Hi crew, don't forget...

ANNUAL AGM
Scheduled for 7pm on 30/9/2011 at Grange Sailing Club.
It'll be a good night,meet some of the crew,have a couple of drinks with movies
playing on the big screen.
AGM's the time when we vote in the new committee. If you want to give
something back to the sport putting your hand up to join the committee's
a great way to do it.

OPEN SEASON
The annual season opener will be held at Largs Sailing Club this year on
15/10/2011 from 11-3. There'll be a FREE BBQ,all the 2012 gear to trial.
This is a good event to bring down a friend who's new to the sport and
introduce them to the crew. It's the ideal spot to talk to the shops about the
new gear and if Huey cooperates get sometime on the water.

KITE SURFING YORKS
Ten guys decided to drop work in the middle of the week and chase some
big waves down on Yorks. They found a nice secret spot trekked inland
and found the perfect spot,here's what happened!

What does SAKSA do for SA Kite boarders ?

So you just spent all your hard earned coin on a brand new kite,board and
harness. You've had your lesson,or maybe it's “just another season” for
you. Have you forgotten anything. Wetsuit,boardies,towel? What about
your SAKSA Membership?
We occasionally get the question,“What does SAKSA actually do?” The
committee's work is not always obvious as much of it is done behind the
scenes. First and foremost SAKSA is a group of active kiters who volunteer
their time to ensure beaches remain accessible for kiters throughout the
state. SAKSA also works to promote safe kiting and grow the sport in SA.
Probably the most important function SAKSA undertakes is to actively
work with councils,the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) and Marine
and Harbours (M&H) to keep beaches open and safe for kiters. Many may
not realise that kiting at Glenelg was banned without any consultation
of SAKSA. Glenelg is a busy beach in summer so it's not the best kiting
location anyway,however if SAKSA had been consulted at the time it may
have been able to negotiate access to other beaches in the City of Holdfast
Bay Council area instead of having the current situation where there is a
total ban. The metro beaches that are open for kiting now are open as a
direct result of SAKSA negotiating with the respective councils before any
action was taken to ban kite boarding within their council areas.
SAKSA has worked hard with the City of Charles Sturt and CASA to have
access to Torrens river mouth and other designated areas. Access in the
Port Adelaide Enfield area is conditional,the council wanted to ensure that
all kiters were covered by insurance. The council requires that if you are
riding in the Largs Bay and The Wall areas,you must wear a current SAKSA
tag at all times when kiting. The council has contacted the committee about
this on a few occasions expressing their concern about riders who are there
without tags. The council has erected signs saying “No Wind Harnessing
Without Permit.” This was not a request by SAKSA,it was a compromise that
SAKSA was able to broker with the council,so that SAKSA members could
continue to kite within the council boundaries. The alternative was that kiting
be banned on their beaches entirely. Due to the importance of council and
CASA relations we have a dedicated liaisons officer on the committee who
is a point of contact for any questions or queries.
The question is often raised of 'why don't we all just self-insure?' and 'Do I
really need $10,000,000 liability coverage?' The councils have all specified
that they require minimum $10,000,000 liability insurance. $10mil for $125
is good value. Going through SAKSA means you're insured by an Australian
insurer (not a dodgy backyarder overseas insurer) and you're backed nationwide
by AKSA and its other affiliate state associations.
SAKSA's strength lies with our members,who are our eyes and ears. Our
association has membership of over 300. It's important that if you hear or
see anything related to banning kiters from a beach then you contact a
SAKSA rep ASAP so that we can work quickly to get the issue resolved.
We also actively encourage all our members to self-regulate;if you see
someone doing the wrong thing,politely approach them and in a friendly
manner,let them know. They may have no idea they were in the wrong,or
if they do,they just might need to be reminded. This proactive approach is
vital as it demonstrates to the councils we are self-regulating and promoting
safe kiting. We also encourage members to keep any incidents off of the
public forums like Seabreeze because believe it or not,councils,CASA and
M&H patrol these forums to keep an eye on what's going down in our world.
Besides beach access and insurance SAKSA loves to give something back
to the community which supports it. We are repeatedly told by interstaters that
we run the best wave and freestyle titles in the country. We work hard to make
them fun and professional for competitors,spectators and local residents.
The events are aimed at everyone from your newbie who just want to have
some fun to the pros who throw down amazing tricks time and time again.
Having a state body coordinating these events has enabled the committee to
get support from local shops and distributors so that at each comp we have a
huge range of amazing prizes to give away.
SAKSA also realizes that not everyone is into competitions,each year we run
a host of events aimed at giving something back to the entire community,
these have included a charity event,an Open Season/Demo day,barbeques,
presentation nights and even the old pizza and video nights.
The South Australian kite boarding community is unique compared to other
states;overall we are a cohesive mob all in the sport for the same reason,
because we love it. This shared attitude has meant that many of us have built
friendships that we'll have for the rest of our lives. Kite boarding takes us
back to the fundamental basics of enjoying life.
So next time you're heading out kiting,remember to check if your SAKSA
Membership is up to date- AKSA will send you a reminder email to your
registered email address 4 weeks prior to expiry but make sure to check it
yourself. Or when you're talking your mate into learning to kite,or even talking
to fellow kiters on the beach who aren't SAKSA members take a second to
clue them in on who SAKSA is and what we do for the kiting community,that
the combined voice of as many kiters as possible behind the one body gives
us more negotiating strength to ensure the beaches remain open for the sport
we love.
And remember SAKSA is always looking for volunteers and helpers to make
kiting better within our great state. SAKSA is only as good as its volunteers,
we are always looking for new members to join the committee with fresh
perspectives and ideas. If you're interested in helping out please contact one
of the SAKSA representatives,we would love to welcome you aboard and help
make kite boarding in SA even better.