US Kiteboarder Association recently formed

[JamesB]

Take a look at the latest development in the kite industry. It is basically a buying club like Costco that brings the power of numbers (members) to get deals on gear, lessons, lodging and travel. There are already a bunch of good hookups and more to come as it grows. It's also a way for riders to connect with their local crew or connect with other locals and get info if you are traveling to a new spot. I recently signed up and started a Colorado chapter.

Check it out at the website or on FB.

http://uskiteboarderassociation.com
https://www.facebook.com/uskiteboarderassociation

[Laughingman]

WOW, they have 3 likes of Facebook

LOL, so some guy with some web skills decided to create a page and charge a $50/year fee to be a member of that page, without the members there is no benefit to the spending the $50... so they are charging $50 to be the members they are selling access to, to the following members....
Who is the president of the association, treasurer?, directors? who voted them in?
Who decides how the money collected gets spent? Is this a non profit association?

Money grab...? Hah... who would be stupid enough to give them $50? hopefully no one here...

[RicCat]

I see their getting the following SPI hotel discounts for their members:

Oct 1, 2014 - Feb 1, 2015
Hilton - $75 rooms
La Quinta - $59 rooms
La Copa - $49 rooms

Anyone whose been to SPI knows these room rates are very very low for these hotels.

Laughingman, it sounds like you can do better?

Looks to me like its much more than an just a good looking website. Might want to give the organization more than one day before you pass judgement.

Rick

[Laughingman]

I see their getting the following SPI hotel discounts for their members:

Oct 1, 2014 - Feb 1, 2015
Hilton - $75 rooms
La Quinta - $59 rooms
La Copa - $49 rooms

Anyone whose been to SPI knows these room rates are very very low for these hotels.

Laughingman, it sounds like you can do better?

Looks to me like its much more than an just a good looking website. Might want to give the organization more than one day before you pass judgement.

Rick

There was another post exactly like this months ago... regardless it doesn't matter how much you give it, the bottom line is they have already screwed it up by not being transparent from the get go. I don't know who they are, or who supported them to even be able to presume they represent USA kite boarders and it is laughable they presume they can represent Canadian Kite boarders, we already have the CKA ( Canadian.. made up as well), OKA (Ontario grass roots) and a community that I am involved with is SWOK (Southwestern Ontario Kiteboarders) more of a location based grass roots community rather then association or organization).
Calling yourself an association requires you have associates you cannot have all of NA kiteboarders as direct associates adding their voice, it would be chaos.
IMHO The only way to build a North American association is from grass roots communities working together to create that association, you cannot do it from the top down you must build it from the bottom up by connecting small groups together who nominate one of their members to represent each of them, thus creating an actual association.
So yes I could do better (not the website) and I would never presume to represent anyone until I was asked to do so, but building the website as your first step is like spending the money before you earned it, it is just an empty shell and will likely remain that way as whom ever is behind it is not showing themselves are they?

[tomatkins]

Rick,

Welcome to the "jaundiced eye" scruteny of Kiteforum. I hope you will introduce yourself and the other members who are involved in the effort to establish this new association. A quick online search links the following together. I am given the impression you are a new kiter of 2 years experience with affiliation to the following: EICA, Kite Consumer Reports, Kiteland Resorts.

The website looks very professional, but I think that kiters will want to know the details about the people involved in the new enterprise, before signing on.

If the members of Kiteforum feel that your enthusiasm is justified, you will get a lot of help from them. I question the use of "Costco" in your ad, and also the publication of individual kiter's private information, without password protection.

We would like to know more about you and the goal that you seem to feel strongly about.


...........................
Contact
Kiteland Resort Contact Information
Email: info@KitelandResort.com
Phone: 509-734-014
………………………………

Rick Halverson
Kennewick
rick@eicaonline.com
Kiteboarding Since: 2012
Local Spot: Roosevelt, WA; Port Kelley, WA
Favorite Kiteboarding Vacation Spots: SPI, Baja Mexico, BVI
……………………
Mailing Address:

EICA
Energy Industry CBT Alliance
601 N. Montana St.
Kennewick, WA 99336
Phone: (509) 734-8014
Rick Halverson, EICA Executive Director
…………………………..


Kite Consumer Reports

COMPANY INFO
Kite Consumer Reports 
Kennewick, WA 99336 USA
Phone: (509) 734 8014
Email: Rick@KiteConsumerReports.com

[USKA-Rick]

tomatkins,

No problem. I don't fault anyone for being skeptical of a new organization and for doing the necessary due diligence. I am happy to share some personal background information as well as my reasons for being involved in the formation of the US Kiteboarder Association.

