Goodbye IKO - part II

[mark van haze]

Guys, get back to the point. The previous thread just got lost into the usual kiteforum noise. So heres a new try.

IKO has proven to be a commercial organization that is far more interested in making money than in the up keep of any standards.
I would love Martine Colomb or any IKO member to prove me wrong and show me how the IKO is actively spending their money on checking and maintaining that IKO Instructors actually are teaching according to proper standards.

Have you guys even had a look at what the IKO managed to come up with?

- You need 70 USD to renew your membership OR if you are a new member it costs 78.75 USD for 2 years

-Dont pay late or you will be fined 30 USD and the time you were late will be deducted from your 2 years

- Now on top of that you need 12 CEPs which you need to pay for by doing online courses and exams. Heres the IKO "special" math:

1 CEP cost 10 USD
3 CEP cost 35 USD
4 CEP cost 65 USD
5 CEP cost 125 USD
12 CEP cost 295 USD (thats the instructor assessment course)

Yes, youve seen correctly. The more CEPs your course is worth, the more a CEP costs. That doesnt quite compute in my small, beach bum brain but hey, according to IKO standards I am a rich kiter and can afford to pay it anyway.

So your real costs for starting as an IKO instructor could look like this:

- 700 USD ITC course (approximated since I cant find any price anywhere on the IKO site - hows that for serious organization) plus your flight/travel costs and accommodation

- 155 USD +78.75 USD (the cheapest combination of IKO courses possible)
OR
- 295 USD + 70 USD if you are already an instructor, havent taught, and need a refresher course worth 12 CEPs

-76 USD for 50 cards and 50 online feedback forms (so now they have no paper hassle and even less costs. Anybody willing to explain to me why 50 cards suddenly cost 76 USD when before it was paper feedback forms plus cards for about the same or less? )

Of course I have no idea if having freshly done an ITC you get some CEPs and free membership for the first 2 years but maybe somebody can clear me up on that since its impossible for me to find that info on the IKO site.

But if you thought thats not ridiculous enough, you should just see what is on offer for CEP courses - heres a few examples:

- 1 CEP for right of way rules
Yes, you read correctly. The stuff you should know as a kiter and even more as an instructor, you can now re-do in an online course to get 1 CEP !! If theres anything you picked up in your ITC, it should be the right of way rule.

- 1 CEP Stretching for kiters
A good idea except the description for that IKO course states "Learn which stretches are essential to a kiter and how to go about integrating them into your routine". So how are my students going to profit from me integrating it into my kiting routine? Shouldnt it be "teaching routine" ?

But to top it all, these courses are all online and theres absolutely no control over who is actually doing the course and the final online exam. So all credibility is lost right there since the IKO again has found a way to do as little as possible to maximise profit without making sure the Instructor with an IKO title actually is worth his title (assuming you believe the IKO title is worth something in the first place).

Theres lots more to shake your head at but I think you get my drift. If the IKO wants to be a serious organization, earning its credibility, actively involved in the up keep of a uniform, international standard in teaching kiteboarding, then thats NOT the way to do it.

Comon, show me IKO, show me you arent only sitting on your asses in the Dom. Rep. yelling at your web programmer "SHOW ME DA MONEEEY!"

show_me_the_money.jpg (48.45 KiB) Viewed 2136 times

[kitegrommet]

1st off, I'm not an IKO instructor, never have been, never will (unless the econ crisis takes away my job:).

However, I find it hard to fault an org for making money? That is what business is all about, making money. IKO is not a charity.

In the end, it is the consumer that ultimately decides if money flows to IKO.
If you don't like em, don't spend $ on anything they offer.

In my 8 years kiting, I've met very very few great "IKO" instructors. I do know some, but they have/had the IKO tag for business, that's it, business.

On another note, as a long term resident of Cabarete, if you ever really think IKO is the safety governing body for schools they make themselves out to be, just come to our beach. You can see almost every type of un-safe activity in one day. IKO is hq'd in Cabarete, and they can't control the schools in their own backyard.

But, what do I care, I don't pay for IKO stuff, so, best of luck to ANYBODY that can make $$ off windsports...

Don't bitch, just don't pay..

