Full Throttle+Eclipse Labor day weekend events

[KAWIKA]

Ft Lauderdale A1A+Los Olas
Tampa St Pete Beach 4700 Gulf Blvd.
Cocoa Beach Hilton 1550 North Atlantic Blvd
Ft Walton Beach Crab Trap

[Kevin Salter]

KAWIKA,,,,,,,,,,, did I met you in NZ feb ? 08 when you were on holiday.

If it was you , you have a lot to answer for.
Every since seeing you out that day on your 07 9m Nano and a skim board, I thought I better try out a Nano for wave riding.

Now I've got a 6m and 9m Nano, so cos of you I finally updated my 06 kites and spent some money.

Any way I'm stoked with the way the Nano's turn in waves so its all good.

Might see you here again sometime.

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

In light of recent events and bad publicity towards kitesurfing, I have to chime in on this one.
Yes, we see the picture of the cool, shiny new kite.We are all very aware of the Eclipse kites and how proud they are of getting a major sponsor like Coca Cola on board.

I attempted to contact the Fla. event organizer to see if our local association could assist in the event to help keep things under control and offer some activities for the non kiters whose beach you are invading for 3 days. No reply..... Thanks dude!

You're picking the busiest weekends and the busiest places to hold these events (all over Florida) without consent of the local kiters, who happen to be walking a fine line with authorities because of irresponsible kiters. Your first event location here was a complete joke, AND THANK GOODNESS WE HAD NO WIND!

So my question is this:
Is Eclipse and Full throttle going to back us up if we have problems with authorities over this?
Are they assuming any responsibility at all?
Have you discussed with team riders the importance of staying out of the swim areas?
Will you be working with local associations in the future to manage these events?
Is Eclipse/Full Throttle/Coca-Cola prepared to deal with a shitstorm if something goes bad?
Or will they just blow that off too?


By the way, I have friends who are team riders and they will probably be pissed at me over this post. Sorry fellas, just make sure you're on your best behavior on our beaches...

I eagerly await a respone to these questions.

[blow me till sundown]

Wow Tampa Bay,

Someone actually trying to promote the sport and increase their brand exposure and you have to ride all over them.

[tungsten222]

bis repetita non placent.

[KAWIKA]

KBTB I personally believe that the last event was a great success,you were there and even posed in Eclipse pictures that ended up in kiteboarder magazine [see pic below, thanks amber] So I dont quite understand where you are coming from.Yes the location was not PERFECT for kiteboarding,but you have to remember that Coke is the driving force in regaurd to location selections for events and that it is primarily a Full Throttle event and NOT primarily an Eclipse event.
I also want to point that Coke has pulled permits for each location,So to answer your questions , the authorities will not have any problems with ANY localsover the event taking place.#2 yes,Coke has pulled a permit and in doing so has taken the responsibility of the event off anyone elses shoulders.#3 the team riders are experienced riders with the latetest safety systems on there kites and will ride in a professional manner.#4 Toby Wilson is the tampa Full Throttle contact and is usally in the loop and has knowledge of the planning of all events in Tampa.#5 We do not forsee any problems during the event, however , aren't permits pulled for this reason? So you can feel confident with the knowledge that Full Throttle and Eclipse have done their homework and that all bases are covered.

[KiteboardingTampaBay]

Respectable answer
Thanks for clarifying, and its good to know they have a permit.
Personally I do not feel that this mass marketing blitz for another energy drink is very good for our sport and I said something about it. I am sure Pepsi and others will be following shortly and every kiter on the water will be sponsored by some type of canned kool-aid.
the last thing our sport needs is more attention right now, and it would be nice to see companies spending this kind of money on safety, access, or something for the kiters.
Wow, there's a new concept.

[eastcoastkite]

Dont worry we will be doing new form of promotion in the coming months with full throttle, one that everyone will agree is helpful and a fun new venue for our sport.

Our promotion with coke cannot be compared to the bad attention that Kevin gave the world last week...

[WindRyder]

I think some people believe that this Full Throttle/Eclipse thing is solely a kiting venue. We are simply flying billboards for Full Throttle and Eclipse happens to be the kites that are printed on, plain and simple.

[tungsten222]

bis repetita non placent.