North West Wind Open
It has been several years since Squamish has seen a large scale wind sports event and that event was 2019 Kite Clash (Canadian Nationals) put on by Steve Tulk and the Squamish Windsports Society. Since 2019, wind sports in Squamish faced many challenges, including Covid-19, removal of the road to the spit, and the banning of kiteboarding from Sp’awk’us Feather Park’s dedicated wind sports beach. Needless to say the wind sports community was due for a much needed event to celebrate wind sports in Squamish.
The Squamish Windsports Society (“SWS”) has been the governing body of wind sports in Squamish since 1988. Originally founded by windsurfers, the SWS is composed of volunteers that are a mix of wind sports enthusiast including windsurfers, kiteboarders, and wing foilers. This year the SWS wanted to introduce the first annual wind sports event to integrate the entire wind sports community bringing all disciplines together. The North West Wind Open was born. The 2026 North West Wind Open took place August 28-30th at the iconic Squamish Spit which is known known as Pepahim island. The event was divided into three separate days but later condensed into 2 days due to unfavourable weather conditions on the final day of the event.
August 28th - Brand Demos
The first day of the event on Pepahim island was the brand gear demos from the latest in kite, wing, and foil equipment from the Ozone, Duotone, Naish, and North. The brands sent team riders and representatives with gear for attendees to test. We saw winds between 15 - 20 knots all day. The brand demo is a great opportunity for wind sports enthusiast to test out new wind sports gear prior to purchase. A big shout out to Ozone, Duotone, Naish and North, for making the trip to Squamish and getting riders out on the water with the latest and greatest.
August 29th - Competition Day
The SWS Event crew decided to make to condense the events' competitions into one day as day 3 of the event was looking like rain and no wind. The day started off with the racing portion of the competition in three categories: 1) kitefoil; 2) wingfoil; and, 3) kiteboard. There were over 50 people to competing across all 3 disciplines and riders coming from all over even as far as the Netherlands and Hawaii.
Kitefoil Race Results
1st Tim Walsh
2nd Phillip Schonger
3rd Nixon Lorman
Wingfoil Race Results
1st Jack Rieder
2nd Jon Penfield
3rd Jack Foster
Kiteboard Race Results
1st Dane McCullough
2nd Will Ellis
3rd Pat Taylor
Following the racing it was time for the big air freestyle event, which took place in the iconic “honey hole”. The honey hole is the leeward side of the spit where the water is butter smooth and ideal for freestyle and big air kiteboarding. The big air freestyle event was divided into 3 divisions: Junior (under 18), Women’s, and Mens. The judging criteria was based on 10 trick attempts with the top 3 scoring tricks making up a riders score — 40% height, 40% technicality, 20% overall execution and impression.
Junior Big air/Freestyle:
1st Josh
2nd Drew
3rd Zach
Men’s Big Air/Freestyle
1st Kai Norie
2nd Dane McCullough
3rd Nixon Lorman
Women’s Big Air/Freestyle
1st Yulin Wang
2nd Jessi-Lynn
3rd Andrea Viner
August 29th - the wrap up
To wrap up the event, Mags 99 in Squamish hosted the North West Wind Open and invited the entire Squamish wind sports community to an evening of good food, drinks, and vibes. We held the awards ceremony for the racing and the big air freestyle and finished things off with live music from DJ Pure and Joyce Malkomes.
The North West Wind Open and the SWS would like to extend a special thank you to all those who made this event happen! Our sponsors and prize donors including Ozone, Naish, North, Duotone, Ride Engine, West Coast Wind Sports, Squamish Watersports, Squamish Jetboat Journeys, Outbound Station, Stinger Boards, Backcountry Brewery, and House of Lager.
A very special thank you to Squamish Water Sports and Squamish Jetboat Journeys for providing shuttle service to and from the Spit throughout the day, which allowed all participants and spectators to get to the island safely. Thank you to Outbound Station for keeping our staff, volunteers, and competitors well fed with breakfast sandwiches and burgers. Thank you to our event photographers, Jim Hegan and Michellene Sigurdson, for capturing the weekend and all of the incredible moments on and off the water. Thank you to our judges, race directors, and MC—Kyle Touhey, Geoffrey "Chuck" Waterson, Jack Rieder, and Steve Tulk—for your time, professionalism, and dedication throughout the event. Thank you to DJ Pure and Joyce Malkomes for creating an incredible atmosphere on the spit and at our Saturday night social.
And last, but certainly not least, thank you to the Squamish Windsports Society Board of Directors, staff, and volunteers for making this event possible. Your ongoing dedication to keeping wind sports thriving in Squamish and ensuring participants can enjoy the sport safely is what makes events like this possible.
The North West Wind Open showcased not only an incredible level of athletic talent but also the strength of the wind sports community that the Squamish Windsports Society has built over the past 38 years. We look forward to making the North West Wind Open an annual tradition in Squamish and, in 2027, hosting the Canadian National Championships.
It was the wind and the incredible wind sports community that first drew me to Squamish in 2006. I'm excited to watch the next generation of wind sports athletes learn, grow, and compete right here in Squamish for many years to come.
— Sam Medysky
Event Director, North West Wind Open
7-Time Canadian Kiteboarding National Champion