Cortina Snowkite Contest 2012

From 26 January 2012 to 29 January 2012

From 26 to 29 January 2012 the unmissable appointment with the Cortina Snowkite Contest is back with four days of races and entertainment dedicated to an acrobatic sport activity of board and kite. The event is now in its fifth edition and has transformed itself from a purely avant-garde happening into one of the most awaited for yearly events by all winter sport aficionados.

Since 2008, when the first edition was held, the event has been more and more successful with a steadily growing number of participants and a huge following by the public and as a consequence has been nominated the most spectacular sport event in the Dolomites.

The ingredients of its success are easy to guess and amongst them is without any doubt the exceptional location. Open spaces, sport and high society have played a main role in crowning Cortina as the queen of the Dolomites. Surrounded by some of the most beautiful mountains in Europe, now a Unesco world heritage site, it is the location of international and famed sport events thanks to its 120 kilometres of downhill skiing and 70 kilometres of cross-country skiing. A renowned and exclusive holiday destination, it distinguishes itself also for additional winter sport activities: from ski-mountaineering and off-piste skiing, through to snow-shoe excursions, bobsleighing, ice climbing, ice-skating and curling at the Olympic Ice Stadium. As part of this varied mix of activities the Snowkite contest attracts athletes from all over Europe eager to challenge one another on the Giau Pass in the typical disciplines of this event: free-style, big-air when riders try to set the longest time suspended in the air and the 4 versus 4 race. It will be the usual format, with multiple starts on a mixed course with elevation changes, gates, staging posts, timed intervals and slope changes with knock-out rounds. The pulling force for athletes, be it on skis or snowboard, is given solely by the power of the wind so this event is perfectly in tune with the latest ecological and environmentally friendly direction.

Spectators have the opportunity to watch this jaw dropping show of breath-taking tricks and adrenaline-filled jumps brought about by the instability of the wind and the rough mountain terrain. The packed list of events is arranged on the day according to the weather conditions and the number of contestants.Besides the competition, the programme includes collateral events aimed at getting the spectators involved and highlighting the natural beauty of the landscape and nature where the event is taking place. In particular, thanks to the support of the Kite4Freedom association, the event will also be an exciting showcase of all the latest snow sports from around the world.