This one is open for debate.
I am starting to see signs that mass saturation is taking place. For example, I see unfit people who have no or very little water experience taking up the sport. I see race boards are a growth area in the sport, I see govt authorities trying to regulate the sport around the world, I see more and more kites everywhere I go. I am wondering whether there is any one left to take up kiting except the next generation? Normally after saturation point numbers drop off dramatically. Perhaps this is just wishful thinking.
Hint: kooks, stop telling everyone how fun the sport is.
"yeah man, its such a cool sport, come down and watch me. If you're lucky I'll give you a go"
Too many over enthusiastic kooks out there wanting everyone to know how "cool" they are. I love the ones that come down and bring their own audience along to watch them fly their 12 on the beach...AWESOME!
I think I've seen a post like this every year since I started kiting. Every year people say that it can't possibly keep growing, but it has.
concentrate on your kiting, ignore them. Saturation with learners is normal considering that have wind in Perth.
As for saturation into the sport...It's fun watching the drama unfold in front of your eyes. They will only learn lessons by.....
releasing their kites onto rocks or offshore
not having any idea how to self rescue
skull dragging themselves down the beach
losing their boards.
If you don't want to help them.. Then don't.
If you don't like how busy it is, head out the back.
Stay clear of them and worry about yourself..
Damn, seriously in the process of moving to perth too
maybe i should paint my kites in margarine
the unsaturated kind
I hope no one misinterprets my post. This post is in no way having a go at newbies. It is my opinion that every body has the right to give kiting a go or any other sport for that matter. I know there are a lot of kiters who are too cool for school and scoff at newbies. This is a very bad attitude and these people should take a long hard look at themselves and cast their minds back to when they were tea bagging and getting in everyones way.
Man that doctor dude posts the weirdest ****, funnay as though.
After saturday at scabs I am 100% certain that it will reach this point more quickly than we can imagine. Saturation being defined as when the carrying capacity or space of the ocean is exceeded is such a way that both kiters and the public experience greater danger than is socially acceptable.
My predictions: Government bodies will step in and set up specific spots for kiting. While hard to police they will make a few example of those that don't comply until most kite in these designated spots, and the few that don't do not pose a risk anymore. It will fluctauate between the teo extremes.
Eventually in the kite specific places, people will eventually stop doing it as a lot of surfers have and/or do the travel on specific kiting expeditions.
it is only a matter of time, and what will be, will be.
isnt this kind of the point of doing it on the ocean though? its not like theres not enough space out there. no shortage of room. no shortage of beach, either.
What Australia really needs is an offical governing body for the sport, recongised by the government. Like the British BKSA.
This way there would be some organised regulation of the sport, of the way its taught, insurance for kitesurfing, of competitions etc etc.
Also having an offical governing body makes it a hell of a lot harder to put a blanket ban on kitesurfing at certain beaches. The governing body can dispute bans much more effectively than a few locals, normally reaching some sort of compremise.
Offical regulation is inveratable with a sport this big. Its not like kitesurfing is hard to notice. But an offical National Governing Body (NGB) is a good thing long term.
And theres a long way to go before it hits saturation point as yet. all my mates want to have a go, but only a handful have ever got their hands on a kite. With a sport this big, and which looks so easy and fun, its invertable that people want to have a go. its just looks cool. much better than windsurfing anyway [}:)]
All we need is another summer like we just had in Melbourne and the sport will die off naturally - I was lucky to get out once a week and I live across the road from kitebeach, that's how terrible it was!
syncronized kitting anyone
I thought I was on a winner last winter gone when I started no one around sometimes wish there had of been, but on comes summer and people that have been kitting for years like most of you guys.
Maybe winter kitting will be the next evolution, Kite's with gust relief systems, boards with winged keels
I'm getting excited i'll stop know
Pat Pending[}:)]
Well i like seeing the growth in the sport , this "saturation" as you call it will have good and bad effects on all of us .
Take for instance the price of gear , when i got into kiting back in 2005 it cost me close to $3700 for kite , board and harness. Today it would cost about $2000-$2500 . We have a wider range of gear to choose from , And the manufacturers on a constant search for new tech can only be a good thing .
yes our local spots are seeing a bit of crowding but i hope that most of us will welcome a newbie to the beach , Remember the world is 80% water ( there's enough room for all of us ) the last thing i would want to see is a growth of kite nazi's claiming an area as a local's only spot the same as the surf nazi's in the late 70's early 80's, this can only give the sport a bad name. If we offer a guiding hand to these newbies they will learn the beach etiquette soon enough. Kiters need to regulate our sport before council steps in and bans kiting at our favorite spots.
I feel the big losers of this "saturation" wil be our local kite shops with so much second hand gear available on here and ebay they would be feeling the pinch , should we make a rule that we can't sell kites that are 3-4 years old or should we just destroy kites the are more than 3-4 years old to thin out the secondhand market ? and stop newbies being sold out of date - dangrous gear, This would also increse the longivety of the shops . Just remember that most shops have a kite school combined - lose the shop lose the school .
