The Armada Trust, the BKSA and BSUPA are delighted to launch the first ever Kite & SUP Youth Tour. The Tour will run throughout April and May, visiting eight tour stops around the country and aiming to engage over 1,000 young people who have never tried power kiting or SUP boarding before.

Dan Charlish from the Armada Trust said,

‘We love kitesurfing and SUP boarding and have been wanting to support grassroots development for some time. After the success of the Kids Armada event on Hayling last year, we are really pleased to be expanding the project across the country. And best of all, it wouldn’t be happening without the support of the kitesurfing and SUP communities who raised the funds needed to launch this Tour at previous Armada festivals.’

At each Tour stop local young people can sign up to try power kiting and SUP boarding for free, with sessions lead by fully qualified instructors from local kite and SUP schools.

Andy Gratwick from the BKSA and BSUPA said,

‘We have so many great kite and SUP schools around the country and having them as partners at each tour stop is really positive and makes sense. We all want to see more young people getting into these sports and this is exactly the sort of initiative the BKSA and BSUPA should be supporting.’

Young people must be 12-18 years old, and will be reached through assemblies given at local schools and through promotion locally – Tour Manager Will Kay is qualified in both Kite and SUP and is looking forward to the challenge:

‘It’s going to be great to be in a different part of the country each weekend, seeing loads of kids engaging in these sports and having fun. And if they want to take it further, we have the support of local kite and SUP schools to help make this happen – or they could even visit the Virgin Kitesurfing Armada or the Neilson SUP Armada Festivals in summer and get more involved there!’

The Tour is also supported by some fantastic sponsors including Norse South East, Neilson, Progression, SUP Kiko, North Kiteboarding, Powerkiteshop, Kiteworld and SUP Mag UK.

Planet Kitesurf have also offered a fantastic prize of a ‘Learn to Kitesurf’ holiday to one lucky participant and their family. The winner will be selected at random from all the young people who take part, across all tour stops.

Thank you for your support.