The Future of the Sport?

[Bille]

Interesting video...what's gonna happen???

[Bille]

Good Post Toby !!!

Was interesting what she said about windsurfing ; the growth
of the sport declined , as less schools taught , because
people made more money selling gear , than teaching.
That is exactly, what is happening to Hang gliding , right
now ; HG is in Rapid decline. Paragliding is just the opposite, in
that there are many schools teaching, and bringing in new
pilots ; so that sport is Growing !!

Bille

[knotwindy]

Also, a lot of folks moved from Windsurfing to kiting because you could do it in more places and have more fun in more places and lighter wind. Equipment was easier to transport and initially you needed less of it. Although that changed but seems to be changing back to smaller quivers of kites and boards. And it was a shorter, easier learning curve. Will there be the same movement from kiting to another cheaper, easier, faster to learn sport?
Wind is fickle, sometimes you get it, sometimes you don’t so it requires a lot of time and effort to get the really good days and most folks don’t have the time and place to make it work very often. Yes, worse with windsurfing but still a factor in learning to kite. Even with more schools and you go on vacation and spend three days ‘learning’ to kite, where are you going to do it when you get back home. Not sure more school starts are the answer with such a fickle conditions sport.
I don’t see the growth continuing much longer. Hope I’m wrong.

[Toby]

she talks about more specific gear...the better the riders get the more specific they need the gear...I know from me...give me a wave kite and I cannot do anything....more or less.

Sure, for average Joe it all works...so really a hard call for the companies to decide what to go for.

Maybe they should have one kite in their line up, that is THE allrounder...like Best with its Waroo back then...they sold so many of them...since it was good for the majority...and the other kites were more specific.

Back then things were easier...now one gets confused...

Core was easy also back then...2 models...now 5. More complicated.

Like I said, it is not easy, since a company wants kites for all different needs...but maybe they have more success with one kite for all...

What do you guys think? Maybe someone here who went thru this before with windsurfing?

An interesting topic for sure!

[Toby]

are the number of school declining?

We also have to consider, that windsurfing was the first (I have been told) "fun" sport...so many jumped on it back then to be cool.
Then so many new sports came up...so people concentrated less on one sport...

So I wonder if Kitesurf sees a similar decline? I think it also grew slowly, not as fast as windsurfing (?)...so a more healthy growth.

[Flyboy]

It seems to me that the explosion of windsurfing happened in the early '80's before short boards became established. Anybody could get on a big board & sail around in lighter wind. It was a way to get outside & get on the water. As it became more high-tech, high wind, specialized & more demanding, its mass appeal declined. I'm not sure kitesurfing ever had that mass appeal because it has always been a relatively difficult sport to get into at the initial stage. This is compounded by access problems that go along with the nature of the equipment. I would say that SUP is the windsurfing of the moment - easy to get into initially.

[TomW]

I think the windsurfing comparison isn't the same. Windsurfing got more and more wave oriented, narrowing the places and conditions needed to do it. Racing does the same thing due to the organisation needed. I started windsurfing in 78 on a big board and then a short board in 81-82. Then it got problematic with spots and conditions and need for a whole truck of gear. It got boring after 10 years and no good wave spots, it was just drag racing in 30 knots.

Kitesurfing can be done in a lot more places and a lot more conditions. You can keep your gear in your car or apartment, no need for a garage. It's still easy and accepted to be a recreational easy rider and hang on the beach with the extreme dudes. At the risk of generalising, Kiters are generally less judgemental than surfers and ( back then) windsurfers.

Agree on the teaching aspect being key to growth. Here there is a local dealer teaching foiling in the wake Park and he's been successful converting those kiters to foiling, whereby I believe that the learners would not have taken the step using a kite. There's an active teaching business here, feeding the beaches. We still have tons of room for more kiters, despite some saying the opposite.

Hydrofoiling has opened up more days, days that are easy on me. I've started using foil kites so I don't need an assist or teather launch. Gear is actually smaller with fewer, smaller and lighter kites and one foil/board combination.

