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Pls explain where IKA is not making something for the sport and just for the money.

wait guys. i'll explain.

IKO not IKA, Toby

first is commercial enterprise based on pyramid scheme, owned by Star Kites owners.

and the second is some sports federation kind of organization not really elected by anyone, existing pretty much for its own sake.

doublerumandcoke wrote: and the IKA finally do something for the sport and not for profit.

I am refering to this.

Eric, has not been part of Starkites for around 4 years now.

I don't know much about the IKO but we have the BKSA in the UK which try very hard to put on as much as possible through out the year. These guys are also not for profit and help out with keeping beaches open, running events and sorting out insurance.

Event suffer from the PKRA as they always seem to land around the same time. so we don't get as many of the big named riders on the BKSA tour. but it a great starting point for people wanting to get into competition.

my school is in thailand and our we have started the kite safe association. free organisation.

eree wrote:you should cooperate with the other clubs of you region and create some kind of local association, non-profit for example
you can compose your own program suitable for conditions of your region, make up your own logos.
and best of all you can look up the quality of your instructors and you can legally register in your country.
as a legal organization you can negotiate with the insurance companies for good deals if you need to.

i live in thailand. 550usd goes along way to those sorts of expenses.

doublerumandcoke wrote:Yeah MOST know the IKO Is a joke and just in it for the money, I'd love to see them shut down and the IKA finally do something for the sport and not for profit.
Many schools now produce their own IKO type cards, so not feeding the IKO hand thats always held out. Instructor courses are a joke and i watch some absolute crap being taught by trainers when they do their IKO ITC's at my local spot.
Alot of schools insist on qualified instructors but don't necessarily need you to be current, so do the course, pass, become as best as instructor as you can and forget the IKO clowns.

The creator of the IKO pyramid scheme Eric Beaudonnat is one of the most self absorbed assholes in kitesurfing. And he didn't write the books which have his name on them. So he's a plagarist as well as an nice person.

Save you IKO money and spend it on hookers and beer.

DRC

My experience is slightly different. We were all tested on our abilities on the 1st day, credit to our trainer maybe. In uk we have the RYA which dominated windsurfing. As an instructor you had to give out a booklet, in which you ticked off their skills, and they substantially charged us for that booklet. On passing skills/course, you then issued a card, similar to IKO, which was also charged to us. So we were paying more to effectively pass a student, on top of revalidation courses I had to take. Think IKO are taking a similar route? Not sure if anybody has ever asked if I was an IKO instructor in the 5 years I have been teaching, so did not re join this year. What peed me off was, on my card in big capital letters, was 'NOT INSURED'. Well I was, just not with them. My name, was all lower case. This would have given anyone the wrong impression, so I never offered to produce it. How crap is that.

starkitesuk wrote:Eric, has not been part of Starkites for around 4 years now.

I don't know much about the IKO but we have the BKSA in the UK which try very hard to put on as much as possible through out the year. These guys are also not for profit and help out with keeping beaches open, running events and sorting out insurance.

Event suffer from the PKRA as they always seem to land around the same time. so we don't get as many of the big named riders on the BKSA tour. but it a great starting point for people wanting to get into competition.

IKO do squat for kitesurfing in uk. BKSA do loads to help us keep kitesurfing on our beaches. Difference is, if you teaching abroad it's no help at all. You also have to teach at a fixed school base, unlike IKO, which allows you to teach where you think the good spot for that day is.