This is for any newbies who may have the same idea.

Let me set the scene:

* Open parkland/grassed area at the traffic lights, corner of Cedric St and the Mitchell Freeway. (just next to the City of Stirling Council) - 5.15pm Thursday

* Maybe 5knts of wind? Just enough to get a 12m/14m Caution into the air and up to 12 o'clock - (then only to have it luft back down shortly after.)

So theres the scene.

Thought I would do the right thing and try to offer some good advise to the 2 guys (R--) and (L---) trying to launch and fly their 12m Caution kite.

"Hi, do you mind if I give you some advise"

.. their reply, "yeah sure, 'cos I have no idea what I am doing and I am all new to this sport"

So I proceeded to explain, very briefly, that there has been some serious injuries from people flying their kites on land and you would be better off going to the river, where it would surely be hell colder but alot safer. Also to have a look at similar threads already posted on seabreeze.com.au detailing other serious accidents from flying kites on land.

But, this all fell on deaf ears and they continued to struggle and launch their kite with some success but luckily, I hope, no injuries.

To any newbies, just ask any experienced kiter they will tell you, DO NOT fly your new kite on land!

Rob.

Attn Beginners,

For the small price of professional lessons from an approved IKO centre or instructor, you can shortcut the learning curve by up to months, have more fun, learn safely, not trash your gear, or yourself and more importantly the innocent bystanders.

The smart players get lessons from either;

Ian Young
Choice Kitesurfing
Pelican Point
Australian Kiteboarding School
Rob Gannon
Dan Anderson
Damo
Simon Peters

All these guys are IKO qualified.

Be safe,

Darren Marshall
Australian Kiteboarding School
IKO Examiner
0407 012 220

PS Could Rob, Choicey, Ian and Ian all text me your numbers as I have lost all your numbers with my lost phone. Cheers all.

Bacon Dancing mate... everyone is just trying to help everyone else out... I would rather be insturcted by an IKO qualified teacher, than rely on a mate to learn everything... A mate can only teach you so much, but an instructor can tell you all you need to know... and THEN you just rely on your mates for tips... Frankly Bacon, if you don't want people to give extra help, tips and advice, this forum isn't the place for you- I, and most other kiters here are very greatful for the information and tips given here... --or-- just don't read them!

quote:

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go find a mate with some experience to show you the rope is my advice. Save some money and buy a few cases of beer for the both of you

---

What happened to the 'safety first' aspect of kiting?! If there isn't that part of it, that's when injuries and accidents occur...

btw. Thanks Kitehard for all your helpful information you have given me and the other people in this forum, and because of you and the many other helpful kiters here, I have been able to choose a great kiting equipment, great spots, and I am always very greatful for any information, tips or anything you guys can give me... It's greatly appreciated...!

Many Thanks

Elizabeth - Wello Kiter

[quoteA mate can only teach you so much, but an instructor can tell you all you need to know... and THEN you just rely on your mates for tips...

Yeah I dunno about this. I have lost a bit of faith in the IKO thing recently after seeing people get their IKO 'badges' when they could only just go upwind and could not even jump yet. They were then put on a sort of probabtion where they have to come up to speed in three months or something like that, but up to speed did not include a range of wind conditions, (just benign, smooth 12 knots and flat water) or even tricks - just jumping. Seems a bit dodge to me. I guess when you pay over a grand to go on the course, you want something out of it..

And I think it is fine to get your friends to teach you as long as they are really good, experienced riders, but you just gotta be sure they are (and some of these people will be IKO qualified - I see Dan Anderson on the list above, (the only one I know) and I know he is very experienced).

IKO gives the impression that they are totally safe, and if you follow their instructions you will be all good. This would mean that no IKO instructord have ever been killed kitesurfing, but this is not the case - I've heard of 3 just in the time I have been doing it. And I saw 2 guys, both (overseas) instructors, nearly get killed ON THE SAME DAY by doing things i would not have done - and I was pretty much a beginner then. But they were wearing safety orange....the universal colour of good judgement.

I'm a bit over all this IKO stuff, I can see that it serves a purpose, and if it was given out to consistently good people, sure, good plan, but at the moment it looks a bit like a cartel than anything. There is a need for it- no doubt about that, in that you can find people to teach you in a wide range of places, instead of taking your chances if you don't really know anyone to teach you, (anyone who is any good that is). But the IKO is not the be all and end all. Some are fantastic - really experienced and trustworthy (maybe most in Australia), but some are rough as. You should never sign away your critical faculties in favour of an IKO instruction - this is a dangerous sport. I guess it's like everything -buyer beware. And yeah, the guy on the beach should have listened to the kiter who knew what he was doing.

And another thing - back in the old days when my husband was learning, there was no IKO - they all taught each other, and there were a lot of them too. And it all seemed to go okay - a few scratches and a bit of swearing, but generally good.

I'm sure this might cause a ****fight, but it's just my 2 cents worth.

G'day Folks

Have to back up Darren and the ITC's he runs, they are extremely well run and the instructors who pass definately have been taught everything they need to know, and some.

