My name is Alex, I am the owner of Soul Kite. Many people of the local kitesurfing community asked me to reply to this post, so I can meet with you to discuss politely in person.
On Saturday 15th of October, the wind was South West, and didn't gust more than 25-27knots on Melville beach during the lessons.
This day, all my instructors checked the wind strength and direction and we took the decision of teaching, as it was safe. The other factors to take into consideration were all good, as there was only few other kite surfers and almost no one on the beach (because of the temperature).
Everyone had a great day, students and instructors. Beginner’s lessons were held with short line bar (which we invested in this season to reduce space on the spot, increase safety and give more room to the other users of the spot).
Soul Kite has very specific operation procedures we put in place with cooperation with Kiteboarding Australia and the others schools in the Perth area. My team and I have been respecting all the safety and operation procedures we agreed with KA.
For few of you on the forum, your objective has been trying to discredit Soul Kite and the other schools for the last 5years, and bring attention on Melville beach road as much as possible. If you take care as much as me about safety, why didn’t you come have a chat with me? I am always on the spot, kiting, teaching or helping people, and I would be happy to have your opinion to improve these aspects on the school.
With these kind of words, sometimes rude and often inaccurate, not only against SoulKite, but as well against great kite surfers around Perth, you are not bringing any solutions or improvement. Or may be you want the spot to be closed, like Woodman Point a few years ago?
I am a real professional, spend the last 15years of my life kitesurfing, and the last 6years teaching pretty much every day. After the complaint on Saturday, I met a member of Kiteboarding Australia to show him how we operate and all the documents relative to the Soul Kite company (Permit, employee declaration, emergency procedure, insurance, risk management plan,..).
This person was really happy on the way we operate and bring safety and fun on the spot.
Just for your information, the only “accident” we had in 5years, last February, was a near miss accident and the student had no injury. She left the hospital with nothing broken, not even a bruise! She fell on her back in shallow water (with helmet and life jacket); then the instructor respected the procedure and acted responsively and treated her immediately. Yes, we had a chopper coming on the spot on a busy day, and instantly Chinese whispers started circulating about a spinal injury. I was there all morning with the student, and she was laughing trying to explain to the emergency response team that she was ok. The investigation team on this day pointed out the professionalism of Soul Kite to reply to an emergency situation, and the respect of the safe teaching procedures.
I'm really confident on the way SoulKite operates and will always have the support of the local community. Kite surfing is an extreme sport, and our main objective is to bring the risk as close as possible to 0, while having great lessons and fun. In 5years, we brought a higher level of teaching and safety on the beaches where we teach, giving the best kitesurfing lessons and helping local kiters with advice as well.
In the meantime, if you want to meet when you come on Melville beach road to explain your point of view, I am really happy to do so.
Windy regards,
Alex, Kerry and the Soul Kite team
Select to expand quoteGMkal said...
Some quick replies:
@cauncy: thanks for the answer, what would your criteria be in such an event, bksa schools are visited to ensure correct teaching is in place, will your group have such practices in place as this imho where iko fails, theres no threat of keeping your school in check, saying that theres some great iko teachers out there, for example exmouth kites head guy tom is very thourough in his methods , so it isnt the iko /bksa its the school owners who make the bookings and make the call dependant on conditions regards mick caunce
- We are doing ad hoc inspections as we can (which I agree is a strength of BKSA v IKO). We are going to also require collection of all student names and surveying of students to ensure real insight into the schools day to day, not just what they want to show the inspector! Agree re school owners and KA seeks to ensure minimum standards are in place and we follow up all complaints seriously.
@marno: That is fantastic Alexandra, but the reality is in this instance this school won't lose their permit from the council if they aren't "Acredited". I doubt the Council even know who you or your organisation is. You can quote me on this - "the only way there'll be an outcome on this is if someone gets off their arse and gets to a council meeting, and this issue is raised in front of the people who make decisions and change". Everything else, and your "accreditation" is p*ss in the wind. Sorry to be harsh but it's true.
- We actually are really well known with the Melville Council and work with them fairly closely as this has been a bit of a "hot spot". We previously may not have been well known but in some areas (including in WA) councils are requiring all schools to have our accreditation, as they previously might have required IKO accreditation.
@livit: That's what we are doing! Help out by supporting the implementation of an Australian system (that also accommodates international instructors that bring a wealth of knowledge to our shores).
Feel free at any stage to give me a call on 0431 229 171 or at contact@kiteboardingaus.com.
Cheers
Alexandra | General Manager
Kiteboarding Australia
Alexandra, 2 simple questions. 1. Does Soulkite have your accreditation? 2. Given you are well know to Melville council, and it appears there have been ongoing issues with Soulkite, what have been the outcomes of your discussions with the council regarding Soulkite? Thanks
Well there you have it, short line bars.
This is why you should learn to ask the school and instructor and client before going on a witch hunt.
If you are unaware that shorter lines reduce power and risk thats not the schools fault that is your fault. Maybe get some theory lessons from some of these euro kiters you hate so much who have taught in many many conditions all around the world and who can kite better than you.