[Flyboy]

I think the windsurfing comparison isn't the same. Windsurfing got more and more wave oriented, narrowing the places and conditions needed to do it. Racing does the same thing due to the organisation needed.
Kitesurfing can be done in a lot more places and a lot more conditions.

Agree on the teaching aspect being key to growth. Here there is a local dealer teaching foiling in the wake Park and he's been successful converting those kiters to foiling, whereby I believe that the learners would not have taken the step using a kite.

I don't think it got more wave oriented necessarily, slalom remained a big focus of the sport through the '80's & '90's ... but it certainly got more high wind oriented which narrowed the opportunities for most people to do it on a regular basis. But I don't think kiting has ever had the popular participation that windsurfing had in the first half of the '80's. Kiting can certainly done in lower wind conditions, but access remains a big problem in many areas. Much easier just to plop your windsurfer in the water & sail off, even if it's fairly crowded on the shore.

[TomW]

I think the windsurfing comparison isn't the same. Windsurfing got more and more wave oriented, narrowing the places and conditions needed to do it. Racing does the same thing due to the organisation needed.
Kitesurfing can be done in a lot more places and a lot more conditions.

Agree on the teaching aspect being key to growth. Here there is a local dealer teaching foiling in the wake Park and he's been successful converting those kiters to foiling, whereby I believe that the learners would not have taken the step using a kite.

I don't think it got more wave oriented necessarily, slalom remained a big focus of the sport through the '80's & '90's ... but it certainly got more high wind oriented which narrowed the opportunities for most people to do it on a regular basis. But I don't think kiting has ever had the popular participation that windsurfing had in the first half of the '80's. Kiting can certainly done in lower wind conditions, but access remains a big problem in many areas. Much easier just to plop your windsurfer in the water & sail off, even if it's fairly crowded on the shore.

Yea, you're right about slalom, that's what I meant about drag racing. Freestyle never caught on here.

I was windsurfing in Sweden during the boom. 1984-1992. I Never saw the number of windsurfers compared to kiters I see out on a 18-20 knot day these days.

I might add that the Internet has completely changed the social aspect too.

[Flyboy]

I think the windsurfing comparison isn't the same. Windsurfing got more and more wave oriented, narrowing the places and conditions needed to do it. Racing does the same thing due to the organisation needed.
Kitesurfing can be done in a lot more places and a lot more conditions.

Agree on the teaching aspect being key to growth. Here there is a local dealer teaching foiling in the wake Park and he's been successful converting those kiters to foiling, whereby I believe that the learners would not have taken the step using a kite.

I don't think it got more wave oriented necessarily, slalom remained a big focus of the sport through the '80's & '90's ... but it certainly got more high wind oriented which narrowed the opportunities for most people to do it on a regular basis. But I don't think kiting has ever had the popular participation that windsurfing had in the first half of the '80's. Kiting can certainly done in lower wind conditions, but access remains a big problem in many areas. Much easier just to plop your windsurfer in the water & sail off, even if it's fairly crowded on the shore.

Yea, you're right about slalom, that's what I meant about drag racing. Freestyle never caught on here.

I was windsurfing in Sweden during the boom. 1984-1992. I Never saw the number of windsurfers compared to kiters I see out on a 18-20 knot day these days.

I might add that the Internet has completely changed the social aspect too.

It may vary from location to location. What I remember about starting to windsurf in Toronto in 1984 was that there was a whole "scene" (at Cherry Beach). Three windsurfing clubs that made equipment available to its members for an annual fee, dozens of people on the water every day, even in light wind, topless babes on the beach (might happen all the time in Sweden anyway ).

I probably had more fun learning to windsurf that first year, using big boards, crappy booms, sails etc. than at any time subsequently. The transition to short board sailing was tough & most people just dropped out. However, I think the infrastructure built up for windsurfing through the 80's & '90's helped kiting to expand rapidly when it came along.