But there will always be good and bad in any system, however I would have to say that the majority of instructors who do an ITC here in Oz, have been taught well, and in the end the rest is up to them.

IKO now have safety reps in Oz who can investigate complaints of shoddy practices, if you have an issue with an IKO instructor or school send IKO an e-mail.

One of the key reasons the IKO was founded was to create a world wide STANDARD for safe kiteboarding instruction, along the lines of many other sports.

Without such a system, Authorities who control access to our waterways would have no recourse other than to pass laws to restrict access. I know for a fact that the simple existence of IKO and AKSA has helped prevent bans being implemented in many areas of Australia, because the Authorities in each instance have had a contact point and a means of getting messages to us - the masses of kiteboarders.

AKSA fully supports the IKO in Australia, please maintain your AKSA membership, simply to show the Authorities that there is an organised body looking out for the majority of kieboarders in Australia.

And if you see people doing crazy, irresponsible stuff, please take the effort to at least let them know what they are doing in inappropriate.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack

hey elziebth B - have you paid your money to the IKO because you seem pretty defensive.

Safety for newbies is about everyone giving advice, like the guy who started this thread. i bet he didnt ask for money. Its not about getting newbies to spend $90 to fly a kite under supervision by someone who has paid money to the IKO to get a badge. Any time safety gets mentioned, it gets turned into an advertisement for the IKO ('I don't get out of bed for less than $100 an hour").

The IKO probably do run a good course, but the basics of kiteing are so so easy. Just getting good is the hard part. its so arrogant to assume that just because someone paid $700 to the IKO makes them better at giving advice than someone who may have heaps more experience. You just have to go through the posts here from newbies who complained of spending heaps of money to be part of a group flying a kite.


I know im an anti-consumerist nazi hippy, but does everything have to be spun in a way for people to make money? And does every safety thread end up being "get a lesson from an IKO instructor"/ I am all for people giving tips and helping out because they want to, not case it makes them money. And dont worry if you are not IKO accredited, you can still help out. And thats safer dont you think?

It was not elizabeth who wrote the bolshy post - it was me..I just hijacked her comment about the IKO.

I have not paid any money to the IKO and did not learn through them. By and large I think they are a good organisation - like I said above. But what worries me is that they give people the impression that they have a monopoly on safety, which makes me worry that people will think 'It's okay, I can leave my brain at home cos I got taught by an IKO instructor'.

And yeah, I do think it is a bit of a cartel, in that they have marketed themselves to the exclusion of everyone else, but this is the nature of the market, on the one hand they convinced everyone that they will DIE if they do not learn with IKO, and they got in first with official regulatory bodies and insurance companies etc. Good on them, after all, the IKO is a money making enterprise and that's their business. They were in the right place at the right time with the right idea.

And as for Darren telling me to complain to the oversight committee or whatever - it's not in my interests to make an official complaint. After all, if things get too bad, then the carnage rate will rise accordingly, then the 'safety rules' will have to be tightened up. And who is first in line for dealing with regulatory bodies and insurance companies? IKO! God bless'em. Long may they remain the lightening rod for all the silly crap people get up to on the water. Better to have them appease the likes of local councils than have an outright ban.

I guess the moral of the story is - I get a little sick of the IKO moralising like they invented safety and we who did not learn through them are all going to hell. (Clearly this is a long term grudge I have been cultivating everytime I hear someone chastise me for not tapping the top of my head when I want my kite landed).

And no I do not think you need to be able to do an upside-down wetsuit on and off fully tweaked inverted double anal tail spin in order to teach people to kite - but I think a little more experience than simply holding upwind ground would be appropriate. Just my opinion on that one.

That's all really. Sorry if I got anyone bent out of shape.

SLAVE.........you are a FN genius!

You just described life as we know it on this planet.

Hey guess what Slave, Life is dangerous, it always ends in death. Try driving on Sydney roads if you want an adrenalin rush!!
Do driving instructors need to know how to win the Australian rally Championships?
Of course not, good instructors know what a begginer needs to learn, and every one of them is different.

IKO do not have a monopoly on teaching and have affiliated with several overseas based kiteboarding training groups. They were simply the first, the most focused, visionary, and passionate, at least that is how I would describe the founders, both highly addicted, and extremely experienced kiteboarders. They are Fred Bene, and Eric Beaudonnat.

I was the one that said report IKO instructors and schools, not Darren, you can do it completely anonymously.

NO IKO instructor should be teaching 5 students at once, this person should be reported, it is unsafe, and people do not get good value as has been described and brings the IKO in disrepute.
The maximum one, Level 2 instructor IKO instructor can teach is 4 people, and he would need to be well organised, and should only be teaching people of a similar standard, like 4 begginers.

Sure we all survived in the beggining, that is the ones of us who are still kiting, there are lots who have quit or who have been injured.

Cya and

Goodwinds

Steve McCormack

iko is a private company that sets out to make money.

**** the iko.