I am the same Rick Halverson who is affiliated with the Energy Industry CBT Alliance (EICA).

EICA is a company I founded in 2001. EICA stands for the Energy Industry CBT Alliance. We created an organization in which the nation’s largest Electric and Gas utility companies could sit down at the same table and work together on common online training goals. At the time, the “experts” in the industry said it could not be done. We proved them wrong.

EICA eventually began developing online training for its member companies. 95% of the online courses developed by EICA for its member companies are shared with the other EICA member utility companies. For free. Having developed almost 700 utility industry specific online training courses, EICA has by far the largest shareable online training library in the Energy Industry. What was just a “crazy” idea in 2001 has become a reality and a huge success.

EICA has helped me develop skills in creating win/win partnerships with multiple organizations simultaneously.

I’ve been kiteboarding for almost 2 years now and from what I’ve seen of the industry, I believe that a little organization on the part of riders could go a long way. I personally see the benefit of a Costco style buying club for Kiters. Sorry you disapprove of the term. I believe I understand how to create an organization that will both achieve solid savings for its kiteboarder members while at the same time create significant economic benefits for its vendor partners. Growing the sport is a key part of this formula.

True, USKA is not your typical association, but it's not meant to be. Right now its structure is lean and flat which allows us to move quickly without any bureaucracy. We're building it in the hopes that kiteboaders and vendors will come when they see the value we've built. It's easy for people who sit as spectators to debate how they think things should be. But what matters most to us, the doers, is that our structure works well for us at this time. That's not to say that it won't change in the future. We don't know exactly what the future holds.

USKA’s revenue comes only from its annual membership fee of $49, so nobody will ever get rich. That’s not the purpose of this organization. USKA has over 3 years of funding, so we can afford to stay focused on our goals of developing value for our members and our vendor partners and achieving some of our other goals.

The USKA proposition is quite simple for kiteboarders. Spend $49 a year to save more than that. If you don’t, then you can have your money back. No questions asked. For vendors, the proposition is equally simple; you can offer USKA members a discount on your products or services in return for USKA to steer its members your way. It's free for vendors and they can back out at any time. USKA either creates value and a win/win for both parties and it succeeds or it doesn't and it fails.

While the buying club is the part of USKA that gets the most attention, USKA also believes it can help grow the sport faster and safer in new and innovative ways, again, by partnering and creating win/win value propositions.

We are quite satisfied where USKA is on its first day of operation and we're having a a lot of fun.

As for the others involved in this organization, all I will say is that they are likeminded individuals from various parts of the country. They can come forward on their own if they choose.

I would be happy to answer any other questions.

[VOMKB]

Who are the kiteboarding retailers and manufacturer partners?

Jaime

[SpaceRacer]

Hi,

I have nothing to gain from my post other than I am a Gorge kiter, who is having a small bout of insomnia while working on the east coast and decided to peruse KF and saw this post. I think that you guys might be being a little unfair and quick to judge here. Whenever I travel with large groups, we all work to get the best bulk deals possible and it is a lot of work to coordinate and do. I have been privy to one "shyster" deal, where some guy in Iowa has a tax ID number, purports to be a kite shop, gets 10 guys to buy a certain brand's board, gets wholesale from the company and 10 guys get a cheap new board, which hurts the industry and everyone else. I personally feel that for $49, if someone with passion for the sport and business sense can legitimately do the work (and it is a lot of work to coordinate lessons, travel and gear for agro kiters as well as gain the trust of participating businesses) for me to get me the deals that it is worth it. Not just for me but for the sport.

Paul

[Laughingman]

tomatkins,

While the buying club is the part of USKA that gets the most attention, USKA also believes it can help grow the sport faster and safer in new and innovative ways, again, by partnering and creating win/win value propositions.
.

1. Is it your intention to represent NA kiters as a governing body?
2. Is this a non profit association?
3. Who are your partners?

[eree]

is this some kind of joke?

usually if it is the some "national kiteboarding association" it is national non-profit sports federation for representing nation on international level, not the discount cub membership.

they don't have program, but they have a "mission":
-share the stoke
-spend less & ride more
-ride responsibly

this is ridiculous. Toby, you should charge them for commercial activity on your forum



PS: wow, there's my 1000th! where is my cake?