There seems to be very few juniors in kiting.
Is kiting not enough appealing to youth?
Is it not accessible enough?
Don't we market it enough to youngsters as an option they can try out?
Is it lack of support to allow to peruse it if they are keen?
Having just come from the world champs in China which included TT racing, and a lot of Asian juniors attending.
Examples such as KTA train 30 under privileged youth at a time in training camps and have junior training centers throughout Asia, how are we not able to copy this in Australia.
What can we do in Australia to inspire more youngsters to take up the sport? Would marketing direct to school the same as other sports and social clubs do help? As a whole does the kiting community have any concern if there are or aren't more juniors in the sport?
I'm one of the oldies at my spot now and I'm 25. Antkite was throwing huge loops at 13 years old.
Kids don't want to race, so that's not surprising. I'm in China now and with the TT races there's basically no kids at all and the few that are here and competed said it's too boring.
In my opinion (which is worthless) kite-racing as an Olympic class should be like boardcross. What's the point of sailing in circles on a kite if you don't make use of the things a kite can do? A lot of people find sailing boring, so naturally they would think the same of kite-racing in a sailing format.
As for kids in general, I would say there were far more Groms Aus-wide when I was a grom (12years ago) and I would also say the level was probably higher on average. I believe this is for a combination of reasons;
1. Kites are expensive, so if your family isn't into Kiting it's not so likely that you will be able to afford it as a grom,
2. There's not many comps focused on getting all the groms and some older guys together and really pushing them to learn new tricks. The NKL is a good start but back in the day we had many contests and smaller meets and photoshoots for KBmag that really got all the groms excited to keep kiting and pushing themselves to progress. This also helped to recruit new groms in those areas that didn't have family who kited.
James Carew 17 Waves Pro Tour
Aron Kenny 15 Freestyle Soon to be world champ!!!!!
Manny Bischop 15 Racing Pro Tour
But Rowdys right we need more comps for groms.
Looks like a pretty good Grom fest in Australia right now.
The only valid competition is red bull king of the air. And children shouldn't be in it because they're too young to die.
I'm trying to get my fifteen year old son into kiting. It's uphill to say the least, but we are moving forward slowly at his pace and he's happy enough. He's not the most sporty kid and I definitely spent way too much on this super super long shot. But to me it would be like winning lotto to have your kid as a life long kite buddy.
Failing that in the future,I'm not an iko instructor, but would be open to volunteering with my gear to help an iko instructor teach disadvantaged Sydney kids to kite. If there's a better gift you could give someone I can't think of it...
At $2000-$3000 per kite ( and you need more than one )
Is it any wonder that kids don't get into it ?
Poor strategy by the kite companies
Kites and boards are a rip off. What kid can afford to get into the sport?
Here some give old gear to the kids to get them going.
Select to expand quoteharry potter said..
At $2000-$3000 per kite ( and you need more than one )
Is it any wonder that kids don't get into it ?
Poor strategy by the kite companies
Totally, I could have never afforded that without help from family and sponsors.
****, most kids down the skate park can't even afford new shoes and wheels, they are super excited when I give them my half worn out stuff.
Select to expand quotewishy said..
The only valid competition is red bull king of the air. And children shouldn't be in it because they're too young to die.
Valid in what sense exactly?
No one has died yet... and whether you're a child or not would make zero difference, it's just a roll of the dice until you get dropped from a loop. King of the air is like playing the pokie machine of kiteloops, it's possible you'll spin up a big feature one day and get a sweet trip to hospital.
plenty of cheap s/h gear around for kids to learn on but requires commitment and effort and unless they spend every second day at the beach there will not be much progress to be had
kids not interested in general as it is not mainstream and does not involve an electronic device
while I hope to get my kids riding with me one day I would rather they did well at school and got good jobs than become kite bums
I have three kids who all want to learn or are learning. The youngest, (11yo) is up and going but @34Kgs wringing wet its gotta be perfect 15-20 knots and then he's on a five. The older kids express an interest and give it a crack every now and then but again its all about timing and conditions. Even if they all get on with the sport I can't see any of them competing as
I really believe that they see kiting the same as surfing, it's something you do with your family and mates for the stoke and not a trophy.
That might be parental influence but I firmly believe in Family Play Together / Stay Together. I recently had my first surf @ Bells with my three kids and that was something special for all of us. I'm also looking forward to my first day of kiting at Rosie with all three kids should it ever happen. Just not looking forward to getting and lugging the gear around.
Kid walks into kite shop.
Lessons $700
Kite $2500
But you need 2!
Board $1000
Harness $300
Wetsuit $450
Kid walks out of shop.....thinking kiters are elitist pricks.
If only he was directed to the buy and sell second hand market & given unbiased advice.
Select to expand quoteharry potter said...
At $2000-$3000 per kite ( and you need more than one )
Is it any wonder that kids don't get into it ?
Poor strategy by the kite companies
Same fall from grace made by the windsurfing companies. Gear became too $$ and too top end
Select to expand quotesir ROWDY said..
