After attracting more than 40,000 visitors in its initial run, Aspire Zone Foundation (AZF) is preparing to host the second Aspire International Kite Festival, a three-day event which will be held in Aspire Park on 6 to 9 March 2018.

Snapshot from last year's activitiesTeams of professional kite flyers will gather in Doha to compete in a range of individual and team kite events including synchronised kite performances and kite flying art displays. The country’s first kinetic wind decorations have also been set up in Aspire Park.

Speaking about the event, Kholoud Al Hail, Chairperson of the event’s organising committee, said they were delighted to see the return of the Aspire International Kite Festival for the second consecutive year.

After year-long planning, this year’s Festival will witness more countries and schools taking part at the competitions. And we’ve many more surprises – so stay tuned.’

The 1st Aspire International Kite FestivalAl Hail added that this year’s festival will enable people to learn new skills, and get involved in various kite flying workshops that are being organised around Qatar.

Professional Kite Competitions

The teams will be assessed by a professional judging panel based on the creativity of their design, the craftsmanship, ability and duration of the kite flight. Last year’s professional competitions were split into individual and team categories.

In the Individual category, the gold medal went to French participant Richard Debray, while his fellow countrymen Roger Tessa-Gambassi bagged the silver. Malaysian participant Adam Ahmad won the bronze.

In the Pairs and Teams category, Andesky from Colombia won the gold, ex-grads from the UK won silver and Paire’Spire from France won the bronze.

This year also marks Qatar’s first participation in the competitions. In preparation, the Secretary of the International ASEAN Kite Council, renowned Singaporean trainer, Gadis Riyadi, is holding a series of workshops for Qatar team members in Aspire Zone.

Inter-School Competitions

Amateur enthusiasts and young children will also be able to design and decorate their own kites and take part in inter-school competitions organised by AZF as part of the main event in March. Children from Grades 1 – 6 can enter the competition with a maximum of ten students per team.

In the run up to this year’s inter-school competitions, AZF organised a three-day workshop series for 60 teachers from 15 schools last November. The especially designed workshops were organised to provide inspiration and ideas for how to build and decorate a kite, as well as tips and tricks for flying them, and easy to follow explanations of kite aerodynamics.

The workshops were delivered by acclaimed Canadian trainer, Robert Trépanier. Trépanier’s airborne portraiture has had a huge impact on the art of kite flying. His own kite features caricatures of everyday people with distinguished, sometimes dark and often humorous features.

In his workshops, Trépanier addressed topics such as kite history, the science behind kite flying, and different techniques for of kite making, tailored to be easily understood and followed by young children.

First-place school team winner will walk away with QAR 50,000; second-place winner will take home QAR 30,000; and third-place winner QAR 10,000.

For more information, visit the event website through this link.