vwpete said...
Exactly Australia does not have its own instructor and school standards org.
So how do you know if you have a good instructor or school? Well make sure your instructor is or has been IKO or BKSA accredited and even better make sure the school is IKO or BKSA accredited.
IKO has a web site you can check if the instructor has insurance, you can check if a school has insurance. IKO also do onsite checks to see if the school is complying with the rules and standards, like do they have a rescue craft, 1st aid kit, is the teaching location considered safe?, do they have a senior instructor Etc etc.
It's that simple! So as I said you want to know if kite instructors promote AKSA, I do but I promote the teaching standards 1st, let's face it if students learn't the full proper IKO or BKSA teaching method. AKSA would not have to work so hard to keep beaches open because there would be fewer incidents.
Also I don't like that anyone can be a member of AKSA and get Public liability, you should 1st make sure they are either iko/bksa qualified or do a skills check before accepting them. Maybe then the premiums would be lower as you would have fewer claims.
Aksa could promote itself better showing that while there are kite incidents, there are few if any involving members of AKSA.
There is a need for a different accreditation system, something that is Australian based and contributes to the sport.
Just because something currently exists, like IKO/BKSA does not mean that its good, and experience has proven that it is not an ideal system. IKO is a profit driven organisation, so it minimises its costs, which means it minimises what it puts back into the sport that it derives income from.
Some of the very worst instructors I've seen have been IKO or BKSA "qualified". There are even a few prominent ones that run schools and wave the IKO flag like crazy, but who teach in onshore conditions, in ankle deep water, with "assistant" instructors hanging onto student harnesses. They negate the use of trainer kites and actively promote disapproval of trainer kites because ill prepared students can be convinced to take more of their high cost lessons. They complicate learning to fly a kite, so that it sounds like it can only be done with high cost lessons.
Many of them are "cash only" businesses, many force students to share instruction, so that each student gets only shared time or a fraction of the time they paid for. But hey they are IKO so they must be good right???
Not.
Instructors that arrive from overseas and rape the freedom of our liberal society, pay no taxes and contribute nothing back into our sport or community, while waving the flag of a profit driven "certifying" self appointed authority, are one of the main causes of conflict between by poorly trained students and other beach users.
People can only afford one or a few lessons at most, so if the lessons are shared, learning is minimal and compromised by the profit needs and greed of the "instructor". Consequently beginner gives up on lessons and goes it alone without full and comprehensive training. This is happening everywhere and all over, all in the name of IKO what a farce, its actually borderline criminal IMO.
I think its easy to see and find those businesses and individuals that have invested in their community, and in the sport. These people and organisations do things the right way because their own future is intrinsically tied to safe and sustainable business practices. These schools and instructors are passionate about turning beginners into safe and independent learners that respect other beach users and who actively support joining AKSA and who are members themselves.
