Club idea sounds the go
.
Signs too are really needed... Something like the ones down at Margs Main break... The signs need pictures on it to so the Euros can understand it
.
The idea about the club id (rashie, band, tag whatever) sounded ok also. Maybe Euros etc can have visitors bands etc. Could the kite shops issue them out to the Euros on Waksa's behalf ( on the grounds the Euros are insured and know the guidelines etc ...? )
No visitor band/tag, no kite in the city... Maybe then they might head to Gero instead
Registering kites at point of sale and numbering them won't work, some kiters change they kit more often that their undies, not counting the secondhand market and internet sales. To be viable the number on the kite would also have to be quite large, Neil @ HTL would get realy busy, real quick.
Who is going to enforce registration and licensing? anything on the water is likely to come under the Navigable Waters Regs, Dept of Transport are the primary enforcement agency with support from some approved water police officers and fisheries guys, when was the last time you saw any of them at your local beach? I'd argue there is no point bringing in legislation if it can't/won't be enforced.
Not sure where the clubbies get the authority to ban certain activities within the flags, I've done some research on the net and can't find anything, apart from a shedload of commonsense suggesting its a real dumb thing to do, whether they actually have any authority has got me beaten, I'm sure they do somehow through local government but I can't find it.
And unless we want to upset a lot of poleys we better figure out how to self-regulate before the govt does it for us, if that happens my money is on some govt bureaucrat not being able to tell the difference between a kite and a windsurfer and bundling us all in together and forcing regulation upon us, no need to spell out what that would do to the relationship between kiters and poleys...
There are a number of reasons why self policing doesn't work (along with things like flyers):
1. Flyers are put at the kiting beaches, not the non-kiting beaches where people are not supposed to kite so it doesn't help those that don't go to the correct kitespots and head off to the local swimming beach.
2. People generally don't notice someone is about to do something stupid until they do it which is too late. i.e. launch in the power zone or ride through the swimming area.
3. People have the option to plead ignorance an untold number of times because its generally not the same person approaching them every time. I've seen instructors plead ignorance on local kiting water laws. WTF?
4. etc
Thats why there needs to be some visible form of identification to pick up club members (harness tags combined with streamer on the kite or rego number on the kite, or both etc) and ensure that people visiting the beach sign some form of acknowledgment of the local rules so they are aware of them before kiting. Whether you charge for club membership or not (tags could be sponsored by a local company with advertising).
My approach on this with the councils would be largely based on 3rd party insurance. I.e. if an individual is able to provide proof of insurance they have the option to obtain their club membership at the low cost of covering just the tags.
Thought I'd get this one in before this thread gets locked, inevitable, just like rego and licensensing. I would say though that I think the kiter should be regeistered, not the kite as I have a few. Stickers and streamers could take the edge off my Edge.
Good wind in the west this weekend, Cervantes could be the go 
,J
A suggestion for the immediate future...
Could WAKSA/local kiting club nominate a beach (e.g. Melville), nominate a day (e.g. Saturday arvo), call for volunteers who frequent the area, print out a few flyers (with local rules specific to the area) and spend an arvo distributing/talking to the kiters about local rules? Maybe get a couple of WAKSA bibs etc...
Could be sponsored by local shops interested in supporting the area/cause - contact details, lessons etc on the back of the flyer. Perhaps draw a timetable so no one has to spend 3 hours doing it themselves - maybe 30 minute slots?
Sure, you won't get everyone who hits the spot but would certainly contribute to the self-regulation ideal...more people aware of local rules, the more people united as a front to weed out the dicks. And could also boost numbers joining the association...
how the hell would you regulate or pass this onto the influx of euro's in wicked campers that come to our beaches each summer?
I can tell you now most would just ignore it just the same as they did when the sailing world champs were on, same way as they ignore the no camping in carparks enforced by councils.
Also newbs should not be involved with any type policing duties. Min 2 seasons experience or more would be the go as most newbs cant even land and launch properly yet alone tell somone else how to do it or what they're doing wrong.
