Anyone else agree we need to make kite lessons compulsary not optional?
Probably get alot of people disagreeing but heres my reasoning for it. Theres so many new kiters around now alot of them try and teach there mates without really knowing wat there doing ive almost been taken out a few times by people trying to teach there mates then the other side is when there ready to go off kiting without the mate thats just taught them there already in bad habbits. To b honest i dont really care if they hurt themselfs its my self and other people riding around them that they clean up that worries me, who pays ur bills if u break ur neck? Even worse if a spectator on the beach gets taken out, good bye beach
Yeah and why not then get L plates, Compulsory AKSA affiliated learner log book, designated learning area,s
A license to kite and Government registered gear.... that will make the sport just like sailing/ or driving a boat - No thanks.
The moment you make one part of the sport compulsory somebody has to regulate it and then that same somebody regulates the entire sport, not just newbies needing lessons.
And guess who pays that somebody to regulate the sport.. We do.
I completely agree with the 'don't teach your mates' idea. Possibly more of a push for it within local communities.
As for the regulations that will cause a big issue.
I had the chance to ride past a stranded kiter the other day....offered to take his board......he asked me how to self rescue from the middle of the ocean.........
Great topic but so hard to enforce. Maybe some sort of encouragement like we do with self regulation.
Crazy.... Add regulation and you are just adding costs to a some what free activity. Look at boating, now with regulation i have to pay my boat license fee, my cray license, my fishing license. What next ?
I witnessed a good reason for compulsory lessons yesterday.
A beginner turned up to my local spot looking the part. I didn't really pay much attention to him until I noticed he was just about to launch his kite. He had about 2psi of pressure in the entire kite and he had it lying face down all laid out wrong.
I ran over and asked if he needed any help. "Na mate" was his reply. I said he did need help because he was set-up all wrong. Once I got him to inflate his kite to a reasonable level I showed him how to lay the kite out for a self launch. He then picked up his bar and was ready to just go for it. I then had to tell him he had all his safety gear connected wrong.
Once we fixed this he grabbed the back lines and started pulling on them. I quickly told him to hold onto the bar.
I told him to gently walk back and launch the kite. He yanked really hard on the bar and the kite (2003 LF Assault) took off and dragged him down the beach. I then told him to pull the quick release. He ignored me and then went flying through the air into the dunes.
He was OK but he packed up and disappeared pretty quick.
I'm just glad nobody got hurt. I think people should just show a bit of common sense before they attempt to kill themselves or someone else because they are too tight or cool to fork out for a lesson.
7 replys in half a day, not bad
im not interested in log books just make sure people know the basics
where and when to kite
gear set up
safety systems
how to fly a kite
and right of way rulles
after reading ur posts i agree regulating the sport could ruin it but its also only going to take a couple of idiots like mattress just posted bout ruining it for us next time he might smash someone on the beach instead of himself, and thats wen beaches will b closed, thats wat im worried bout not idiots hurting themselfs
Kitesurfing is no more dangerous than other action sports though, think about retard surfers learning to surf between the flags and running someone over or slice them with a fin. If anything, Kitesurfing (which is still in very early dev stages compared to most action sports) has more bans and sanctions on it than others do. Sometimes it's for the best, sometimes it's not.
As the sport / numbers grow it may be inevitable that some regulations are put in place. Human beings love nothing more than regulation, instutionalisation and control - with obvious pros and cons. More rats in the cage, more tension, more pressure, more human intervention. I was kiting scabs where there were only a handful of us on a busy day. Now look at it...
It's only a matter of time, all the talking, helping, local kiting community - let's get together and ride the kite-peace train has one fundamental flaw. Human behaviour and human stupidity.
But alas we must try, to at least avoid the inevitable for as long as possible...
This topic has been absolutely flogged to death on these forums however we are obviously still having some problems.
One of the great things about kiteboarding is it is relatively cheap, however as the sport is rapidly growing introducing some sort of control may prevent bad publicity to our sport and also prevent our spots from being shut down or restricted.
IMO every kiteboarder in Australia should have AKSA membership. International travellers is a whole new discussion.
Maybe there should be some sort of duty of care that kite gear cannot be sold to anyone that does not hold an AKSA membership.
Perhaps the AKSA could be responsible for doing some sort of competency test for ALL NEW memberships. To be able to pass this simple test you need to be able to pass all basic principles such as (gear setup & safety, launching & landing, understanding right of way, able to hold an edge). Therefore all new memberships should be priced higher than renewals therefore no extra cost being added to existing members.
