Is Big Air a male-dominated sport? | Fight for Flight S1 E4 | Kitesurfing Docuseries

Big air athletes are defined by the boundaries they push, and no athletes are pushing boundaries harder than these fierce ladies. Meet the women who are pioneering women's big air and shattering stereotypes while they're at it.
Follow us on Instagram: / bigairkiteleague
Thank you to Makani Beach Club and Core Kiteboarding for believing in BAKL’s vision for this sport and making this production possible!
Production:
Thank you to our fantastic production team for pulling off this project. Special mention must be given to Michal Jagniatkowski from Nonoise Media for his fantastic editing, film work, and huge back-catalog from years of working with The Big Air Kite League.
We would love to hear from you! Please email Mike at [e-mail] if you'd like to get in touch.
CREDITS:
Directed by: Nadia Negm and Michael Mac Donald
Produced by: The Big Air Kite League, Michael Mac Donald
Director of photography: Nonoise Media
Editor: Nonoise Media
Assistant Editor: Matthew Bosworth Smith
Colour grading: Nonoise Media
Score: Nonoise Media
Sound: Paperklip
Production designer: Jasmine Cho
Interviews: Nadia Negm
Motion graphics: fullhd.co.za
Thank you to Michi's kite repairs
Starring:
Adrian Kerr
Andrea Principi
Angely Bouillot
Beto Gomez
Cohan van Dijk
Evan Klijn
Giel Vlugt
Hannah Whiteley
Janek Grzegorzewski
Jasmine Cho
Jett Bradshaw
Johanna Disdier
Lewis Crathern
Liam Whaley
Lorenzo Casati
Luca Ceruti
Marc Jacobs
Mikaili Sol
Michael Mac Donald
Nathalie Lambrecht
Nick Jacobsen
Oswald Smith
Pippa van Iersel
Ruben Lenten
Stig Hoefnagel
Zara Hoogenraad
Additional riding footage provided by:
Andy Troy
Colin Colin Carroll
Core Kiteboarding
Evan Klijn
Hannah Whiteley
Janek Grzegorzewski
Jett Bradshaw
Julien Leleu
Kyle Cabano
Lewis Crathern
Lorenzo Casati
Luca Ceruti
Marc Jacobs
Mikail Sol
Mystic
Nathalie Lambrecht
Pippa Van Iersel
Ruben Lenten
Stig Hoefnagel
Tom Seager
#kitesurfing #kiteboarding #bigairkiteleague

[@jeffreyeaton4499]

David Attenborough?! Next level production y’all. Great story telling as well and I especially like the respect given to those who shaped the sport. Nice work and thank you!

[@bigairkiteleague]

Thank you Jeffrey!

[@SVSeaChange]

Very sad that the Cape Town BAKL event had to be cancelled for lack of sponsorship, especially for the women who don't have too many other events.

[@sergbayraktar3353]

Great video about the girls at this amazing sport! Thank you Quin of the air is about to come true!

[@expert7383]

Absolutely amazing video, the voice the action everything perfect

[@vinny61389]

I’m glad locally to see a pretty even split between men and women riders, room to grow though for sure. Hopefully more folks can support and create more room for them as time goes on both in the competitive and more casual spaces.

[@bigairkiteleague]

That's awesome! Yes just being supportive and encouraging of eachother goes a long way ❤️

[@janschluenzen]

Awesome! And great filmmaking displayed here!

[@VK-pl1nd]

it is very good that guys can come together and speak, despite the fact that they are sponsored by different brands :) before the community and content creation was so closed

[@OhDuur]

Can't wait to see the first Queen of The Air !!! But Angely will still be my first Queen of the Air 💪

[@bigairkiteleague]

For us too!!!

[@jimmyjames1411]

Its like we are looking down on women who don't do big air. I have two that are fairly inspiring to watch and make me want to copy or go bigger b/c they are just that good. I'm fine with 7-10m. Big Air isn't that impressive, anyone with practice can do it, its the small technical tricks low on the water that make Kitesurfing/boarding great and more enjoyable. Its dominated by men b/c men typically try to outdo each other in size and scope of things. Women do too but not to the degree men do. At my spot, there is maybe 5-10 girls kiting and 1-2 will go big. ON the other hand out of the 150 guys that kite,100 are trying to get high or do something big, even the ones broken over the years. in the winter, i have yet to see one female on water and I am on beach most of the time when wind strikes. Instead of a KOTA with 1 or 2 women competing amonghs the men, why not have a QOTA. That would be impressive and the women could stand out instead of drowned out by majority ofmen.

[@marcinmdk6084]

Amazing!

[@jeffg.1471]

Let's go 🎉

[@Baptiste_L]

Angely is badass !!!

[@nielagi5029]

Women in sports get paid according to how much money they bring in for the league. Following her logic, 10th place should get just as much money because they also have the same cost to do the competition

[@expert7383]

Amazing!!!!?

[@powerlooper9121]

LOL. Sounds like an AI Attenborough.

[@gilleslehmann6143]

Pippa is so famous that she has her own Wikipedia page 😉

[@ariane3222]

Seriously? This video is perpetuating existing struggles for women in male-dominated sports like kitesurfing/big air. it is edited with quite a few classic male-gaze shots like a diving woman in a bikini in the beginning (it's about kitesurfing not diving) and the narrator talking about women as if they were a rare breed of exotic birds. It shows a lack of female stewardship in the production of this documentary. You can tell that this series is made for men, as it talks ABOUT women and doesn't give them the authority to shape this episode of the series. Also, female bodies are being commodified in society, I.e. Made into products - how useless is it to hear this guy's sexist opinion about how 'everyone loves to see a gorgeous woman'.. The fact that women are being asked to do ads that objectify their bodies is a systemic problem of a sexist industry that feeds desires of a male-dominated sport. And I think it is really sad to not call these structural issues by its names. I appreciate that more light is being shed about the gender Inequality in big air, but please try a feminist approach, let women design the episode and make sure you tackle sexism in a more holistic way than just asking some questions to female athletes.

[@Asni997]

First can I get pinned