Select to expand quotehargs said...kemp90 said..
when my daughter is older I cant wate to but her on a kite
Well for starters the youth of today could learn to read and write.
(When my daughter is older I can't wait to buy her a kite)
Maybe spend some of the 200K on self education. It's tax deductible. 
He was probably a victim of auto correct there! Another way this on the line world is messing up our sosiety! (Yes the spelling is for you)
And remember hargs whenever you comfort a grammer nazi always say "there, they're their"
There is no problems with todays youth at all. I teach in some of the roughest schools in the west of Melbourne and its all down to OPPORTUNITY.
If a student gets the opportunity to shine they generally grasp it with two hands. It all have to link in with parent support not a lot of students and youth have this.
I have taken students down surfing to the coast and you can see some amazing talent BUT they have to be exposed to it for it to matter to them.
I guess I have seen kiteboarding from the other side as well. In my youth I skateboarded a lot, worked and skate shops and eventually worked for distributors and ran skate comps. There is great value in skate comps for advertising your product and building a relationship with that culture. The best thing I have seen lately is for those sponsors to have a comp day that is more free ride.
For instance a comp in melbourne was made specifically for youtube videos. Vans hired and indoor skatboard park for 1 weekend. Invited skateboarders and videographers to post youtube sequences of those videos. The footage was posted and voted on. You would think that you could rig the voting. No quite the opposite the more the underground the skater and the sequence the better the votes.
Kiteboarding in Australia needs to wake up. It has way to many sports to compete with. It is expensive but so is motocross or surfing or rowing. All of thes sports have recognised organisations and national comps.
You need to package your comps so that the media and Online can easily access it and that the youth can be exposed to it.
Select to expand quoteHappyG said..
There is no problems with todays youth at all. I teach in some of the roughest schools in the west of Melbourne and its all down to OPPORTUNITY.
If a student gets the opportunity to shine they generally grasp it with two hands. It all have to link in with parent support not a lot of students and youth have this.
I have taken students down surfing to the coast and you can see some amazing talent BUT they have to be exposed to it for it to matter to them.
I guess I have seen kiteboarding from the other side as well. In my youth I skateboarded a lot, worked and skate shops and eventually worked for distributors and ran skate comps. There is great value in skate comps for advertising your product and building a relationship with that culture. The best thing I have seen lately is for those sponsors to have a comp day that is more free ride.
For instance a comp in melbourne was made specifically for youtube videos. Vans hired and indoor skatboard park for 1 weekend. Invited skateboarders and videographers to post youtube sequences of those videos. The footage was posted and voted on. You would think that you could rig the voting. No quite the opposite the more the underground the skater and the sequence the better the votes.
Kiteboarding in Australia needs to wake up. It has way to many sports to compete with. It is expensive but so is motocross or surfing or rowing. All of thes sports have recognised organisations and national comps.
You need to package your comps so that the media and Online can easily access it and that the youth can be exposed to it.
Skateboarding and rough schools western suburbs of Melbourne= hoodlums,graffiti and tagging
Maybe run a Melboune train surfing comp?? How would you package that ??
Select to expand quoteHappyG said...
There is no problems with todays youth at all. I teach in some of the roughest schools in the west of Melbourne and its all down to OPPORTUNITY.
If a student gets the opportunity to shine they generally grasp it with two hands. It all have to link in with parent support not a lot of students and youth have this.
I have taken students down surfing to the coast and you can see some amazing talent BUT they have to be exposed to it for it to matter to them.
I guess I have seen kiteboarding from the other side as well. In my youth I skateboarded a lot, worked and skate shops and eventually worked for distributors and ran skate comps. There is great value in skate comps for advertising your product and building a relationship with that culture. The best thing I have seen lately is for those sponsors to have a comp day that is more free ride.
For instance a comp in melbourne was made specifically for youtube videos. Vans hired and indoor skatboard park for 1 weekend. Invited skateboarders and videographers to post youtube sequences of those videos. The footage was posted and voted on. You would think that you could rig the voting. No quite the opposite the more the underground the skater and the sequence the better the votes.
Kiteboarding in Australia needs to wake up. It has way to many sports to compete with. It is expensive but so is motocross or surfing or rowing. All of thes sports have recognised organisations and national comps.
You need to package your comps so that the media and Online can easily access it and that the youth can be exposed to it.
What a good post this is. It was really quite inspirational reading about taking kids surfing and the skateboard part etc...
That YouTube event that was all done "on the line" sounded like something that kiteboarding needs to make it a 'cool' sport with the kiddies.
I would actually happily devote some time and effort and what knowledge I have to helping organize an event like that if there were guys like you around to support and help!