AlexSK, do your permits allow you to teach at multiple beaches throughout Perth/WA or are you restricted to Melville and Point Walter?
Select to expand quoteFactory said..
AlexSK, do your permits allow you to teach at multiple beaches throughout Perth/WA or are you restricted to Melville and Point Walter?
why not ask him what type of porn her jerks to or if hes a folder or a scruncher. you cant expect people to just unload they re business on a public forum. certainly dont see any of the big schools doing that. may as well hit up manufacturers about profits and margins.
Select to expand quotefruuugz said...
Well there you have it, short line bars.
This is why you should learn to ask the school and instructor and client before going on a witch hunt.
If you are unaware that shorter lines reduce power and risk thats not the schools fault that is your fault. Maybe get some theory lessons from some of these euro kiters you hate so much who have taught in many many conditions all around the world and who can kite better than you.
Yeah, huge difference and good call.
Select to expand quoteJhana said..Ryan74 said..
Look man, I can't disagree that security should always be the priority and I'm really sorry to hear that. But it does not change the fact that the above statements are inaccurate and that there are much better ways to deal with this. Just go and provide your feedback to them! Who knows, you might learn something in the process ...
Hey Ryan you may learn something if you believe me.
I ended up in hospital because of them
Jhana- Can you elaborate on what happened and how you ended up in hospital?
Select to expand quotefruuugz said..
Well there you have it, short line bars.
This is why you should learn to ask the school and instructor and client before going on a witch hunt.
If you are unaware that shorter lines reduce power and risk thats not the schools fault that is your fault. Maybe get some theory lessons from some of these euro kiters you hate so much who have taught in many many conditions all around the world and who can kite better than you.
I beg to differ with this sweeping generalization. Shorter lines will not change the projected area of the kite when it is in the most powered part of the window- lets say in a death loop- nor will they reduce the lofting effect of a kite at 12 o'clock in a massive gust. A 7 m kite still has all the potential power of a 7 m kite regardless of what lines you fly it on and if a beginner puts that kite in the wrong spot in a lesson and coincides with a squall and the associated increased wind strengths then you will have a dangerous situation
Shorter lines will decrease the amount of power generated by sineing the kite (as the power stroke is shorter) or the power generated by it moving across the window, which can be helpful for experienced kiters who are up and going and battling over powered conditions. For beginners, thinking that you have somehow completely reduced the power of the kite by running short lines is a dangerous myth.
Short lines should not be viewed as an alternative to choosing the correct kite for the conditions - or not going out at all because you don't have a small enough kite.
Teaching beginners in winter (or Spring) frontal conditions where the wind strength is so unpredictable is a high risk activity regardless of the control measures put in place.
if you need some hard physical data that directly translates into power old jenkins check out the kite buggyers. where they have measured the difference in a rather interesting way.
they record the kite going from sand to zenith directly down wind using various line lengths and then record the distance traveled. there is quite a big difference from 25m to 15m just off top my head its something like 40m compared to 20m distance. an important factor in the power built from longer lines is time the kite spends in the "power zone"
i know what your saying 10m of canopy will allways have 10m of canopy power no matter how you trim it twist it bend it blend it send it BUT in the use of a kitesurfing lesson shorter lines makes an incredible difference.
given that the wind appears to have been far more like high 20's knots and not mid 40's during the entire lesson i really think this was blown a little unfairly out of proportion.
just here on this side of the island i watched a first timer lesson happening in 27knots full length lines right infront of trees. i felt like going over and asking the student if they were aware that being taught to hot-launch directly upwind of a solid brick wall is not the best approach to theyre first lesson but i was a bit to busy with my own life. and interestingly enough it seemed to have worked out okay. despite it being completely against everything i ever teach. you win some you loose some.
Select to expand quotecauncy said..Ryan74 said...
Lastly, your comment "They are all blowin euro instructors ." clearly indicates where the problem really is... 
Some of the best recognised instructors in our state are euros & other nationalities
Bell end
Hi Cauncy, you misinterpreted me. I'm insinuating that I believe dusta have some issues with euros in general which would partially explained why he is so determined to discredit the school ... I fully agree with you: most of the euro instructors trained in Europe are probably more qualified and experienced than local instructors.Select to expand quotedusta said..
and the blowin euro comment is exactly that , big difference to the euro's and other nationalities who are residents and stay here more than a summer .
And what is that "big difference" exactly dusta... ? And how will this impact their qualifications/abilities to teach?
By the way, I'm still eager to hear what YOUR solution to the problem is. As it is always gusty on the river over 20 knots, should all schools be restricted to operate within 15-20 knots or should we close them all to be more practical?
Got to laugh at the tantrum kitesurf link.
They tried to teach my gf in 30 knot plus offshore winds in tarifa, with no rescue boat.. They did have really really short lines but it was still ugly. They were a good crew and I had a great time there so, who cares..
The kites used that day were these? Are they normal lines or short ones? I can't tell..
