As pessimistic as it sounds, I think there will be continued growth of the sport leading to over crowding, injuries and death to riders and public which will then lead to many restrictions and beach closures to kiting. This is already beginning. This will then lead to a decline in the sport.
prelives wrote:As pessimistic as it sounds, I think there will be continued growth of the sport leading to over crowding, injuries and death to riders and public which will then lead to many restrictions and beach closures to kiting. This is already beginning. This will then lead to a decline in the sport.
I don't know, kitesurfing is pretty inaccessible. The gear costs a lot, you can't just "try" the sport, and the learning curve is steep enough that a lot of people get discouraged and quit before they can really ride.
Hopefully the growth won't get to a point where we have to worry about overcrowding/safety beyond the super populated areas (like Miami).
I live and kite in Jamaica, and thankfully it's a very small kiting community , probably 25 kiters on the island in total, with 2 schools (which mainly cater to tourists) as it's too expensive for the wider local market ... so money is a big factor in the growth of the sport...
I feel quite privileged that i can go to a spot with my buddy and we're the only ones there , i see all these videos online of these amazingggg spots that seen soo crowded with kitesurfers and windsurfers , and as much as i'd like to grow the sport in Jamaica , i hope it never reaches those levels. Luckily it's expensive to fly to Jamaica, if not many of our awesome secluded spots would surely be crowded.
The future in general , i hope it becomes an olympic sport !
Men 470
Women 470
Men skiff 49er
Match racing Women Elliott 6m
Men heavy dingy Finn
Men light dingy Laser
Woman Laser Radial
Windsurfing Men RS:X
Windsurfing Women RS:X
kealboat Men Star
Wow that is a crap article. It's 2016 in Rio and Kiteboard OR Winsurfing.