I'll most likely get shit for this ( especially from RickI ) but I agree with BBQFish. The squeaky wheel gets the grease. You don't see this kind of fanantical interest in accidents in other extreme sports ( I use the term loosely for kiting).
Just from my experience on the beach lately that Florida lofting has done amazing damage to this sports PR. Total strangers bring up the "safety issue".
If everything bad was reported to death in a sport like Motocross do you think it would still be around? Instead it's viewed as a great family sport ( if a bit dangerous) and it's well accepted by most communities . Same goes for the freestyle ski/ snowboard crowd. I saw tons of serious injuries this winter and no one is getting any attention for that. It's just old hat for the media and that's what we should strive for as a sport too. As long as people do the sport there will be injuries and worse.

Hm,

not my view, you have to tell it like it is...

If asked, you have to say yeah, we got a few bugs yet, you could die with almost no effort.

but it's fun.

and let them decide...

No hiding, no white wash. no trying to sell it

sample:

... Weather hazards are easily dodged if you try and kiting has been calculated to have a substantially better loss rate per 100,000 than paragliding, hang gliding, driving a car, etc...


Play it straight up and hold your head high.
fo-kite-n

Our dead belong to us, they are our fallen brothers, we ought not try to sweep them under the rug.

Google this:
motocross fatality forum 65,000 hits
motocross fatality news 96,700 hits
or even, bike fatality forum 261,000 hits

compared to:
kiteboarding fatality forum 7660 hits
kiteboarding fatality news 10,300 hits

Seems like people talk about death a lot in all sorts of activities. If people are going to talk about it anyway, why not focus on credible ideas to try to avoid injury or getting taken out in the first place?



"Weather hazards are easily dodged if you try"
Is a fact, but you need to try and not blow it off.

"kiting has been calculated to have a substantially better loss rate per 100,000 than paragliding, hang gliding, driving a car, etc.."
This is also true in the USA from what information could be found.

Could our accident experience be improved Marty, particularly the non-fatal variety, absolutely. That is the point but it won't happen without analysis, constructive discussion and influencing people in a position to do something about it. Bitching is easy, working a change for the better can be much harder.

i don't understand why there's even a debate on this thread and why it was started. if you don't like the stuff, just don't read it. but if it benefits even one person, it's worth it.

let's move on.

sad day...it's 9/11.

bob
www.kiteridersllc.com

Rick you can google forums all you want but in my personal experience when I have my dirt bike loaded up no one has EVER come up to me to discuss the dangers of the sport. Same goes for snowboarding and downhill mountain bikes. I can't seem to blow a kite up on a beach without someone asking if I saw "that" clip or wondering why on earth I would do something so deadly.

Your "facts" clearly show that there are lots of fatalities in other sports - more than kiting. So why are we getting all the attention/ bans??

The public perception of kiting is just different. We have to somehow change that otherwise bans will continue happen. I'm all for education and ensuring that newbs and kooks alike don't get hurt but somehow we have to promote the sport for what it is - pretty safe and mellow until you do
something stupid.

Just my.02

I can't say I have ever seen or read a news article that pulled information from a forum other than in kiting magazines so I think all the discussion here pretty much stays here. Krazy kiter Kevin happened to be in front of a camera with his kite over head at the wrong time and then went on national TV saying he would do it again. If this forum was totally silent on that it wouldn't have been any less news and we all wouldn't have people asking us every day why we participate in such a crazy sport.

As far as skiing goes I think it is generally accepted that it is dangerous. In fact if you ski in Colorado the resorts are protected from anything but gross negligence on their part if you get hurt. But that doesn't stop the ski industry from discussing safety improvements and millions of dollars being spent on avalanche research.

We are a small community that doesn't want government regulation and both the riders and manufacurers rely on each other for the sport to progress. If we didn't have any discussion we would all be flying 2 line kites with no QR. I applaude the people who share their stories on this forum and guys like Rick who put in a incredible amount of personal time (with absolutely no rewards) to help the sport progress safely. Kiting will never be a multi billion $ industry so we will always have to rely on each other.

Al

Now you can correct their perception with facts if they talk to you.

Kiteboarding is easy to sensationalize, it's new to many (even though it is not new...), and so accident footage is used for entertainment as it look spectacular/ most viewers have not seen anything like it before.

If it was happening all the time it would not be shown as it would be old news.... (ie motorbike accidents, paragliding accidents, diving accident, car accidents, rugby/football accidents, climbing accidents, other more mainstream sporting accidents - the list goes on...)

Kiteboarding is being responsible discussing, sharing and learning from accident experiences - it is up to you to educate the public following comments about some guy flying through the air in Florida.

Any dodgy reporting - write a letter...

It's not that this sort of statistical ploy is not true, no

It's that it's so fucking out there it paints you as desperate.
--------------------
"kiting has been calculated to have a substantially better loss rate per 100,000 than paragliding, hang gliding, driving a car, etc.."
This is also true in the USA from what information could be found.
--------------------
and get serious, you yourself promote a hole sessions...( a hole session takes place between the squall lines of tropical storms and hurricanes)

------------------
"Weather hazards are easily dodged if you try"
Is a fact, but you need to try and not blow it off.
-----------------------

it's the trying to play both ends: your helmet wearing careful mother says, and this balls of steel a hole honky super shreds.

that gets me thinking, this ain't doing any of us any good...

pick one, and run with it...

rip or trip, hint we have enough rippers...

No biggie
but that's the deal...

Two things ....

As a noob I learn from VALID information that is presented about how to avoid problems.

Also as a noob I still have a "general public" view. Most other sports listed DON'T put innocent families at risk. surfers, snowboarders, dirtbikes, quads, etc. are contained in a limited area without risking innocent people. When I take my family to a ski resort I expect that we should look out for skiers and boarders on the mountain. When I take my family to the beach we should NOT
have to look out for kiteboarders.

not a Damien (of wink TV fame) fan then?

I'm with ya there...

The promo angle fucking sucks for those who already have a clue.

It's d-wad bait,,,we got enough (read: too many) d-wads already