Speaking if which, what does it take for an event like the YouTube one you described? Council permits? Other permissions etc? It may well be worth putting some devoted thought to!
No BS: Graphitti and tagging and train surfing is not limited to schools in the West of Melbourne.
Three of the biggest tagging and graphitti criminals in our state came from private schools in the eastern suburbs. But you are funny.
As a side note Melbourne is seen as one of the most progressive street art councils in the world and a lot of artists and tourists come to the back alleys of Melbourne just to see some of the work. You can even see some of Banksys work and he sells his stuff in the Millions. Banksy was a graphitti and stencil artist from the UK.
Daniel1973: I am not commenting that kiteboarding should do a youtube comp like skateboarding (funny enough it could be posted on seabreeze quite easily). I am commenting on the fact there a legitimate ways for comps tp evolve and for sponsors to get longevity.
The great thing for a format like this is its not forced to one location or one day. The best example of this is probally the best run comp I have ever been to is the Mambo. Its ran over multiple days its more of a free format. It could easily be done at St Kilda, Altona, Torquay, Rosebud. over a long weekend. The biggest problem is judging BUT thats how footage fixes that. Any moves the main judges dont see are picked up as clips.
I understand that sponsors and shops and distributors want returns from their investments or comps. I guess it takes some like minded people to bash out something so the everyday joe can have a go at.
Twin tip racing is the funnist and best thing I have seen, the comp I saw the riders had to do a back loop on one of the passes. It was fun and everyone could do it. Its funny seeing seasoned racers forget to do the backloop and loose the race.
Select to expand quoteDaniel1973 said..sir ROWDY said...
What is wrong with Seabreeze??? All my posts just end up looking more like one long incoherent sentence than they usually do...
Perhaps the sentence issue is one of the platform for a voice of an experienced kiter comparing his literary skills to that of a trained and structured sentence writer visa vi an author or English major writing a polemic statement in the face of adversity and encapsulating all that is right and wrong with one fell swoop whilst also dominating ones self control in using standard English punctuation and grammatical profundity whilst all the time concentrating on the subject at hand and becoming immersed in the content of the subject whilst at the same time avoiding standard English vernacular and parlance in favour of complete output of a statement regardless of how coherent or incoherent it may traverse the reading audience?
nah bra theres something done wrong in da matrix i tells ya
Select to expand quoteNoBS said...Trapped said..
NoBS said...
Because mummy and daddy baby them,
Teachers don't or can't discipline them due to being scared of offending or losing their job,
They are encouraged to stay inside and play video games,
Dress like little girls, get hipster haircuts too,
Taught no respect for elders,
And finally that it's ok to say F U to the law....
Throw in also the location they live in and the bringing up they have had and there lies the problem...
Also multicultural factors come into play....
Just imagine, fast forward 50 years and I wonder..........
And maybe due to kites being so expensive and lessons too... Kids can't afford 3 grand at 16 years old...
If they could then we may have some better kids out there kiting instead of being diks
Every should know it takes a specific type of person to strap a kite that can launch you into the air to yourself.
It's more the money to get into the sport. Like nobs said a 16 tear old can't afford 3 grand. I'm 20 and was only able to afford old second hand gear.
Otherwise kids my age just buy a snowboard or go the cable parks. Or a surfboard.
I completely dis agree with your 'summing up' of today's youth. Yeah there are a heap of douchebags but the moment you stop looking at the Justin beiber wannabe's you find we are all pretty well the same.
This of course does depend on a lot of factors when being brought up.
Now crucify me with red thumbs
Also todays youth are hopeless at basic spelling and grammar.
Too busy tapapatappin out text messages on your Iphones..
I rest my case your honour as per above contribution my trapped.
It's just as annoying when the old folk can't read the small writing on a phone or able to understand the 'text talk'
I can't help but think, why would anybody want to go in a kiteboarding competition? Unhooked freestyle trick riding is not a discipline of kiting that holds any attraction for the vast majority of kiters.
The gear is highly specialised and suited to only a narrow range of conditions and styles of riding. The training demands are high and the rewards are low.
Even the brands understand that with many pro riders following the free riding path. Certainly in all the sports I do it is much more interesting to read about people doing cool things and having great adventures. Who won the last trick show? Who cares?
Racing might hold more appeal because it's clear cut about who wins and what is happening. Unfortunately kite racing is in the middle of the arms race death throes that windsurfing (and every other sport) went through. Outrageously expensive boards that cost a fortune and are obsolete a few months later.
Select to expand quoteiandvnt said..
