btw: every wakeboarder on a cable park uses a helmet...

And a young pro rider girl is already ahead of all of us, who are still thinking to use one:

Asia Litwin...always rides with a helmet!

www.joannalitwin.com

Good Article. I hope Yurri recovers without any permanent damage and everything is okay!

I believe once more pro riders start to wear helmets it will filter down... sooner rather than later. Just my 2 cents

Be safe and ride responsibly, where ever you are.

You bring up an intresting issue that I have brought up before.

The kitesurfing "industry" uses pros and builds up their image to promote their brands because they know that many riders will identify with them. For this reason it is really unacceptable for the brands and the competition organizations not to require helmets.

Each time there is an accident and the lack of a helmet made it worse the kite companies bare a large part of the responsability.

Very cool kid! 15 years old and likes to look after her brains.

Thanks for pointing her out Toby.

not to make light of the situation but I have never heard of a pro having a serious head injury due to an accident in kiteboarding. please correct me if I am wrong

this injury didn't happen because of lack of helmet it happened because somebody was at the wrong place at the wrong time. A helmet is not a bad thing but don't feel safe because you are prepared for the worst learn what to do so you don't put yourself in that situation.

I wish my fresh water friend a speedy and full recovery. I suffered a head injury in the past(some may think that explains somethings) but I was able to recover fully and quicker then predicted. A positive attitude is the key imo.

Pros have died due to head injuries. Not all have died either, some have just been seriously injured and recently too. Good helmets for kiting make sense, but we all won't wear them despite this. Riders choice.

The thing is, its a package deal, you need to use your head AND reasonable safety gear. Avoiding weather hazards, picking a good launch, riding areas, etc. is fairly easy. Too many seem to discount this and a percentage will be caught out, it is guaranteed. Some may worry more about kite pants than avoiding squall lines. Each year it will happen and a traditional peak time for such injuries is underway right now. Overconfidence from a season of riding and new violent fall frontal systems and tropical systems (in the Americas AND Europe as former hurricanes) will be bringing squalls to many areas and some accidents too.

Use your head to pick prime riding and avoid the dodgier times or be prepared to smash into something with it one of these days.

Not sure if he'd be considered a "pro" as in competitor but I think that Kinsley Wong's recent head injury accident is pretty directly comparable to this in terms of value of wearing a helmet.

And that he is known to be one of the most skilled kiteboarders in the sport goes to the notion that it CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE.

From the first post in that thread:

"Yesterday Kinsley Wong of extremebigair had a bad accident and is in critical condition in intensive care.

Kinsley is a fixture of the kiting community of the central coast. The kiter with the biggest smile I know!

He is also the organizer of the biggest kiting event in Cali.. Kite Expo in Pismo Beach.

Let's all keep him in our thoughts and hope he pulls through.

Initial reports say he hit his unprotected head on a rock on the beach. He was unresponsive and had to be airlifted to hospital."




Agreed 100% about the staying out of squalls etc. But the reality is that kiteboarding is an extreme sport and there are a million scenarios that can go from fun to becoming a retard (yes I said it, and I say it for the shock value for those who don't get it, not for those who have been injured already) in a second. Falling and hitting a submerged object is one. Another kiter running into you is another. A line breaking while launching on a tight beach.

But a helmet can make the difference between a headache and my becoming a 'tard . So I'm gonna start wearing one.

I like this one!





Awesome that you recovered (relatively! ) well and thanks for the thoughts for Yurii!

Hi Crash

As RickI has told us pro's have died from head injuries.

Chicken loops were not standard untill a pro rider was killed.

You do make a VERY GOOD point about not feeling safe just because you have a Helmet.
Always use good judgement, make sure you don't ride too long and start to get too tierd... many things contribute to safety.

Regarding pros wearing helmets....
It's important for several reasons.
1 Makes it cool and part of the image of kiting
2 It will lead to developing better and more kite specific products
3 It will help keep the pros safer
4 it will bring more revenue to kiters through one more sponsor.

I love that helmet.

I wonder if they make a butt head design too.... even better Babboon butt. Would stand out well in the ocean for the chopper search party!

AWESOME NEWS!!!!!

Came in from a nice ride on the 10m Ocean Rodeo (wow, this kite is awesome!) at Hanlan's this afternoon and checked my phone.

Missed call and voicemail from YURII !

Called back right away and it was like nothing had happened!

His speech was perfect, said he was feeling really good, was improving like mad and seemed to have only a few problems with memory (couldn't remember the accident and a bit slow with thinking through a few things).

I can't tell you how happy I am for this really decent guy to have dodged the "bullet to the brain". Seriously, it would be such a tragedy for such a bright highly intelligent person to end up as so many others with traumatic brain injuries.

He said his ankle is really damaged with lots of hardware holding it together but he is really looking forward to getting back on the water! WITH a helmet from now on he says!

Ironically I was riding with Jason, who also suffered a catastrophic crash a few years back at Cherry Beach. He had no vital signs for ten or fifteen minutes. Was also in a coma, spent months in the hospital and a year in bed/rehab etc. Five years later he is really sharp, bright and a really decent guy. We went out for dinner with Stan after we came in and had a great talk. Jason says from what he hears of the three injuries to Yurii's brain, that his recovery in three weeks is nothing short of miraculous!

Everyone on the beach today was so happy to hear the news, so I grabbed th iPhone and sent Yurii a video Welcome Home vid!

His reply:

that is an awesome video,
thanks everyone for sending it to me, i can't wait to be back at the beach on a windy day.
i will have to get a new 12m kite, but that's minor details..."