The Wayne Gretzky of the kiteboarding world will be the headlining athlete at this year's KiteClash.
Five-time world champion Aaron Hadlow will be heading to Squamish during the weekend of the competition.
The British kiteboarder, who is also a two-time King of the Air, has been a dominating force in the sport.
"He's probably the biggest name in kiteboarding ever," said Steve Tulk, the main organizer for KiteClash. "I guess he's going to change our Spit forever."
Hadlow's arrival this year is also happening shortly after the release of his documentary, Twenty, which chronicles the two decades the athlete has been kiting.
But Hadlow won't be the only big name heading to town this year.
Lewis Crathern will once again be emceeing the event. Aside from his entertaining narration and performances, Crathern also broke the British record for highest kite jump in 2016.
He soared to a height of 22.3 metres in the sky, a remarkable feat that came after recovering from a serious kiting accident that left him in a coma.
Other notable acts will be the two returning Canadian champions from last year's KiteClash.
Prince Edward Island's Lucas Arsenault and Ontario's Lauren Holman will be back in Squamish to defend their respective titles.
Several notable local athletes will also be competing.
This includes Andrea Ross, Alex Waterson and Sam Medysky.
Vancouver kiter Jack Rieder will also be a serious contender in the competition, said Tulk.
Tulk emphasized that male and female competitors will be awarded the same amount of prize money, a practice which has been running for several years now, he said.
The competition runs from Thursday Aug. 22 to Sunday Aug. 25.
Aug. 22 will be the amateur event day. Aug. 23 will feature the Canadian nationals. The weekend will have international events, which include freestyle, big air, and kitecross events.
KiteClash will also feature a series of apres events each day.
On the Thursday evening of the event, the party will be at Cliffside Cider. The following evening, it'll be at Match Eatery. On Saturday revellers will be at Norman Rudy's and the big finale on Sunday will be at Backcountry Brewing.
There will be a shuttle service running across the street from Backcountry during each day of the competition from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the hour, every hour.
***Please note: This story has updated information about competitors. It also has updated information about the shuttle service. The event organizer previously stated it was every half hour. It will be every hour on the hour.