Kiteboarding is in an interesting place right now, diversification/ specialization of equipment (one for waves, one for freestyle one for race one for freeride - and the middle aged "tech"marketing that goes with it) and hence cost I reckon has led to a downfall in popularity amongst younger riders, and i am talking even under 40 let alone youth....
thats interesting, sounds like the start of windsurfing xD
Started out with one design boards and maybe a couple of different sized sails, now you can get specific gear for freeride, race, slalom, wave etc....which makes it quite complicated for beginners to pick through all that crap and find the actual gear that they need.
I think cheap one designs to get people, particularly youth, into the sport is crucial.
Don't really care if the young ones don't take it up.I got into kitesurfing 10 years ago as I got sick of arrogant youngsters running me over! .I now find it very relaxing kiting my local during the week with no one out. I believe us kiters now have it like the surfers did in the 60,s..
Select to expand quoteNoBS said..
Also todays youth are hopeless at basic spelling and grammar.
Too busy tapapatappin out text messages on your Iphones..
I rest my case your honour as per above contribution my trapped.
* by Trapped. ^^^
lol. NoBS the spelling nazi.
"I believe us kiters now have it like the surfers did in the 60,s.."
My god, the prospect of going back to the 60s to go surfing....
Events... stoking riders to progress and meet new people to get inspired by and have a great time. In NZ (i'm a blowin..) we ran something called AK anywhere, we decided day before where and when - people would travel over 3+ hours even with short notice - great for local events as no messing around with crap wind by organizing weeks ahead. No one paid, no one was solely responsible for organizing (facebook..), experienced riders judged voluntarily, prizes were whatever anyone brought - some with hookups, got pics of winners with prizes and fake $10 000 cheques , start with low expectations.., whingers were shunned (there were none...). Dunno if that would work here ... maybe some out of the way northern nsw beach 4wd access beach?
Still believe the biggest issue is the affordability of the sport.Surfing involves a board and a wetsuit.For under 500 bucks you can get your kid in the surf.For kiting 500 bucks will get you your lessons and that's it.
^For sure it's not the cheapest, but it never was... Also doesn't change the fact that a lot of kids just seem to be not pushing it either.
Select to expand quoteINTHELOOP said..
Not sure what comps you looking at mate.Andy Yates won PKRA 2010, Keahi got several world titles under his belt. Ewan Jaspan has been top 20 last few years and wld have been top 10 if he didn't get injuries. We have heaps of racers in good positions at worlds and international regattas.At the nationals there was some good young talent showing tooAt the end of the day you need a lot of determination, talent and commitment to be up there plus the support from brands/ sponsors and parents.
pkra and ika for the last few years, as for the nationals sure youll get some talented kids but compared to European riders the quality is lacking, I live in the windiest spot in Australia and the isn't a single kid under 19 who rides, a few of us have done our bit to help with gear but the seems a total lack of interest, surely if we have a kid whos talented enough to compete then sponsorship in a prospering country like ours shouldn't be hard to find, but this alone wont attract kids to our sport, maybe the likes of waksa and other states organisations should start a school scheme to attract kids, with that in mind im pretty sure our local school has very little water based activities, we have great kayaking surf, wind,conditions year round, some input from a teacher might shed some light, I know mike walker had a youth sceme going in qld , and was behing andy yates and keyahis mentoring
Spot on, I got into the sport for about 700 bucks with a cheap kite, board and harness. It's for sure doable and if you go to some poorer places you see kids doing all the tricks on whatever old gear they get their hands on. I went to Brazil and saw 5 kids sharing one kite, harness and board, all taking turns and all busting tricks.
A lot of the kids I see get all their gear sponsored for them or bought by their parents, flown all over the place to kite or driven to the beach, and still just don't seem motivated to learn the tricks and take a few hard crashes, but still consider themselves 'pros'. There are many exceptions, but from what the scene was when I got into the sport, seems like a lot less groms kiting hard across the country. Not saying I didn't have a fairly easy path into the sport, I'm not from a super hard up family, but it is possible for kids to get into it with their mates if they can all find a couple of hundred each, it's not a big cost.
If this comp scene starts up again it will be great, will push everyone again for sure. It's not just the groms tho, at the nationals there were only 3 competitors over 18 registered for men... That's pretty poor! Yes it was bad timing/late notice, but events are a great thing in our sport, they are a great time to catch up with everyone and just have a few heats for fun also, and then take a week off work for a kite holiday. Would be great to see some more of the old crew and new make it to the next big comp, and amp up some groms to go along too!
Select to expand quotecauncy said..
