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Posted: Tue May 03, 2005 8:44 am
by Paco
Having "SPOT rules" written and ready for everyone to read sounds like a great idea!!!!

I think before setting up a mandatory license for kitters we should start with mandatory license for teachers, most of the people that I know barely know how to set up their lines and they are allready showing their girlfriendo or brother of friend!!!

Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:21 am
by Kurt
And then you get so called 'qualified' instructors teaching in dangerous conditions and gaining their qualifications before they can even kite upwind!
What a joke!

Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 7:30 am
by Paco
Kurt wrote:
And then you get so called 'qualified' instructors teaching in dangerous conditions and gaining their qualifications before they can even kite upwind!
What a joke!

I've seen many of those 2

Posted: Thu May 05, 2005 2:36 pm
by jackdool
good and experienced riders do not make safe riders or instructors. Just look at the last story about Matt hitting an achored boat.
It is for us all painful to hear about new accidents.

The whole discussion about license yes or no reminds me about motorcycling with or without a helmet. (or even cycling) When the law was introduced most bikers hated it and regardless of the benefits wearing a helmet they just refused to wear one - just because other bikers might have injured or died not wearing a helmet doesn't mean that oneself need such thing. It's all about the loss of freedom...

I did an iko course and it changed my kiting - in safety measures. Not the style or jumps - only little things like setup, launching, using the safety, landing, distances and what not to do.
The fun and fastination is the same - the freedom is the same. I do also believe that all other participants of that course got converted to practice kiting in a safer way.

The iko standards are well thought through. It is developed with the knowledge of kite accidents. It's a good concept. I was myself surpriced how professional iko works.

And then the money issue. Just to get to know most safety rules and "what not to do" you would learn from an iko instructor in a two hour session. You could even read about safety at various kitewebsites, not only at iko.

That mentality - I don't want to change anything, because it's my right to do what I want - doesn't get us anywhere in making this sport what it should be.
No safety system can help you if you have bad safety procedures. eg.
no safety distances, never ever practiced to pull the safety, not even know when to use it. It's like pulling the parachute 50m before impact.

____

Posted: Fri May 06, 2005 12:21 pm
by ian c
I nearly pissed myself laughing when the instructors instructor informed us that his kitesurfing experience amounted to occasionally taking out the "school boards".

I don't think that being an experienced rider is the be all and end all of being a safe instructor, or even necessarily a high priority on the criteria; however, how can you give anyone confidence in you if you tell them you are not an experienced rider and you are not necessarily a good rider yourself. Then go on to offer them a lesson..


Imagine finding out your driving, diving or paragliding instructor was inexperienced or for that matter had less than at least 3 years solid experience under their belt - maybe Delboy Trotter is giving lessons now

Change things for the better- weed out dodgy instructors (and their instructors) that are risking our freedom - use people power whenever possible

Re: Time to get all a kite license!

Posted: Tue Jul 08, 2008 11:53 pm
by rclmagic
It's interesting to see the different point of views and sides of this and other debates. I personally would support it. I have no problem spending a little extra time/money to ensure that individuals are meeting "safety regulations" of the sport.

At some point, maybe far from now, it will be more regulated due to local spots being shut down because of people putting danger to themselves and those around them. I've read of dozens of places on this forum already, and know of a couple spots locally as well. So, maybe a mandated required license could help. It would NEVER eliminate the problem, but it certainly COULD help. I mean, there are lots of things that people do that require them to have a lincense to do so. Take riding a motorcycle as an example. But a good amount of those riders have NO BUSINESS on a motorcycle. But it does help to require they have had the right training to do so and therefore reduces the amount of accidents that can happen.

By the way, I'm new to this whole game, so my perspective is different. For those that have been around the sport for years, and possibly before mainstream instruction was available, they might have a problem with this. They have the skills that far pass those that are causing these problems, and certainly beginners like me. Why should they have to spend the time/money? The only answer I can come up with is that they love the sport, and I'd hope they'd be willing to support it's growth in a safe way.

Re: Time to get all a kite license!

Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 1:06 am
by BoBo theSafetyClown
This poll is almost 4 years old. Still the same old problems.
Unqualified instructors, "Shops" in the trunk of the car, Online sales,E-bay, kooks, cowboys, idiots
No standards, no respect for those trying to implement them.
Manufacturer's, shops, and schools obviously aren't going to change anything, they're celebrating record sales.(somewhere warm & windy)
Its up to the majority of kiters to create genuine standards (for both instructors and kiters), and encourage manufacturers and shops to support us with our buying power.
Not complyin'?
we ain't buyin'...