I think this topic will be around for quite some time , just how long can we ride the wave of growth before it comes crashing down on us all ,,,
Not yet. I think the sport will get regulated and restricted before we reach saturation point. It's inevitable. There are too many spanners and retards who are either ignorant or just don't give a f**k. Look at surfing. You can't surf in Perth. I went to Trigg the other day for a 'just to get wet' surf, thinking no-one will be out in 1 foot slop. 40 guys all challenging for barely surfable waves. It's just not fun. Kiting will go the same way. 60/70 kites in one spot isn't fun. It's just a pain in the ar$e.
Okay this is what will happen
.
It is only a matter of time before someone hurts/creates danger for someone on the beach who has upper echelon connections. Or kiters puts themselves in mortal danger on a regular occurence - who knows how the the universe will roll the dice, but it will happen with the crowds.
Now kiting has far more potential for injury/danger than surfing. Surfing has never been regulated. But kiting can be easily equated with say the flog bag jet ski. Speed, momentum, lines, etc...
hence jet ski's are now given specific areas to ride in (why - I'm still trying to work that out - unless you are being towed in on a surfboard - really why?). You don't need a license nore do you need special lessons - too hard to police.
So kiting will go the same way. You say there is open ocean, will it is only open if there are no restrictions. This is obviously how councils will work. Political pressure from people with influence. You know all the guys and girls who attended PLC, MLC, christchurch, aquinnas , scotch etc etc. Those that know people, that know people. Don't be ignorant just becuase you are a nobody (like me), these guys have networks that get **** done!).
So areas restricted, kiters pissed, sport may decrease - for a while - hey canenvisage a mad chase between a crazy downwinder and the water police - ha ha that would be cool.
As for the melbourne dude, sorry to hear about your summer, but this is wa, there always will be wind. Even on the one of teh worst seasons since I began due to la nina, still had more wind than other states put together. It blows and it blow and it blows.... so your theory is faulty.
But what can we do? Really? What can we do?
for some saturation has occurred
first surfing
now kiting
feel sorry for my kids who want to go surfing and i just shrug my shoulders at erh crowds and mayhem SUPs Mal kooks lids.......
specific trips to isolated locations
golf is the new kiting
was lucky enough to score seats for down winders on both Saturday and Sunday,
It was busy in some sections for sure, but never a problem any where ,
I think some guys are exaggerating greatly, there's plenty of room along our coast, only problem I can see is from some people hogging a spot and crying foul when a few extras show up on a weekend with good conditions.
also there's a big difference between surfers and kiters , surfers are limited to the wave zone , kiters are not . lets not forget that only 1/4 of kiters (if that) are kitesurfers (waves) the others are kiteboarders (flat water) and kiteboarders can kite on almost any expanse of water , to use surfing as a precedent for kiting would be a mistake
Whilst there are a number of kiters wanting to keep participant numbers small & that the sport doesn't grow "too" big, I think those in that camp are all somewhat delusional - in that it's too late already.
Let's consider a few things impacting the growth of the sport:
1) improvements in safety gear over the past several years has lessened the 'extreme' elements of the sport & made kiting much more accessible to everyone.
2) increasing recognition by organisations such as ISAF & moves to have the sport recognised at Olympic level - moves like those will push kiting (further) into the mainstream.
3) I met an instructor from Tarifa over the course of the season who indicated that a 'normal' day at Tarifa meant something like 200 kites on the water, with 40+ schools operating on the beach at the same time. When I took him down to Leighton one afternoon & pointed out that with 25 - 30 kites out at once, it was 'busy' - he just laughed...
When our "travelling friends" from Europe arrive out here, you can only imagine how excited they become when they see so much wide open space on our beaches & waters and realise 'saturation point' is a long way off in Perth (if only they'd show some fkn respect but that's another story ...)
4) Someone posted (I think) that local councils are keeping an eye on kiting. Recent experience in WA (at least) confirms that. It's been said so many times before on this forum it is almost not funny but SELF REGULATION is fundamental to our ongoing freedom at local/metro beaches.
As kiter numbers reach a potential 'saturation point' any time one of us witnesses a fellow kiter doing the wrong thing, increasingly it is up to each of us to have a word to advise/encourage what the correct form is.
Other wise 'saturation point' will come & go - and so will our beaches...
Rant over...
Juddy
People tend to think the sky is falling w.r.t many things at many times. It is never as bad as they perceive even with matters more important than kiting.
I reckon kiting can handle many many more numbers. Plently of spare stoke to go around.
Crowds kill wave counts though.
I reckon a big picture issue of saturation is in the size of cities especially capital cities. The impact on lifestyle is significant exacerbated by immigration allowed into them. No leaders appear to believe in decentralisation, so when the heat gets too much in your city you have to be prepared to move and leave it to the cityslickers.
