Hi all,

ActionSportsWA (formerly Australian Kiteboarding School - AKS) will be hosting their first FREE SAFETY clinic of the season on Saturday October 12th, on Brighton Beach Scarborough, WA (Start time: 2 PM). Looks like we'll get a light breeze that day which will help with our demonstrations.

The goal of this clinic is to raise awareness and share knowledge about safety in kiteboarding. More specifically we will discuss and demonstrate:

-Safe kiting practices
-Various safety systems: design and operation
-Problematic scenarios on land and in water
-Emergency kite recovery
-Various self-rescue methods
-Assisting other kiters in trouble

Please note these clinics are not substitutes for lessons and are for demonstration purposes only (no practical drills will be performed in the water).

No bookings are necessary; we only ask that you please show up on time to allow a smooth delivery of the presentation.

Where: Southern end of Brighton Beach in Scarborough, WA (look out for kite-surfing equipment and flags on the beach).

When: Saturday October 12th, from 1:30 PM. Clinic Start time: 2:00 PM.

Duration: 2 Hours

Who: kite-surfers of any skill level or experience, sea rescue, SLSC, water police, paramedics, etc. Kite-surfers are welcome to bring their own gear if they have questions/concerns about their safety systems.

Cost: The clinic is absolutely free for anyone to attend.

NOTE: The safety clinics will take place regardless of wind conditions. In case of bad weather the clinic will be moved to Sunday October 13th or indoors in a nearby location.

This season, keep an eye in the events section as we will run additional safety clinics. We also plan to run clinics on other topics such as Line tuning & basic kite repairs as well as clinics on self-launch and self-land (more experienced kiters only).

Link for the Facebook Event: www.facebook.com/events/709633812384674/

Any questions or suggestions please contact us by email info@actionsportswa.com.au or ask in the forum.

Good on you guys. I have passed this on to a couple of mates just getting into kiting. When I learnt, they didn't even teach me self rescue and learnt some of the things you are going to cover the very hard way. It's great to see you guys giving the time for this and who knows, you may even save a life by teaching the critical safety skills.
Awesome.

what to do during a collision with other kiters as I don't think this is often covered in lessons, but correct me if I'm wrong

Select to expand quote

austin said..

what to do during a collision with other kiters as I don't think this is often covered in lessons, but correct me if I'm wrong

Yes thats becoming quite an issue with spots becoming more popular...

Another important point to remember - is "where to place your kite" when crossing each other.

Also there is a growing trend, from the noobs to experienced - to kite underneath you into the landing/Bombing zones even if your all following a circuit laying down tricks and big aerials.

If your going to just mow the lawn - then please just follow everyone to the same turn / trick entry area point.
Be aware of your surroundings (feck sounds like work) if there is someone whos goin big or stacking it lots trying a new trick - thats not where Id want to put myself

Thanks for the input guys, we'll definitely bring that up during the clinic.

Unfortunately students often don't take as many lessons as they should or simply don't get to the point of putting in practice the right of way rules as they don't often go past the point of water starts. So even if most of the time they are told what the right of way rules are during lessons, they are likely to forget them.

I believe the most efficient way to solve this is to systematically have a chat to all kiters who don't seem to know/respect the right of way rules when back to the shore. Let's face it, we tend to just get angry, yell at them and then leave it behind...but this doesn't solve the problem.

Hi all,

Many thanks to everyone who attended the clinic today. I was pleased to see that many people turn up (40-45)! Many topics were discussed and lots of great input came from the audience as well. I hope everyone got some useful information to help keep them (and others) safe.

I gathered a few quick stats before the start of the clinic I thought were worth sharing. Amongst everyone who was present, 27 of them were kitesurfers (already riding) and 5 of them were in the learning process. Amongst those 31 kiters, 16 of them either didn't take lessons or learned from a non-instructor friend. Amongst all kiters, 12 of them have never done a self-rescue during their learning process.

Here are a few links to follow up on discussions and demonstrations during the clinic:

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Kitesurfing/General/Self-rescue-experiment-methods-comparison/

vimeo.com/akstutorials/

Keep on a eye in the Event section for the following clinics.

thanks,

Christian