well it has been 6 months since ending ties with IKO. very little has changed at my club. we are still providing excellent lessons and we maintain a perfect safety record. i feel a sense of freedom in the fact i can determine what is safe and what is not safe. rather than relying on IKO blanket rules which are imposed on all clubs regardless of their different conditions and situations. the only thing that has changed is i am up a couple thousand dollars per year now. ok i know i am not covered by insurance. i tried to get the same insurance policy as the one provided by IKO through zurich but apparently it does not work unless you have local cover as well, which is very difficult to obtain.
i am still hoping darren in australia will impliment a new system which is more focused to growing the sport than it is in collecting revenue.

Darren is doing a great job with the training manual . Taking feedback from a core group to ensure it covers input from many experienced people.
Hopefully a new program of theory & prac & SOP's can be handed over to AKSA for national accreditation and for free subscription to all schools responsible enough subscribe to a legitimate program which covers everything thoroughly - not just the kite/board skills.
Only cost for schools (IMO & to be decided down the track) would be to pay costs of inspections to 'keep us bastards honest'.
Seriously though - I dont think any scheme can claim legitimacy without checks & balances built into the system.
Having a system which is basically school driven will also allow for input from all subscribers to make mutual decisions down the track about how the accredited program can be presented, promoted, administered and improved.

This is a huge step forward for kiting in Australia and generally. Having an Australian standard of introduction to the sport will place WAKSA, and all the other state assoc's which make up AKSA, in a far better position to fight our access battles. Its been a high priority on the AKSA wish list for as long as AKSA has existed. Great that Darren has stepped up to the plate to provide all the hard core leg work. Big props Darren

our group of 20 schools around asia is looking exactly for something like what is being set up in western australia. i hope we are able to join. the only question i have is will this new system include the training of instructors?

Hi guys,

To update you on where we are up to. I have drafted the first (IMHO) the most important part, the Student standard. This first part is a set of standard skills a beginner must have before they can move on. There is no suggested time frame like in IKO system, so it takes as long as it takes to make sure the students are at a minimum standard before hitting the beach solo.

I have sent the draft out to 10 or 11 persons for a variety of feedback perspectives. Some excellent observations and additions have been sent back. I am in the midst of incorporating the feedback into the document and rewording some of it. After the revision, editing and polishing of the document, I will send it back out to the same schools/instructors/examiners for a final review. Once the nod is given, I will make available to any persons interested, the completed standard for immediate use. Many thanks to the excellent feedback received from the reviewers.

The second part of the standard will be the school standard. as it sounds, this will be a minimum acceptable standard for a safe and professional school. This document will also be sent to the reviewers for comment, re-edited and then, once completed, again made available to all who want it.

The final part of the standard will be the instructors guide showing best practices and exercises for teaching the student standard. It will have a section of Instructors minimum standard and also a small section on teaching practices. Teaching itself is well covered by many other books etc although I will add some stuff which I have found useful.

I hope to have this done by the start of the next season but may take a little longer as the review/feedback and editing takes a lot more time than I expected and the next documents will take some time. (I need to have a life too!)

This is not just for WA, it will be available to anyone who wants to work to a fair dinkum and realistic, high standard. No waffle, no unnecessary fill, just a concise and pragmatic document hopefully to provide better equipped students for the betterment of the sport and the security of our beaches.

I may decide to write a further document of Instructor Training Course as time permits for next season after next. The course would be 90% practical and 10% class work as well as self study prior to the course and an exam to prove competency. This instructors course will not be easy to pass unless you know what you are doing. At the end of the course, if you aren't good enough, you wont pass, simple. Course will be similar in price to IKO, but most likely 10 days, not 5. 5 days produces inexperienced instructors.

Anyway, play on!

Thanks for the props Puppet!

DM

Wonder if AKSA could get involved and have a training membership that will cover students liability whilst under instruction. This could be included in the lesson price and protect instructors leaving IKO?