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Global Kiteboarding Population

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cpotapoff
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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby cpotapoff » Thu Jun 22, 2017 4:02 pm

Lokihel wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 12:09 pm
Seasonal.

There are way more people in the northern hemisphere so depending on the season there, the interest in the sport changes.
I don't think many people think about SUP's when it is cold and snowing. Same for the other sports; you look up stuff about kiteboarding when the weather is good for it.

Only the real addicts will watch videos about kiteboarding when they know they will not be on the water for a while.
Alot of us diehards actually just strap some skis or a snowboard to our feet and go out in -30°C

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby edt » Thu Jun 22, 2017 7:43 pm

By the way I play chess in addition to kiteboarding, so here is an example of the range you get when you ask "Do you X?" For chess there are 400,000 Fide chess players. Those that play in chess tournaments and get a world rating. There have also been surveys which put the number of chess players at 600 million that play and enjoy chess. So that's a range of over 1,000 based on what it means to play chess. These are pretty exact numbers but over 1,000 difference in magnitude based on how you define it.

Similarly in kiteboarding with my rather loose definition of what it means to "kiteboard" I get around 2 million. Others get a number somewhere around 150,000 or so. I think we are both right, we just have different definitions on what a "kiteboarder" is.

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby longwhitecloud » Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:22 pm

Interesting -
active kiteboarders..

You could almost work it out by country - my guesses (1000s)

UK - 5
France - 3
Spain - 3
Portugal -1
Netherlands - 4
Germany - 4
Poland -2
Rest of Europe - 5
Norway Denmark Sweden - 2


South Africa - 3
Thailand, Malaysia, Indo , Vietnam - 1
Australia 2
NZ 1

US - 5? (really not sure about this figure..)

Canada - 3

Hawaii - 1

Central America - 1
Brazil - 3
Rest of S America -


that is 50 000 correct and add as u go - way more has beens/gave up/ retired/ injured (me, i dont count)

studies showed between 5 and 20 000 000 surfers - probably more active skateboarders than this too

that would make between 100 and 400 surfers per kitesurfer on earth with 50 000 kiters

then there is cycling, then there is soccer..!

I rough guess 10 000 kites were made worldwide in the best year ever - some probably binned...

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby Toby » Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:33 pm

Don't have actual numbers, but few years ago there were about 120.000 kites produced.

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby stakas » Fri Jun 23, 2017 1:59 am

I think it is quite a low number. I would estimate the max number of kitesurfers as the total through put of all the kite schools over the last 10 years. Active kiters in the world are less then 50k.

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby palmbeacher » Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:03 am

Toby wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:33 pm
Don't have actual numbers, but few years ago there were about 120.000 kites produced.
Can you share with us how many members Kiteforum has? and what the growth has been over the last 10 years? This will help extrapolate some of the older statistics :D

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby knotwindy » Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:37 am

Less than you think worldwide
and more than you want at your local

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby downunder » Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:47 am

longwhitecloud wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:22 pm

South Africa - 3
Thailand, Malaysia, Indo , Vietnam - 1
Australia 2
NZ 1
Not really, in AU there are heaps of core kiters. Just like heaps of core surfers. In WA probably around 150, the rest of AU no idea. That means more than 52 sesh/year.

I kited more than 70 times last year (Woo recorded, here http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10 ... 1&start=10), but doesn't make me a core kiter in my books since really lazy. Others clocked prob more than 100 sessions, so more than 100-200 hours.

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby longwhitecloud » Fri Jun 23, 2017 7:13 am

downunder wrote:
Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:47 am
longwhitecloud wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:22 pm

South Africa - 3
Thailand, Malaysia, Indo , Vietnam - 1
Australia 2
NZ 1
Not really, in AU there are heaps of core kiters. Just like heaps of core surfers. In WA probably around 150, the rest of AU no idea. That means more than 52 sesh/year.

I kited more than 70 times last year (Woo recorded, here http://kiteforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=10 ... 1&start=10), but doesn't make me a core kiter in my books since really lazy. Others clocked prob more than 100 sessions, so more than 100-200 hours.
That's 2000 active aussie kiters - my guess - probably over estimate. Kitestock / Merimbula a couple of hundred kiters these days? NZ had heaps of kiters compared to the rest of the world at the start 10 years+ ago - now it died in the ass. I remember sessions at woodies and Perth downwinders 10 years ago - heaps of kiters - don't know how it is today though, I know quite a few of them actually gave up though - bored of perfect flat water!

FNQ - 40?
QLD - (goldie, sunshine) 300?
SYD - 300
MEL - 400
WA - 400
ADL - no idea

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Re: Global Kiteboarding Population

Postby Toby » Fri Jun 23, 2017 10:29 am

palmbeacher wrote:
Fri Jun 23, 2017 2:03 am
Toby wrote:
Thu Jun 22, 2017 11:33 pm
Don't have actual numbers, but few years ago there were about 120.000 kites produced.
Can you share with us how many members Kiteforum has? and what the growth has been over the last 10 years? This will help extrapolate some of the older statistics :D
The member number won't be real...over years many spam accounts signed up until I started to manually give access...

But I think it is steady over the years...not less or more.


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