Also no person should be allowed to kite in Australia without displaying an AKSA affiliated membership tag, and it is up to the local community to keep an eye on this.
Also how are these people purchasing new gear without knowing how dangerous it can potentially be??? Why do they not at least purchase the Progression Beginner DVD??? I have watched that DVD 5 times over now.
This is just my opinion, please tell me your thoughts.
I think the Idea of compulsory lessons is to far fetched. The infrastructure? needed to set up and police such an idea for a sport that isnt that popular is pie in the sky and unreasonable.
In saying that I support lessons and preach it to any one that asks me about kiting at the beach.
I think the responsibility lies with the kite companies including detailed how to's and dvds included with kite purchase as well as kite shops taking the time to explain some of the possible problems and dangers.(I know some/most of them do)
The biggest thing that we as kiters can do to retain the freedom we cherish is to remain super approachable and helpful to anyone interested or already starting.
Ive noticed(especially on the goldy) that some crew have crept up into the too cool category. I think some just forget that its kiting thats cool, not the person for doing it.
Ive always found that a big smile and an quick apology when you fack up is better than stink eye and denial, and ensures you help rather than unsympathetic chuckles when shart really goes pear shaped.(this goes tenfold when members of the public are involved)
Kiting is not all that safe but thats what i like about it, but its the little things that make a big difference.
Cheers, B
Select to expand quoteSupersonic said...
This topic has been absolutely flogged to death on these forums however we are obviously still having some problems.
One of the great things about kiteboarding is it is relatively cheap, however as the sport is rapidly growing introducing some sort of control may prevent bad publicity to our sport and also prevent our spots from being shut down or restricted.
IMO every kiteboarder in Australia should have AKSA membership. International travellers is a whole new discussion.
Maybe there should be some sort of duty of care that kite gear cannot be sold to anyone that does not hold an AKSA membership.
Perhaps the AKSA could be responsible for doing some sort of competency test for ALL NEW memberships. To be able to pass this simple test you need to be able to pass all basic principles such as (gear setup & safety, launching & landing, understanding right of way, able to hold an edge). Therefore all new memberships should be priced higher than renewals therefore no extra cost being added to existing members.
Also no person should be allowed to kite in Australia without displaying an AKSA affiliated membership tag, and it is up to the local community to keep an eye on this.
Also how are these people purchasing new gear without knowing how dangerous it can potentially be??? Why do they not at least purchase the Progression Beginner DVD??? I have watched that DVD 5 times over now.
This is just my opinion, please tell me your thoughts
Do you need a license to drive a jet ski nowadays?
In my opinion there will always be people out there who hate being taught how to do something and want to work it out themselves.
I am one of them.
But since day one from asking questions around my local area, to asking on forums, to asking in shops. Every single person told me to get lessons.
This made me think maybe there is something to it, and therefor I am taking some lessons before starting
The best way to make it safe is for the community, who is selling those cheap 2nd hand 2003 kites to make sure they make it very clear that lessons are highly recommended.
Rather than just saying "great stable kite to learn on"
Cheers
Wihan
I dont see anything wrong with preaching the whole lesson thing. Kiting is going to either explode in popularity over the next decade or be banned at most popular beaches because the more people doing it, the more people see it and think it must not be that hard to learn. Its up to us as kiters to self regulate when on the beach to make sure the cow boys dont stuff it up for everyone. Its not hard to approach someone doing the wrong thing and let them know. Anyone who is a kiter and thinks its none of there business to do this is kidding them selfs.
I think learning kitesurfing should be banned, no more newbies, there are enough people in the water already!!!! Only kidding, not sure how I feel 
What happened to common sence, 
I taught myself and have only kited with others twice
Always gone solo and have progressed into riding toeside and doing small jumps off small surf and am lovinog it. within a dozen sessions in gusty winds normally
Have come unstruck a couple of times but as long as you use common sense and good new equipment with respect to giving distance to other beach users if there are any how can you go wrong
Go on have a crack 
I remember when i was learning i was the biggest dong I had my kite at 12 while standing on the beach not letting over kiters pass ( i didnt relize) lost my board in the sweel all the time took the perfect flatwater spot. But I bet everyone on this forum did the same thing when they were learning unless they payed $1000000000000000000000000 on kite instucter fees for their first month of kiting.
Don't complain or winge show about the new kiter. Tell them what to do or were to go and they well change their ways like that.
