Kitedayzed - good points. I would suggest that a notice up in your school that some of the detailed criticism that has been raised against the IKO, especially the insurance waiver crap would be helpful to explain to potential customers why you have not followed that path.

'ciaras: I think it is a matter of time...something new is always chaos in the beginning...but I am sure in 2010 things will look much better and our sport will see many improvements'. Sorry Toby, but the absence of the head of the IKO on the beach where she lives and where IKO kiteboarding Instruct...

Toby and Diego, You make very good points and there is merit in these. There are some superb IKO qualified instructors; Diego, you are very probably one of them, but an organization that aspires to be THE governing body, needs to be able to set much higher standards than it currently does. No, I don...

I expect she would rather choose someone who has a qualification that really stands for something. By the way, I have also seen and met a few very good non-IKO registered instructors. What can we learn from that? Hmmmm, well possibly that the IKO course is not a guarantee of a good standard in itsel...

Agreed Kitegrommet, save for the fact that the IKO DO claim to be the safety factor in kiting and teaching and therefore, the 'business' becomes a very grey area. Were they doing a great job and kiting were definitely improved because of them, it would be fantastic for them to make money at the same...

and still waiting for adequate explanation from the IKO.................................yawn, ......................

Kite Beach Hotel not a bad idea - but remember you are 2km outside of Cabarete town there. I agree with Grommet74, rent an apartment in Ocean Dream or Ocean One - then you are right centre town AND can kite in front on Bozo beach, do a quick downwinder to Kite Beach and back to Bozo. You don't want ...

You cannot underestimate the power of local competitions like this; at least 200 people sitting along the beach, right next to the action; 'ooooohs' and shouts and whistles as each spectacular trick is accomplished and yesterday, they were really breathtaking. P.K.R.A. - take a leaf; your competitio...

Super cool contest going on here with KBFK.......congratulations to Laurel and the rest of her team. How nice to see some really exciting competition again here, like BIG AIR and the amazing endurance race in awesome conditions two days ago. I hope it gets to be a yearly event.

Atilla - you summed it up nicely; no detailed response from the I.K.O. regarding points 1 to 10 suggests no defense to the accusations. Maybe we should all do as the I.K.O. spokesperson says and not worry about it - just go with the lemmings and keep purchasing a crap policy that won't stand up if a...