Hi Guys,

As I lie here recovering from surgery on my back I can't help writing my own thoughts down about this topic.

My opinions can be best represented in this question:

Why would we want to show kiting as a "limited" sport?

The great thing about kiting is that you can do just about anything you want. For me its never been just about Freestlye or oldschool or racing. It's about having fun. Kites are amazing tools to go out and just ride. It's what makes the sport so great. There is no point in trying to say the sport has to go in one direction to get "legit". It should be going off in all directions. It's great that we have such a wide range. Freestyle to Racing, we have it all. We get Sailors, Snowboarders, Wakeboarders, Skiers, etc etc etc all interested in Kiting, because they can see something in there that is fun for them. That makes the sport a lot more "legit" than any one discipline.

About the Video Idea: I think the ideas is good, but basing it only around the Triple S goes against the original concept. "To show the state of Kiteboarding now" they should be looking a bit more at the overall sport. I like the way Daveys Video was on the Naish TV about Chucktown. It was not really about any style. It was more about sharing the stoke and having fun. Thats what Kiting is about.

Basically it will be impossible to make everyone happy at once in a Video. Kiting is just too "wide" a sport to be condensed into one single idea. So maybe we should just stop trying to make the other sports see us as "cool" or "legit", we are already our own sport and can hold our own.

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Gunnar

Not so much a question of attracting people with money... it's more about discouraging kids without. The first challenge for any aspiring young kiter is to raise the money to buy gear. In some instances this is easy - "Dad, I want to buy a kite" - and in other cases it's hard. As a result a lot of kids who might be naturals never get under a kite, either because they can't raise the funds or the cost puts them off - they'll stick to skateboarding, or get a job in a ski resort to get a free pass... or they'll get into it later when they have more disposable income.

But Gunnar, I don't see a problem with videos who just show one style only. if it takes the boundaries further, it is good to have. And also video who show more different styles as well.
There are people for watching all of it...good!

Get well soon!

Don't get me wrong Toby.

I am not saying that we should be only making video that include all styles and disciplines.

I am just saying that one that "shows the state of Kiteboarding" should not be about only one event and one type of riding.

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Gunnar

ah, ok, I agree. no one should claim this is all what kiteboarding is about and associate to one discipline..it is all!

Well said, Gunnar. I think a documentary around a single event will be too much of an advertisement or promotional piece. I also won't be surprised if a big donor who has more to gain steps in during the waning days to complete the funding.

Hey Gunnar.
We were in China together right ?
What hapened to the Peter Lynn projects ?
Get well
Nico

Hi Nico,

Yes. I also visited you on Mauritius in 2009 with Ced.

The Peter Lynn Project we were working on back then has finally been released, but I am no longer with them. I joined Flysurfer shortly after my visit to your place.

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Gunnar

Do the enthusiasts do this for money in the long run , are their long term goals (like Hadlow who has his own line of product) to get more ppl into the sport so they can sell more products ? ... i've heard countless stories of already overcrowded spots and kiting being banned here and there and the quality control of teaching falling ... yet it's like everyone has this motive to get the world even more aware of this awesome niche sport ... so is the underlying reason to sell more product eventually filling up the kite sports even more ? i would like to see a historical documentary showing old time footage of the first kiters , personally i couldn't care less where people think the sport is going ...

i am very new to the sport (18 months) but i've noticed this obsession in people trying to get the world aware ... as long as people have solutions to the overcrowded beaches , then i'm all for the global awareness of kiteboarding ... luckily where i ride the beaches are empty .... one of the reasons i got into it was because it is soo unknown where i live

Matty, get the DVD "Upwind - the history of kiteboarding" from Red Bull...use the search to find something on the forum and maybe a download link...exactly what you are looking for...and my favorite kiteboarding movie!!!