The GB Kite Girls introduce you to their new Olympic sailing class

Sailing 10 Aug 23

There's a new girl group on the rise and it takes the form of British Sailing's kiteboarders.

When the fast and furious sailing class became Olympic for Paris 2024, there were only one or two women in Britain and a handful across the world who raced competitively.

But British Sailing now holds a close-knit group of five female athletes who are targeting a place on the train to France next summer.

Whether they're competing, taking part in an extreme hobbies, or just hanging out as best friends, the GB Kite Girls are on a mission to highlight their shining new Olympic sailing class.

Here, in their own words, and through their ever-inspiring social media feeds, the GB Kite Girls introduce you to their new-found passions.

Ellie Aldridge on the British Formula Kite team

Poole native Aldridge was syphoned from a skiff background into the new discipline and now feels at home in a unique fleet.

The national champion has been super consistent over the past year, finishing outside of the top three in one of her last 12 major competitions as well as clinching 2022 World Championship silver.

Now the emerging leader of the GB Kite Girls group, Aldridge explains the importance of their tightknit team and how they can secure a Paris 2024 quota spot.

“It's really cool to be one of the first women to do this full-time," she said.

"There is no rulebook and we’re all coming to this pretty fresh, no-one is very far ahead of each other.

"And it's fun, travelling the world, doing all the events with some of your best friends.

"We’ve got a really tight group, but we are all pushing each other so it’s always a competition.

"My main goal is to qualify my nation at the Worlds and hopefully get on the podium or close to the podium.

“No one has actually qualified yet, so it’s going to be all for it at the Worlds, everyone is going to be gunning for it."

Jemima Crathorne on the thrill of kiting

Crathorne began kitesurfing alongside her thrill-seeking family at a young age before rediscovering it during university when taking part in British Sailing's Kite4Gold initiative.

The 25-year-old is now one of five British Sailing athletes in the top 15 in the world.

Whether she's on or off the water, Crathorne thrives on the rush of adrenaline that comes with the extreme sport.

"Ever since I was little, my family would always go on adventures and I just love absolutely extreme sports," she said.

"When I went to Uni, I ended up discovering a lot of extreme sports and my sister and I would go off and continue those adventures.

"Then at the beginning of my third year I when to the British Sailing Kite4Gold programme and rediscovered my love for kite surfing.

"I'm not afraid of the adrenaline and the speed of the sport, there's something so special about going fast on water and the freedom you have out there.

"I love ice climbing as well, you can't really compete in that but in the future, I would love to compete in cross-country para gliding."

Katie Dabson on the challenges they face

World champion in Nacra-17 in 2017, Dabson switched to Formula Kite in the hunt for something new.

But with a new class brings new challenges, and Dabson is just one of the GB Kite Girls who has uncovered how weight is a major contributing factor to the sport.

In basic terms: the heavier you are, the faster you'll go.

And with only one spot available on the plane to Paris next year, it's important to get every step right on the way to Olympic qualification.

“It’s really interesting to see how weight has become such a big thing," she said.

"It’s been interesting to see the size of the fleet grow and see people gain 10 or 15 kilos in the last few years, it’s pretty crazy.

“When we first started kiting, it wasn’t on anyone’s radar. It was an unknown.

"Over the last few years, there’s been an absolute undeniable focus on, ‘we need to be heavier.’ "We call ourselves athletes but sometimes it doesn’t feel like that because we’re constantly on weight gain.

"I’ve got this mass-gain protein thing which is maybe 1500 calories per serving."

Maddy Anderson on the excitement of a new Olympic class

Shredder Anderson already had four years of experience in kiting before joining the GB Kite Girls and is now one of the most experienced in the group.

With a clear love of the sport and the new class, Anderson explains just why you should tune into the Formula Kite action next summer.

“It’s really exciting - no one quite knows how the world is going to receive kiting," said Anderson, who is hoping her French degree might come in handy next year.

“I hope that people are going to be as excited by the sport as we are.

"I think what’s so cool is that when we go out, we have a lot of people asking about the sport, it’s something so new in terms of how it looks visually. 

“It’s an incredible sport and I hope that come the Games, the energy is there, and we can showcase this sport that is growing so fast. Hopefully it can be a really good spectacle.”

Lily Young on World Championships success

The 2023 Allianz World Sailing Championships saw the GB Kite Girls catapulted on top of the world.

With four British athletes within the top 10 in The Hague, there was a raft of success as Aldridge and Young finished on the podium with their respective silver and bronze.

Young is the youngest Kite Girl at just 24 years old, but is now one of the sports brightest stars following a Worlds Champs the group will remember for years.

“It’s amazing," she said. "I think the reason we are all so good is that we’ve got each other pushing each other on.

"We are super competitive, but also super good friends - which I think is the best environment to have. 

“The fact that we got two medals is amazing. The dream for us girls is to lock out a podium at one point, two have all the medals, and we’re getting closer each year - so hopefully one year we can get an all-British podium. That would be amazing."

Sportsbeat 2023

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