I know mike walker had a youth sceme going in qld , and was behing andy yates and keyahis mentoring
Did you mean "Behind"??? If so I think that's a bit of a fib. Mike does great stuff for kids and schools getting into kiting and showing the sport to a wider audience but I know for a fact that Keahi had little to do with Mike and the fact that both Keahi and Andy succeeded in this sport is because they are both two very driven individuals. Their success came entirely from their own drive (and also a bit of help from sponsors and parents etc.).Ewan is spot on, hopefully we can get more of a crew at the next nationals, if it hadn't been called at 2 months notice and run the same time as a world tour even I would have been there for sure. Honestly there should be some kind of rule to stop that happening, I mean if we actually had our top riders competing on a world level it would be pretty silly to hold a National Titles while they were all away. I know this wasn't this case this time but it easily could have been. Also maybe I could have entered then and had the chance to steal a title while Ewan was injured .
Select to expand quotecauncy said..
I live in the windiest spot in Australia and the isn't a single kid under 19 who rides,
Mate there's 4 kids i know of who regularly kite with in gero who are under 19.I guess i could be classed into this 'youth' section being 23. started kiting 2-3 years ago, have been out on average twice a week (throughout the whole year) since then. It was never my intention of doing the wakestyle. we have a kite crew here, a couple dabble in unhooking and iv given it a go but were just content on getting big air, kite loops, hooked in jazz, kiting new locations and doing silly stuff on the water and of course running down those huge swells.I kited Melville last monday during that storm, awesome kite. an today iv only just come back from a work trip up to carnarvon and scored a awesome solo sesh up there. And not a single unhooked trick was completed - and i couldnt care less.
^ I don't think anyone was saying that you have to try unhooked tricks... This thread was merely pointing out that there isn't a lot of upcoming talent in AUS and by your own admission I guess you're kind of highlighting that fact.
Select to expand quotearloj said...cauncy said..
I live in the windiest spot in Australia and the isn't a single kid under 19 who rides,
Mate there's 4 kids i know of who regularly kite with in gero who are under 19.I guess i could be classed into this 'youth' section being 23. started kiting 2-3 years ago, have been out on average twice a week (throughout the whole year) since then. It was never my intention of doing the wakestyle. we have a kite crew here, a couple dabble in unhooking and iv given it a go but were just content on getting big air, kite loops, hooked in jazz, kiting new locations and doing silly stuff on the water and of course running down those huge swells.I kited Melville last monday during that storm, awesome kite. an today iv only just come back from a work trip up to carnarvon and scored a awesome solo sesh up there. And not a single unhooked trick was completed - and i couldnt care less.
I don't kite at gero, and I don't class 19 as youth, I'm talking school level, you'd have to admit it seems to be a middle aged crisis sport here, if this sport was around when I was at school I'd of been all over it, you mentioned 4 what's the other 1000 kids doing up there
Dont worry guys, i have the future world champ brewing in my feonse's tummy, give it about 15 years or so and he or she will be giving australia something to chear about hahaha.
Must be said, a lot of knowledge and ideas come out of this forum when a topic is well chosen. It's impressive that the kite community can be really clever and constructive (at times).
Nice to read the young guys input with the old guys replies. Also shows that for a lot if people kiting is a personal thing that doesn't need to be competed about much like surfing was back at the start. Are we 60's surf hippies with expensive gear, good jobs, nice cars and short hair?
luke smith 16 years Freestyle
Aron kenny 13 years Freestyle
Billy hampton 14 Waves
James storm 14 Waves
and more coming
Don't worry were on to it!!!
Why are 30% of ASP surfers Aussies???
Because we are a nation of water babies .
James is going to do the Morocco PKRA wave event next year in the adults as there are no junior events if its on
We haven't had a wave national for 3 years.
Thank god we have merrimbula /Kite Stock and Robe for the groms to showcase their talents.
Thanks to North/Fanatic/Ion/Cabrinha /Ozone/Axis who are the ones i know are supporting the groms
Also all the shops that are providing gear and knowledge
^ You've mentioned 4 kids from Australia wide, there used to be about 40 kids of the same age group kiting at a decent level in Tannum Sands alone hahaha.Having judged the PKRA Morocco event I can say James will need to really train hard if he wants to do well, the level was pretty high.
Comps are great but the biggest problem we have here is everyone wants to have an opinion but they don't do anything to help and then get on forums and criticise the people that try to make it happen , the next is people that promiss to contribute eg shops sponsors etc and then when it comes to the crunch they pull out and leave the organiser looking like a fool. Comps don't have to be complicated its about getting together and pushing yourself to be better and pushing those around you to be better.
