also, if we can generate enough people (I believe it's 5 min) will any IKO examiner be willing to put on a course for us??
thx

Hi Guys,

Yes there are ITC's in the pipeline. I am planning on running one over here in Perth in April and Ed is looking to do courses over winter in our off season, so I suggest tuning the schools in Cairns/Port Douglas to get onto it and confirm with Ed.

I posted and advertised two courses back in September due to the howling for courses and when it came time to "ante up", there was a deafening silence and we were only able to partially fill one course and had to cancel the second
Of course a week after the course heaps of people were again screaming for courses .

Here's the thing, if you want to do the course, and you really want to be an Instructor, then you need to fit in with the course dates and times and make an effort.

Courses will be announced this week on my website and on Seabreeze. I will only post one course and will not post another unless I get deposits up front and confirmed bookings filling the first course.

Stay tuned!

Good winds,

hi all,
we are looking for recruits in NSW. Anyone who is seriously interested in taking their ITC, pls contact us and we can arrange a course in Sydney.
thanks

hi guys, thanks to all who have responded. We have managed to provisionally confirm a date in either Sydney or Brisbane for April 20-24.

HowieD has had a couple messages from various peeps. We really wanna get this thing set in stone so if ur keen it's $500 deposit to secure the course. All we need at first is a 100% yes I am in then we can set the date down and all put our deposits in.
total cost of course is US$790, so approx $1200 aud

So, if you are a definite yes pls contact us so we can nail down date, location etc.

cheers, Tim

timk said...

hi guys, thanks to all who have responded. We have managed to provisionally confirm a date in either Sydney or Brisbane for April 20-24.

HowieD has had a couple messages from various peeps. We really wanna get this thing set in stone so if ur keen it's $500 deposit to secure the course. All we need at first is a 100% yes I am in then we can set the date down and all put our deposits in.
total cost of course is US$790, so approx $1200 aud

So, if you are a definite yes pls contact us so we can nail down date, location etc.

cheers, Tim

Hi Tim

Kitepower would be prepared to run a course again at Kitepower in Sans Souci/Sydney, but need to get definite numbers to make it work.
We can run them in winter, we just need to probabaly avoid late April and all of May, winds tend to be cr@p in those months.
I have all the equipment, needed to run a course on hand, it is usually held upstairs in the shop.
Kitepower is the only fully compliant and insured IKO school in Sydney, and is experienced in running the course.

Please contact me on 95296894, I know Darren and Ed well and they will do a course here without hesitation because we have done them before and know whats involved.

The course cost is set by IKO, and is set in U$D, so $790USD = approx $1215AUD, but the final price would be set closer to the time of the course due to needing to pay the IKO a fee in U$D.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve

stev can i come and sleep in your car pack in a swag ?

I dont mind who runs the course, as long as it's an approved course and its done properly. Are the prices the same or can you do it cheaper

Heard mixed comments about your courses and about someone trying to monopolise the market which I dont support.

As for income, how could charging $200 for a 2 hour lesson be non-viable? Maybe you just dont want more instructors in Sydney?

Kitepower Australia said...

inout-inout said...ed

stev can i come and sleep in your car pack in a swag ?

Actually you can, there is plenty of room out the back fresh water BBQ toilet, and during business hours there is a hot shower available, and its free.
Some guys from Vic stayed out the back in a van 2 years ago.

@Aaron
Do some sums mate, before you leap in and make a committment to something that is just not financially viable.
My kite school does not make money, and why do you think no others have survived?
I can keep my school going because I pay most of the money earned out the instuctors and in running costs, because it supports my shop.
I'm happy to talk to any of you that are thinking about instructing as a business.
It might seem that for a couple of months in Sydney there is an undersupply of available instructors of lessons, but the reality is that even if you did provide lessons for everyone that was looking for a lesson, you still would not make enough money to make a profit over a year that was anywhere enough to make a decent living.
Then there is the issue of sustainability, you might think you could put a couple of hundred extra begginers on the beaches of Sydney over one summer but you will probably shut down kitesurfing in Sydney, its crowded already, those numbers will cause congestion at the spots and the result will be lots of conflicts with other beach users.
Run some numbers through a spreadsheet, and you will need to have insurance and permits, and really will need a boat too, the costs are substantial.

Cya and

Goodwinds'

Steve

i did the iko thing two years ago with kp, long boring days but you get a kite in after each day, being so close to the water .thanks to kp it was bearable.

thanks stev

AaronB said...

I dont mind who runs the course, as long as it's an approved course and its done properly. Are the prices the same or can you do it cheaper

Heard mixed comments about your courses and about someone trying to monopolise the market which I dont support.

As for income, how could charging $200 for a 2 hour lesson be non-viable? Maybe you just dont want more instructors in Sydney?

Hi Aaron

Have a good look around you mate, are there actually many places to kitesurf in Sydney for the average guy?
For begginers?
How many more instuctors do you think can be squeezed onto Botany Bay???
Do you really think somehow the sport will remain viable and sustainable if hundreds more kiters are trained up?

Maybe the $$$$ signs are actually clouding your thinking and that of others?
Thats why I said think about it before you leap in, not because I want to control anything. However I do have a passion for kitesurfing and keeping the local beaches open and not getting bans or restrictions put in place.

More beachside instructors will lead to too many begginers crowding out the already crowded spots, it would seem like the motive for you is to make some quick $$, is it?

KP charges $300 for 3 hrs, escorted kitesurfing lessons conducted from boats, and we are far from being the most expensive lessons in Oz, like I said do some research, don't go into this half cocked.

Beachside lessons in Botany Bay suck and should be discouraged, there is nowhere to teach where you will not be telling people to fly kites near roads, over beachgoers heads, within smashing crashing distance of children, etc. You will also be telling your students to body drag towards that pile of rocks (all the rock groins).
Doing lessons on the beaches will not be in accordance with IKO safety guidelines.

So, you really will need a boat.
Do your sums, cost a boat and cost running it, then work out what will be left over after you pay for fuel, insurance on the boat, PL Insurance, Permit fees, gear costs, and the fact you will be teaching in prime winds that you could be kiting in.

KP pays 66% of the fee charged to its instructors, and we provide all the gear, permit fees, insurance, and other incidental costs. We do not monoplise anything, other instructors work on the beaches, we just think their lessons are poor value and promote dangerous practices.

Happy to talk to anyone wanting to be an instuctor, I even have a spare boat.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve