Contraloop is a kiteloop flown the other way round, pulled with the front hand instead of the back and driven to the kite's lowest point for a harder drop.
Also called: contra loop · CL · front hand loop
Prerequisites
Unlocks
Nothing in the tree needs this one yet — it stands on its own.
Schools teach this differently
Our sources use "front hand loop" for two different moves. MACkite's Ride with Blake says "downloops are front hand, and kiteloops are backhand", and calls the downloop the simplest of the loops because it is not a complete rotation, useful for water starts and transitions and especially helpful in light winds. MACkite's own Big Air Basics series and Janek Grzegorzewski use the same front-hand pull to name the Contra Loop, which sits above the base kiteloop in the big-air progression. So the hand alone does not tell you which trick you are looking at. On what the sources actually say, the downloop is not a full rotation, while the loop family is "a full rotation of the kite in the wind window" and the contra is driven to the kite's lowest position in 30 knots plus.
Ideal conditions
Strong wind. Janek Grzegorzewski puts the working floor at 30 knots and up, because the loop needs enough height for the kite to come round and catch him; at over 40 knots with kickers above 3 m he reaches 20 m plus. KOTA 2024 in Blouberg, Cape Town, where contra loops were scoring, saw wind peak at 40 knots. Avoid gusty days, where the kite can suddenly lose power when you don't want it to.
How to do it
1. Before you pull one
- Get your regular kiteloops landing consistently above the 5 to 6 metre height range before you go near a contra. Below that they are intro loops, or baby loops.
- Stay out of the middle height band. There you are high enough that you are going to freefall after the loop, but not quite high enough that the kite is going to climb and catch you in time.
- Wait for real wind. Grzegorzewski's floor is 30 knots plus, because the loop needs enough height for the kite to catch him.
- Skip gusty days. Your kite may suddenly lose power when you don't want it to.
- Learn to downloop and get your jumping and landing solid first, and wear an impact vest.
2. Send and pop
- Edge hard and pop for a clean takeoff, as vertical as you can get it. The height always comes from your edge and pop.
- Hold the bar sheeted in at full power into the loop.
- Watch the kite on the way up. You want it at noon, or even a little bit before noon, at the moment you pull.
- Do not let it drift behind you. If it is too far behind you when you loop, that loop is going to be low and behind you.
- Lift your knees as you rise to keep yourself balanced, keep the bar in and steer the kite forwards.
3. The contra rotation
- Pull the loop with your front hand. That one change is what makes it a Contra Loop rather than a kiteloop.
- Pull at about 80 percent of your total jump height. Wait for the very top and there is not as much line tension, so the kite does not loop as fast.
- Drive the kite down to its lowest position. That is the idea of the trick, and it is also what makes it scary.
- Do not stop pulling until the kite has turned 360 degrees and is rising again. Seeing it dive makes you want to doubt it, but as long as it keeps turning you are fine.
- Let the board run downwind with the loop. Never hold an edge against a loop.
- Expect the front hand to throw you into a rotation on the way down. Grzegorzewski says he is usually facing the kite backwards through it, which makes it challenging to know where the kite is and where he will land.
4. Freefall and landing
- Brace for a harder drop than a regular loop gives you. Contra loops have a more aggressive freefall after the loop compared to regular loops.
- Sheet out as soon as the kite finishes the loop so it can climb. How much is down to your kite — MACkite's coach rides North Orbits, which climb fast, so he sheets out less; a slower-rising kite needs more.
- Give the kite time to recover. The lower you put it, the longer it takes to come back up and catch you.
- Point the board downwind in preparation for landing and travel slightly downwind as you touch down, to manage the speed.
- Extend your legs ready for the impact.
- While you are learning, plan to land going to your strong side. It is more comfortable early on and gives you a little more room for error riding out landings.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Pulling the loop at the very peak of the jump.
Fix
Shoot for pulling that loop at about 80 percent of your total jump height. Wait until your highest peak and there is not as much line tension, so the kite does not loop as fast.
Mistake
Letting the kite drift past noon before you pull.
Fix
Make sure the kite is at noon, or even a little bit before noon, when you pull. If it is too far behind you when you loop, that loop is going to be low and behind you.