[nomorebikinis]

i am a student, with 10 months kite experience. i only want to hire teachers who are nice and preferably have NO IKO qualification. Because it says nothing about somenones teaching abilities.

[ciaras]

Agreed Kitegrommet, save for the fact that the IKO DO claim to be the safety factor in kiting and teaching and therefore, the 'business' becomes a very grey area. Were they doing a great job and kiting were definitely improved because of them, it would be fantastic for them to make money at the same time, but when they fail at that, as they do (and we see the daily evidence here on Bozo Beach, HQ of the IKO) then making money off the people who feel they have to do the IKO course to get employment, is well, frankly dishonest. Lets look at some of the facts; a 'kiter' needs only to have kited for 4.5 months as a prerequisite - how can they prove that? What about the ridiculous 'zero to hero' where someone who has never kited in their lives can, just 6 weeks later, be an Instructor? Those of us with lots of kiting experience know how to tune a kite and can identify potential problems before they become an issue - someone with such limited experience is highly unlikely to be able to achieve this and the evidence of the daily 'incidents' here prove this point time and time again. When did I last see the head of the IKO, who lives here, actually standing on Cabarete beach watching Instructors teaching and stopping the bad practice? er, let me think............ never.

[Toby]

i am a student, with 10 months kite experience. i only want to hire teachers who are nice and preferably have NO IKO qualification. Because it says nothing about somenones teaching abilities.

so if you want to take lessons, you would rather choose someone who has no licenses at all?

I don't think so...

[Grommet74]

i am a student, with 10 months kite experience. i only want to hire teachers who are nice and preferably have NO IKO qualification. Because it says nothing about somenones teaching abilities.

so if you want to take lessons, you would rather choose someone who has no licenses at all?

I don't think so...

I would want a good instructor, and preferably someone with brains, people that haven't fallen for the IKO scam are smarter in my opinion, so yes preferably without IKO.

[ciaras]

I expect she would rather choose someone who has a qualification that really stands for something. By the way, I have also seen and met a few very good non-IKO registered instructors. What can we learn from that? Hmmmm, well possibly that the IKO course is not a guarantee of a good standard in itself perhaps?

[Toby]

of course, you want the best instructor possible. But how do you know, having no clue about about the sport, and e.g. having several people telling you several different names???

And then someone comes and says "I have a license"...you wouldn't go for him/her?
I doubt it.

Same with a university degree...you want to employ someone...you would look at the certificates as well and never take anyone without a degree etc...even maybe the one without would do the job much better?

Licenses should really show a certain quality and instructors should have a certain experience and riding level (doesn't need to be pro level!).

[Diego K]

Its amazing how fast things change in this world, six months a go IKO was the best organization ever. luckyly or unluckyly, how you prefer to see it, its the only global organization that alouds you to work everwere. My life is traveling and teaching and so far IKO has open me every door for working, no school has told me no, because i have the IKO Level 2. Im not going to enter in the argue or is it good or no this ogranization. And like every organization has its rules, its up to me to decide if i stay in it or not.
All organizations are made for making money. so i dont understand this big deal about this subject.
Just one last thing stop critizacing and put some solutions or create your own organization and dont charge for anything! Lets see how it goes.
At the end you are forgeting that we are so few kite instructors with a titule that sometime the schools hires anyone. Were im living now and in all the places i worked there is the same problem.
Ps i just hope that everyones remember that its my opinion and just that. This world has too many problems to make a big deal of this.
PS 2. Im a happy person. I live and ideal life of sun, travel, wind and water. Normally i just make a quick read of all this posts and normally i dont answer because ill spend a lot of my time in the water kiting or teaching. Spend more time in the water and youll be happier, sometimes i think that people forgets that we are in this to enjoy and also i see bad mood and bad feeling everywere!
Peace, love and wind!
Diego

[ciaras]

Toby and Diego,
You make very good points and there is merit in these. There are some superb IKO qualified instructors; Diego, you are very probably one of them, but an organization that aspires to be THE governing body, needs to be able to set much higher standards than it currently does. No, I don't want to be in charge of such an organization; I run other successful businesses and if I do something wrong, I fully expect to be knocked for it and to learn something from that.