Holly Kennedy spends her life chasing the four winds. As Scotland's only professional kitesurfer, she travels the world to get blown about but it is a blustery existence that has seen her climb to number five in the world.

Not many can boast such an achievement in a sport that they only took up four years previously.

The 20 year-old from Troon is now looking to climb even higher in her new sport.

Kennedy has not been put off the sport in spite of suffering a mishap when she first started to harness the wind.

"Kitesurfing is an extreme sport so it can be scary at times," she admits, "But we all have a safety release that we can use if we feel like we are in serious trouble.  When I first started kitesurfing I tore the ligaments in my ankle! I was off the water for about 4 months!"

Kennedy, who attended Hutchesons' Grammar in Glasgow, came to the sport after a solid background in gymnastics and athletics. 

"I started dancing when I was four years old but then advanced into gymnastics when I was ten," she recalls.

"I first went to local classes twice a week and then progressed into a much larger Sports Acrobatics Club. This was a lot more serious as I started training six days a week. I wanted to start some competitions so with the great amount of training and help from the club, I was entered into the Scottish Championships for Sports Acrobatics three years later.

"I was competing at Level Three and won this section. One year later, I took part in the Celtic Cup (Scotland, Ireland, Wales are competing against each other). I managed to gain a second place.

"The time then came to start fifth year. I had to cut back on training in order to study for my Highers and gradually lost interest in competing in gymnastics anyway, so I stopped and stuck with athletics in school and then moved into kitesurfing!

"It was in the last two years of school I got very involved in athletics. For the Senior School Athletics' Championship, I competed in every category as I liked to challenge myself and also gain as many points as I could to win overall.

"I pushed myself hard in every section even though I had not trained in each specific discipline. However, with great determination and fitness level, I ended up winning overall. Throughout those two years I also competed against other schools in the categories: 100m and 200m sprints, discus and relay. Best personal achievement was taking second Place in discus throughout Scottish Schools."

The background training has served her well in her chosen sport and she trains daily, both at home and abroad.

"The best way to train is to follow the wind. Practise and time on the water is the key, so I tend to travel a lot to sunny and windy places," she continues.

"However, I do try to spend as much time in Scotland as possible as the conditions are very good and challenging so it makes your kiting rapidly improve. Out of the water, I have a fitness programme which includes some running, cycling and stretching.

"I have had so many highs out of the sport. One high point is definitely taking a podium place in the World Championships.

"And there are so many more I could talk about but that would take a long while. The main low point for I guess any professional sports athlete would be to take a bad injury.

"This means stopping all competitions and exercise to make sure you heal properly. It is normally a pretty long process and once you are better it also takes a while to train back up to the highest level. 

"I have been to many places all over the world. One place that really stood out was Perth in Western Australia. It is perfect for kitesurfing with good weather and consistent winds during their summer months.

"There is a World Tour called the PKRA - Professional Kite Riders Association. There are normally 10 events throughout the year that all count towards your overall ranking.

"For the next year I plan to attend every stop on the world tour and continue to train hard rising my level. 

"It is not easy for me to make much money yet. At the moment I self fund going to competitions by working as a kite instructor in my spare time and I use my previous winnings.

"However, I am sponsored by the top brands in the industry: North Kiteboarding and ION Wetsuits so I am given all the equipment to use.

"There are no more Scots competing on the world tour. Thomas Gaunt and Andrew James also from Troon are both at world class level but they only compete on the British Championships Tour (BKSA). 

"I would love to see more coming up to give the world championships a shot but we find it hard to get the funding."

RM

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*Holly is sponsored by:

North Kiteboarding www.northkites.com

ION Wetsuits www.ion-essentials.com

Airbound Apparel www.airboundapparel.com 

Keep up to date with Holly by following her on : website : www.hollykennedy.co.uk

Facebook Athlete Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Holly-Kennedy/149219535146854

And for those keen to give Kitesurfing a shot then book some lessons on: www.trykitesurfing.com