Mistake
Learning loops in the middle height band.
Fix
Get the kiteloops above the 5 to 6 metre height range. In the mid-range you are high enough to freefall after the loop but not quite high enough that the kite is going to climb and catch you in time.
Mistake
Doubting the loop and easing off the pull when you see the kite dive.
Fix
Do not stop pulling until the kite is rising, having turned 360 degrees. It is all too easy to doubt when you see the kite diving, but as long as the kite keeps turning you are fine.
Mistake
Holding an edge against the loop.
Fix
Never hold an edge against a loop. Release the edge and let the board go downwind with the kite.
If it goes wrong
- Build up to it rather than jumping straight in. Learn downloops and clean jump landings first, then bigger kiteloops, before pulling a contra.
- Wear an impact vest.
- Do not attempt these in gusty wind, where the kite can suddenly lose power when you don't want it to.
- Keep out of the middle height band, where you will freefall after the loop without enough altitude for the kite to climb and catch you.
- If you are already committed to the loop, keep pulling. Abandoning it halfway while the kite is diving is worse than seeing it through, because as long as the kite keeps turning it comes back round to you.
- While learning, set the trick up to land on your strong side so you have more room for error riding out a bad one.
Learn this with a coach, not from a page
This is a high-consequence move. The sources it is built from describe riders getting hurt on it, and every one of them teaches it as a step you earn rather than attempt. Get coaching, build up in stages, ride with people who can help you, and give yourself deep water and clear space downwind.
Find a certified schoolEducational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.
Questions riders ask
How much wind do you need for a contraloop?+
30 knots and up. Janek Grzegorzewski is explicit that the manoeuvre has to be done in strong wind because the loop needs enough height for the kite to catch him. With over 40 knots and kickers over 3 m he gets to 20 m plus. KOTA 2024 in Blouberg, where contra loops were scoring, saw wind peak at 40 knots.
What is the difference between a contraloop and a kiteloop?+
The hand you pull with. MACkite put it plainly: a kiteloop means pulling the loop with your back hand, and pulling it with your front hand is a Contra Loop, which sends the kite the other way around. The payoff, per North, is a more aggressive freefall after the loop than a regular loop gives you.
What should I be able to do before trying one?+
Solid kiteloops above the 5 to 6 metre range. MACkite's big air series treats going bigger on your kiteloops as the foundation you build before Kiteloop Late Backrolls, Boogie Loops, Contra Loops and Boogie Contras. Peter's Kitesurfing Handbook puts learning to downloop and learning to jump and land ahead of kiteloops in the first place.
Why does a contraloop feel scarier than a normal kiteloop?+
Because the point of the trick is to put the kite in its lowest position, and as Grzegorzewski says, the lower the kite is the longer it takes to recover and catch you. On top of that the front-hand loop throws him into a rotation on the way down, and he is usually facing the kite backwards, which makes it challenging to know where the kite is and where he will land.
Is the contraloop a real competition trick?+
Yes. It sits on the GKA Big Air Twin Tip tricklist as Contra Loop, abbreviated CL, marked (1,2) for loops and/or rotations, alongside Contra Loop Innovation, Back Roll, Front Roll, One Foot, Board Off, Tic Tac and Flip variants. At KOTA 2024 Andrea Principi's Contra Loop Back Tornado Board Off earned 7.18 points, and on the GKA tour Jeremy Burlando took a quarter-final helped by a Contraloop Backroll Boardoff for 7.93 and landed a 24 metre-high Contra-loop Front-roll Board-off.
Keep reading
Sources
Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.
- North Actionsports — Big Air Tricks Explained
- MACkite — Big Air Basics Ep. 1: Learning and Perfecting Your Kiteloop
- IKSURFMAG — Big Air Boomer Janek Grzegorzewski, a Laci Kobulsky interview
- IKSURFMAG — History Repeats Itself in More Ways Than One, KOTA 2024
- GKA Kite World Tour — Big Air Twin Tip Tricklist 2023 (PDF)
- GKA Kite World Tour — Big Air battle poised for epic showdown
- MACkite Boardsports Center (Blake Olsen & Rygo)
- IKSURFMAG — How to Kite Loop
- Peter's Kiteboarding Handbook — Kiteloops