Kids don't want to race, so that's not surprising. I'm in China now and with the TT races there's basically no kids at all and the few that are here and competed said it's too boring.
In my opinion (which is worthless) kite-racing as an Olympic class should be like boardcross. What's the point of sailing in circles on a kite if you don't make use of the things a kite can do? A lot of people find sailing boring, so naturally they would think the same of kite-racing in a sailing format.
As for kids in general, I would say there were far more Groms Aus-wide when I was a grom (12years ago) and I would also say the level was probably higher on average. I believe this is for a combination of reasons;
1. Kites are expensive, so if your family isn't into Kiting it's not so likely that you will be able to afford it as a grom,
2. There's not many comps focused on getting all the groms and some older guys together and really pushing them to learn new tricks. The NKL is a good start but back in the day we had many contests and smaller meets and photoshoots for KBmag that really got all the groms excited to keep kiting and pushing themselves to progress. This also helped to recruit new groms in those areas that didn't have family who kited.
i remember the days when rowdy and Andy Yates were grommets.. I agree with Twintip racing being a bit boring but thats what they chose so every nation got a chance to enter. I will be a boarder cross style with clearing obstacles..We are working on a Olympic lead up program with KA and YA atm. Should be a great pathway and set us up good for high performance foiling at Tokyo Olympics 2020.
Select to expand quoteDeefer said..
I have three kids who all want to learn or are learning. The youngest, (11yo) is up and going but @34Kgs wringing wet its gotta be perfect 15-20 knots and then he's on a five. The older kids express an interest and give it a crack every now and then but again its all about timing and conditions. Even if they all get on with the sport I can't see any of them competing as
I really believe that they see kiting the same as surfing, it's something you do with your family and mates for the stoke and not a trophy.
That might be parental influence but I firmly believe in Family Play Together / Stay Together. I recently had my first surf @ Bells with my three kids and that was something special for all of us. I'm also looking forward to my first day of kiting at Rosie with all three kids should it ever happen. Just not looking forward to getting and lugging the gear around.
In China at the worlds we had a 9 and 10 year old riding in anything from 4 knots to 30knots on foil kites with hydrofoils. They were using parafoil kites which are actually easier for kids to use since they are more stable and have a bigger wind range especially in the smaller sizees.There is a lot of kids between 10-15 getting into foiling right now.For example 15 year old hydrofoil world champ started kiting on hydrofoils and parafoil kites. She is a San Fran local.
Just searched 4-8M kites, all brands all states, 46 search results, nothing over $1200 and the average price at a guess is around $600. So a kite does not have to cost 2500. Harnesses in kids sizes are around $250 used boards are harder to find in suitable sizes.
So its still a big commitment for a parent or family budget. Then it takes lessons and supervision from an instructor or someone who could be kiting, more commitment. Lots more supervision in the early stages = more commitment.
I think the pathway into the sport is more suitable to older youth and young adults, the ones that have a watersports background, are not screen addicts, and actually like to do outdoor things, don't have hovering helicopter parents, which probably leaves a small market.
81 pages of used kites of all sizes, thats 81 x 11 per page, lots of choice out there.
Select to expand quoteINTHELOOP said..Deefer said..
I have three kids who all want to learn or are learning. The youngest, (11yo) is up and going but @34Kgs wringing wet its gotta be perfect 15-20 knots and then he's on a five. The older kids express an interest and give it a crack every now and then but again its all about timing and conditions. Even if they all get on with the sport I can't see any of them competing as
I really believe that they see kiting the same as surfing, it's something you do with your family and mates for the stoke and not a trophy.
That might be parental influence but I firmly believe in Family Play Together / Stay Together. I recently had my first surf @ Bells with my three kids and that was something special for all of us. I'm also looking forward to my first day of kiting at Rosie with all three kids should it ever happen. Just not looking forward to getting and lugging the gear around.
In China at the worlds we had a 9 and 10 year old riding in anything from 4 knots to 30knots on foil kites with hydrofoils. They were using parafoil kites which are actually easier for kids to use since they are more stable and have a bigger wind range especially in the smaller sizees.There is a lot of kids between 10-15 getting into foiling right now.For example 15 year old hydrofoil world champ started kiting on hydrofoils and parafoil kites. She is a San Fran local.
Don't get me wrong, there's some kids here and they are doing quite well. I'm mainly speaking from my own perspective I guess, I can't stay focused for so many races on such a long course 
. I think if there was a short course boardercross type class people would start getting really excited by it.
There were very few in the last generation - I see less in the next.
How does a sport that isn't a sport with more than a handful of people ever involved in the whole world become youth olympic I wonder.
If you look at the way kite businesses market, and target consumer demographics today, compared to 10 years ago... #youthfail #nostoke #foilboring #clickbar #buyingakiteislikebuyingamobilephoneplan2016 #designedand marketedformiddleageddoctorsthatthinktheycanbekailenny
"Youth kiteboarders - mentor one today!"