I've helped a lot of kids out in kiting over the last few years and have had a lot of kids S$&t in my face. I've sold kites below cost and even used my own money to help kids that claimed they would try really hard and then caught them selling the gear for a profit. And the theres the kids that go from shop to shop with there dads who can clearly afford to pay full price saying there kid is the next best thing bla bla bla, these are the kids that have wrecked the sport in Australia and the competition scene. If they ran a comp for juniors that was based on who had the newest gear and could not land a trick Australia would be number 1
And on another note just a quick one about James storm , I don't really know him but if every kid that's into kiting right now had a tenth of the enthusiasm this kid has we would be killing it and I take my hat off to his old man that does everything humanly possible to help his kids for fill there dreams and promote the sport.
A wise man once told me the best person on the water is the one having the most fun
Rant over
I think it just comes down to popularity of certain things in certain cultures. In the UK there is a massive following of the British super bikes, yet over here theres practically nothing, two struggling super bike series and it just comes down to the fact that it doesn't have the following like it does in Europe.
This is probably the same in kiteboarding its just not that big over here. Half the people that kite at my local spot aren't Australian, myself included, most people are swiss or British or from other European countries. Ausies would rather drive their commodore to the local "tav" and get "****in pissed ay!"
Sir rowdy:
Did you know James has just got back on the water after a serious leg break? Positive encouragement is the key with youth, give him props for the effort he already puts in! Think about how many comps you've been in? What level you've reached? Then stand back and remember he's 14.
Hookworm:
Your dead right. I've only known James for a few months and he puts massive effort into surfing, suping, kiting with twin tips, kiting with surfboards and apparently applies himself at school as well. I was watching him at rosebud on Friday and hanging out with his dad, (who by the way helps everyone of every age and happily lends kites, boards and advice to anyone that wants it) and I was in awe of this kid who is still recovering from the leg injury, unhooking and doing feet off the board tricks in the air while looping the kite. When he came in we had a chat, just talking crap and just like every time I chat with him, which is at least once or twice a week he is a great kid that is humble and appreciative of his old man and can actually communicate with adults.
He's the only competing kid I know so my exposure is limited, but being the owner of 2 of my own boys (8 & 12) I can honestly say James is the type of kid who I'd call the perfect role model for any kid getting into the sport.
He might make it, he might not, but either way you can already tell he's going to be a good quality adult and that means a s**t load more than any trophy you can put on the shelf!
If anyone ever wants to can him or his dad, do it in person and preferably while I'm there to berate you and expose you for the morally and intellectually inferior human that you are.
Now THATS how to rant!!!
lThanks Daniel
Rowdy he is doing waves. he's not a free styler.
Hes won the juniors at Mamabo waves every year since he was 12
I did not know you judged waves ????
Give us some pointers will ya
Select to expand quoteDaniel1973 said..
Sir rowdy:
Did you know James has just got back on the water after a serious leg break? Positive encouragement is the key with youth, give him props for the effort he already puts in! Think about how many comps you've been in? What level you've reached? Then stand back and remember he's 14.
Nope I wasn't aware of that, my condolences to the young man I hope he gets out there and is shredding hard again soon!
I've seen James kite at the Mambo and I also judged the comp in Morocco. I was only trying to highlight the fact that he will really have to push it if he wants to do well, that's just the reality of competition, always will be I'm afraid. If he's got what it takes (like Keahi and Andy) then my comments will only drive him to push harder.
I don't know what you are trying to say??? I've won plenty of comps along the way National titles and Mambo titles amongst them, but I still know I would have a hard time trying to wave it out against the best competitors in the world. I was 14 once as well (Junior national champ then to)... doing the same thing as James and I'm afraid age isn't the be-all of whether someone will become a good competitor at something, you really need to push if you want to be up there.
Select to expand quotepgc said..
lThanks Daniel
Rowdy he is doing waves. he's not a free styler.
Hes won the juniors at Mamabo waves every year since he was 12
I did not know you judged waves ????
Give us some pointers will ya
I know that... I was at the Mambo and rode with him there, I came 4th myself in Mens.
As I said already I won the Windsurfing national waves titles and Mambo both 3 consecutive years, but I'm afraid that doesn't really mean much on a world scale, especially when you are placing a Junior against an Open field. I'm not trying to discourage the boy, I'm just trying to put some perspective on the situation.
I grew up surfing and kiting some of the best beachies and point breaks in AUS, to be honest I was a surfer well before I rode a wakeboard. The only pointers you need is to make sure you can surf with fluidity and style, make sure you can pull out a few big punts and airs consistently for a competition format and be sure that you can put it all together at the drop of a hat.
