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According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

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pj sofine
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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby pj sofine » Sun Jan 21, 2018 3:12 pm

I've had to self launch more,used to have 10 -15 kiters on a nice day.Now maybe 4-5.Ok with me.

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Sun » Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:25 pm

Maybe golfing was a bad example, but it does go against my anecdotal observations. Seems liked every new housing development has a golf course.

In any case, some other results I found interesting:

Other things roughly in decline:
Hacking, Dating, Racing, Cycling, Fishing, Hunting, Gambling, Knitting, Gardening, Messaging, Searching, Flirting, Fighting, Sharing, Skiing

Things Not Declining:
Loving, Helping, Shopping, Painting, Robbing, Hiking, Running, Cheating

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Kykeon
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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Kykeon » Sun Jan 21, 2018 4:28 pm

I see internet declining against kiteboarding!!!

People get away from their computers and fill our beaches!!!

https://trends.google.com/trends/explor ... g,internet

Do you get it now that this is a misinterpretation of the google trends?

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juandesooka
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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby juandesooka » Mon Jan 22, 2018 5:36 am

Has kiting jumped the shark?

My observations from recent trip to Maui:

-- average age seems to have increased, seems mostly middle aged plus

-- very few young rippers blasting big airs and doing tricks; mostly foil and surfboard cruisers, even on big wind days

-- friend who runs a kite school there says it has been dead this year, less newbies in general

-- Naish store closed down

-- beach vibe felt less friendly, stand-offish; most people self launch and land, people seemed less eager to lend a hand [felt more like surfing vibe]

General observations:

-- Pro kite circuit seems to have faded into obscurity, few recognizable personalities, average kiter hard pressed to name more than 1-2 people involved

-- Less and less actual little innovation in gear; now all focused on refinement

-- So many kiters moving to foiling ... is foil that fun or just bored of same old? (and yes, I foil more than anything else these days, LOL)

-- The popular videos increasingly are either freak shows (jump off a building, tow ups, Fonzi jumping the shark) or best-of compilations.

-- The magazines are super repetitive, barely warrant a flip through now, much less a good read. 75% ads posing as articles.

-- This forum and others seem less active, less humour

It may be this is just my experience and perception ... 5-6 years in, at the end of the kite honeymoon period, getting jaded. However it seems to be going around. There's a few newbies starting around here, but doesn't seem like the big surge of when I was starting out.

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby longwhitecloud » Mon Jan 22, 2018 7:56 am

Great observations.

Adding.

IKAs involvement in kite surfing bummed out a lot of kiters as they tried to steal kiteboarding, they really missed the pkra days and simply couldn't believe IKA claimed authority of waveriding and freestyle despite knowing nothing about it/ no previous experience. Pros were super bummed that their world positions and titles were threatened with legal action as iko/ world sailing now owned the term " world champion/ championship". The inventor of kiteboarding came out against IKA/ world sailing!

Many Pro freestyle riders of 5-8 years ago are no longer able to afford to kite full time as the sponsorship money dried up. Therefore they are no longer influencing and motivating other riders online.

I don't think kitesc0op ( kind of dead now) helped, young people are more easily influenced with regards to trends. There are kitescoopers entering koa now, nothing more really needs to be said.

Today we have Facebook posts almost begging parents to get their kids to try racing for the time - there first time will be for Youth Olympic qualification (sounds safe? It isn't) .

Do you know that there were protests trying to disqualify competitors for having an incorrect measurement written on a board ( printing error- board was actually permitted size)... There you go .. kiteboarding 2018 just climbed up it's own ass!

The structure and stoke has gone. I lived in a (happy) bubble as far as non commercialisation is concerned for many years, but I now know if you don't have grassroots riders prepared to put in the hard yards and grassroots commercial enterprises influencing and stoking riders, a few core riders will continue, but scenes and influences are going to die.

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Chicken-loop » Mon Jan 22, 2018 9:55 am

Is it less people using google to search for kitesurfing / kiteboarding ...or is it just less people using google as a search engine?

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Toby » Mon Jan 22, 2018 10:19 am

Longwhite:

I am sure you meant IKA and not IKO!

IKO is the school Organisation
IKA is the association under world sailing.

I changed your posting accordingly.

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Frappes
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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Frappes » Mon Jan 22, 2018 8:38 pm

Nor-Cal kiting spots are getting more and more crowded every year. In the summertime, weekdays are getting uncomfortably crowded at the popular spots and on weekends pretty much everywhere within 2 hours of the Bay Area is a gong-show.

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby tkachuk » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:18 am

At the risk of being anecdotal, my impression is that episodic, seasonal kiteboarding in the cooler, northern hemispheres (accounting for the Aug-Oct peaks in the google hit graphs) is on the decline but kiting in warmer, longer season, windier spots (including destination tripping) is holding steady. Makes me think growth in the industry is stalling, but like many poster have stated, who cares and it is probably better for those of us sticking with it.
If true, prepare for even better (and more costly), specialized high tech equipment. Geez, with a light, heated wearable, the season here in Toronto would be 10 months and we could enjoy the nuclear winter winds. Just my take.

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Re: According to Google Trends, kiteboarding is declining in popularity

Postby Archer77 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 2:39 pm

I think today people are searching specifically the name of the brand they are interested on!


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