011-10-30	13:00	Randaberg	0 : 4	Kongsvinger

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