, J
personally, i'd prefer explicit rules, enforced.
so everyone knows what the boundaries are, then you can work around them.
cross them and you get nailed. simple.
works on the road, rules are tough, cops use discretion.
on a ski hill, if you endanger others, the patrol throws you out.
this clubby feel-good stuff serves only to - well - to make people feel good. it'll have little impact on behaviour.
there's an existing regulatory/enforcement framework, why duplicate it? just work to influence its direction. WAKSA has demonstrated this is possible at Mullaz.
I think the white elephant in this discussion is that the pizz poor behaviour is often committed by competant (if not courteous) riders who simply do not give a flying fek about anyone else's rules, welfare or enjoyment of our beaches.[}:)]
You can't blame it all on Teuros - that just aint true in my experiance. It is all too often local riders full of their own self importance and belief that their activity somehow overides other's and the kiting in cvlose proximity is not having an impact on the other punters.
How else would you explain seeing again and again tools riding through perfectly visible flagged areas and withing 2-3 metres of obviously petrified kids/swimmers??
Feel good clubs and flyers do help - but just don't cut it overall I'm afraid. It always falls on a very few to do a lot for all and it wears out in the end.
Confiscating gear and time sitting on the shore will smarten up offenders and all the riders in the metro area like no other solution will. One or two impounded rigs and by crikey watch the change!
Bring it on. I'd personally like to see serial d!ckheads sulking on the beach and zero kiting thru swimmers/flags. Can't really see the prob there.
Just my 2c.
great idea!!!
We are talking about North Korea Police State N.I.M.B.Y Kiting Association right? How do i get the cash to you?
You could set this up for everything I do to make me and everyone around me safe, that would be awesome. I am ready for you to qualify me right now! Can I get a discounted bear attack protection suit.
! Good luck buddy Don't take any help from a safety consious newbie that is willing to learn and help keep the beaches open and safe.
Oh I get it:
(W)est
(A)ustralia
(N)ew
(K)iters
(E)xtra
(R)egistration
(S)ystem
but seriously - we don't want policing run by drop outs from Body Corporates, Real Estate Agents, Parking Cops and loonies like Harold Scrubie. Prefer the club approach as a combined voice.
rangers are a joke, they are to buisy stalking the car parks of suburbia mate cos that where the money is! Draw a comparison to dirt bike riding.. illegal in our forrests, you must have registered bikes, stick to dedicated roads blah blah now go out into one of the "well known" trials a few k's up the beaten track on any given weekend day. Bikes everywhere, the bush is absolutely shot to ** and not a ranger in sight.
@ Kitekart gets the gold medal for best comment on this thread! Just to rub salt in, had four great days of kiting where none of the misbehavior mentioned has occured. 
There is no point talking about registration and licensing until a complete course on kite boarding, including theory, practice, safety and rules, will become available. To my knowledge (please correct me if it's wrong) there is no such course offered by the kite surfing schools. Without a comprehensive course, what would we license, what would we police, what would we expect kiters know??? Yes, make an exam at the end, and if mate teaches mate, then they too need to take an exam in order to kite. Of course it would not filter out the ignorant.... but nothing would do that anyway...
Kite boarding have already been regulated in Perth metro areas for some degree, and there will be more and more and probably stricter regulations to come as the number of kiters and the complains from public grow.... like it or not, it's already happening.
The question is who is going to regulate kite boarding in Perth metro? The councils have the authority, the money, and officials who are eager to justify their salary by introducing new regulations. Obviously, local councils represent the majority, and they will act accordingly. After a regulation has been made we have no say. And their rules will be far worse, that what we initiate ourselves. Timing is crucial... if we don't do it now, the councils will do it sooner or later, and from there, there is no way back to the good old days.........
Let's make 5th page:)
For sure WA society needs to solve much bigger issues like a car driving license?!
Perth drivers are the worst in the country, RAC says.
I never put anyone in risk other than myself (hopefully), not even a fellow kiter, but I'm constantly in a danger when driving (not to mention a few road rage).
