The Growth and Future of Kitesurfing

kitegrab · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:53 am

Ive been thinking about this for a while and I think it would be great to get the consensus on here:

1. How fast do you think kitesurfing is growing? Will it ever reach the levels of growth that a sport such as snowboarding did?

2. What do you think the barriers are to kitesurfing as a world sport?

3. Looking into your crystal ball, what will kitesurfing look like in 10 years?

Looking forward to getting some discussion going!

Pray for wind,

Spike
http://www.kitegrab.com

KiteboardingTampaBay · **Joined:** Sat Apr 12, 2008 5:09 pm **Posts:** 604

1. Nobody knows, (but according to industry, not fast enough.... :wink:

)

2. Money

3. Miami, Florida

I think that about covers it, let me know if you have any other questions. :thumb:

www.kiteboardingtampabay.com

dyyylan · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 4:12 pm

KiteboardingTampaBay wrote:

3. Miami, Florida

I hope not

TheJoe · **Joined:** Fri Oct 30, 2009 9:13 pm **Posts:** 777

1. Who cares?
2. Relying on the wind.
3.

But honestly wherever you want it to take you :bye:

.

prelives · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 5:37 pm

As pessimistic as it sounds, I think there will be continued growth of the sport leading to over crowding, injuries and death to riders and public which will then lead to many restrictions and beach closures to kiting. This is already beginning. This will then lead to a decline in the sport.

dyyylan · **Posted:** Wed Mar 07, 2012 6:05 pm

prelives wrote:

As pessimistic as it sounds, I think there will be continued growth of the sport leading to over crowding, injuries and death to riders and public which will then lead to many restrictions and beach closures to kiting. This is already beginning. This will then lead to a decline in the sport.

I don't know, kitesurfing is pretty inaccessible. The gear costs a lot, you can't just "try" the sport, and the learning curve is steep enough that a lot of people get discouraged and quit before they can really ride.

Hopefully the growth won't get to a point where we have to worry about overcrowding/safety beyond the super populated areas (like Miami).

ClownTown · **Joined:** Sun Nov 29, 2009 1:18 pm **Posts:** 19

Forum user Last Chance813 is on the right track as far as the industry goes.

Interesting site!

www.gulf2baykiteboarding.co

MattyRossJa · **Posted:** Thu Mar 08, 2012 4:13 am

I live and kite in Jamaica, and thankfully it's a very small kiting community , probably 25 kiters on the island in total, with 2 schools (which mainly cater to tourists) as it's too expensive for the wider local market ... so money is a big factor in the growth of the sport...

I feel quite privileged that i can go to a spot with my buddy and we're the only ones there , i see all these videos online of these amazingggg spots that seen soo crowded with kitesurfers and windsurfers , and as much as i'd like to grow the sport in Jamaica , i hope it never reaches those levels. Luckily it's expensive to fly to Jamaica, if not many of our awesome secluded spots would surely be crowded.

The future in general , i hope it becomes an olympic sport !

kitesurfingcollectiv · **Posted:** Thu Mar 08, 2012 10:30 pm

MattyRossJa wrote:

The future in general , i hope it becomes an olympic sport !

http://www.surfertoday.com/kiteboarding/6928-kiteboarding-rides-decisive-olympic-wind

It's a clumsy article, but from what I hear it is being considered for the olympics in July this year..

TKC
http://www.thekitesurfingcollective.com

gbleck · **Joined:** Mon Oct 08, 2007 4:39 am **Posts:** 540

No that was selected around 4 years ago.

Men 470
Women 470
Men skiff 49er
Match racing Women Elliott 6m
Men heavy dingy Finn
Men light dingy Laser
Woman Laser Radial
Windsurfing Men RS:X
Windsurfing Women RS:X
kealboat Men Star

Wow that is a crap article. It's 2016 in Rio and Kiteboard OR Winsurfing.

The Growth and Future of Kitesurfing

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