Do you think kiteboarding will ever become an X Games sport?
I went to the X Games in 2002 in Philly to watch the wakeboarding. I was so stocked to see all the best riders compete and I recon it would be great to see the best kiters ripping at the X Games.

when kiteboarding as a sport doesnt look copletely gay we might become an x-game sport. but the way things are goin it seems like its just getting worse, so i would say, no it will never become an x-games sport. we really dont desrve it anyway. kiteboarding isn't extreme.

kiteboarding is what you make it.

everyone has their own opinon.

Until there is a defined way of kiting, e.g. wakestyle, powered..
i reakon it would be too hard.

But i think there is hope. with riders like ruben, dre, and ben wilson. we could have something.

well neither is wakeboarding

go check out Rusty Malinoski (landed more 1080's than any other rider) and then tell me thats not extreme.

i'm not disagreeing with you and saying kiting is not extreme. i believe an extreme sport is really something that is not big enough to stand up on its own and they slot them together to make it more popular.

fozzy said...

sir ROWDY said...

when kiteboarding as a sport doesnt look copletely gay we might become an x-game sport. but the way things are goin it seems like its just getting worse, so i would say, no it will never become an x-games sport. we really dont desrve it anyway. kiteboarding isn't extreme.

Rowdy, you say this quite often which begs the question; Why do you kite then? You're entitled to your opinion obviously, but these types of comments are those that I would expect from someone who's not into it. Doesn't really make sense, not to me at least.

Dont get me wrong, kiteboarding is lots of fun, its super versatile and can be used in so many different ways for different people, however i think this is part of the problem.
The sport as a whole will never have the image that snowboarding, skating, bmx has for that reason, and with kites only making it easier and easier for any joe blow to do it the sport ratio of lame to extreme is getting bigger and bigger.
One look at the pkra shows you just how lame it is, thats meant to be the world tour people are riding wakestyle yet they cant step it up to bindings and real style because they will be marked down by the judges for wearing them (or they are scared).......wtf talk about backwards thinking.
Another reason is it really doesnt hurt like skating or bmx does, you fall off and just get back up and keep going, a minor fall skating can easily put you out for the day.
I think this is part the reason why bindings and kite low should be pushed more, it adds some sort of consequence when trying moves out of your leauge and you gotta be doing them right or you wont land it. its pretty much do it legit or dont do it at all in bindings and everyone who trys them will realise that. it also stops alot more of the kite high airy fairy bar swaps that seem to be winning the world tour.

I think kiting is more of a freeride sport anyway, its great for everyone to just get out there and muck around, trying to plan comps with wind and putting them in venues where people can watch at an x- games just doesnt work, all that happens is you get crappy wind and conditions. then all people see is the lameness of kiteboarding and they are not intrested at all. not to mention ppl dont want to be sitting on a cold windy beach to watch some kiteflying.

Maybe you disagree, more probably you will (just going on my past posts) but looking at all the other X-games sports i think these are some of the reasons why it shouldn't be an X-game sport.

p.s. I think the sport was at its most extreme when there were only 2 liners and the maui crew were pushing wakestyle. That was extreme.

I don't necessarily disagree with what your saying. I'm not sure that kiting is quite X-games material either. I do think there are extreme elements within kiting though. The obvious being the likes of Ruben pulling massive loops in nuking winds. Ballsy stuff by anyones gauge. There are certainly others as well.

I take on board your comments about the wakestyle argument as well, but I think we focus too much on what wakeboarders are doing and always measure this style of riding against them, when I don't think it's comparing apples with apples. I reckon it's all in the name "wakestyle". It's not wakeboarding but in the style of wakeboarding. It's playing with names I know but I reckon there is more in it, we shouldn't try and be something we're not.

Valid points regarding the bindings as well, much harder to land tricks, but at the end of the day not for everyone. I guess if we ride the way we want to ride and be true to ourselves that's all that counts.

Finally, pulling that s*%t on 2 line kites was hardcore. I struggle with todays equipment , but then maybe I'm just a kook.

matty19 said...

well neither is wakeboarding

go check out Rusty Malinoski (landed more 1080's than any other rider) and then tell me thats not extreme.

i'm not disagreeing with you and saying kiting is not extreme. i believe an extreme sport is really something that is not big enough to stand up on its own and they slot them together to make it more popular.

i know but rubens mega loops are way more extreme

u dont forget catching a heelside edge wakeboarding, hurts soooooooooooo bad

dustin said...

u dont forget catching a heelside edge wakeboarding, hurts soooooooooooo bad

agreed!!! I got mildly concussed and was talking rubbish for half an hour after catching a heel edge atempting a frontside 360

ok, i didnt know how different the two were and i suppose the two are completley different, but look at these.





look at these kiteloops and the crash at the end of the second vid.

ewan

P.S i have never really seen pro wakeboarding so i still cant compare

ewan doesnt no what wakeboarding is because he is a dangle merchant

Kitesurfing is just made up of Old people, goons, nerds and the occasional normal person

maybe he likes board offs? he's aloud to do whatever he wants after all lol.