Talk:Kiteboarding

Origin of Kitesurfing
I would argue that kitesurfing is a combination wakeboarding and paragliding. The other sports (skateboarding, surfing) are ancestors of wakeboarding (see Extreme Sports), so you are basically repeating them. Tavernsenses (talk) 13:21, 7 June 2016 (UTC)

Reorganization of wiki pages on Kitesurfing, ], Landboarding, Kiteskating, Snowkiting, etc.
Currently, the wiki Kiteboarding page describes Kiteboarding as a land-based sport alternatively named Kite Landboarding. ("Kite Landboarding" is set up as a wiki referral link to the current wiki "Kiteboarding" page). Actually, AFAICT, the sport generally referred to in the real world as "Kiteboarding" is a water-based sport which has Kitesurfing an alternative name, and which has land-based and snow-based offshoots. A number of websites, publications, and organizations exist which support this interpretation of what Kiteboarding is and is not (see http://www.kiteboardingmag.com/index.jsp, http://www.ikointl.com/index1.php, http://www.ikiteboarding.com/, http://www.ikiteboarding.com/kiteboarding/articles/what-is-kiteboarding.aspx, etc.)

Besides water-based and land-based versions of Kiteboarding, a snow-based version exists which is referred to as "Kite Snowboarding" or, as "Snow Kiteboarding", or as "Snowkiting". A wiki Snowkiting page currently exists.

It appears to me that page-naming on this within wiki is out of sync with nomenclature usage in the real world. Barring strong opposition, I intend sometime in the near future to do the following in an attempt to correct this situation:


 * Move the current wiki "Kiteboarding" page to "Kite Landboarding".
 * Make a referral link from "Landboarding" to "Kite Landboarding"
 * Make a referral link from "Kiteskating" to "Kite Landboarding"
 * Make a referral link from "Kiteboarding" to "Kitesurfing"
 * Make a referral link from "Kite Snowboarding" to "Snowkiting"
 * Make a referral link from "Snow Kiteboarding" to "Snowkiting"
 * Do some minor edits on the "Kitesurfing", "Kite Landboarding", and "Snowkiting" pages to provide cross-referrals where needed.

Coomments? Outraged objections? Alternative suggestions? In hopes of having a single-pronged discussion on this, I ask that the discussion take place on the current Talk:Kiteboarding page.

Posted on the Talk:Kiteboarding, Talk:Kitesurfing, and Talk:Snowkiting pages -- Boracay Bill 05:34, 31 July 2006 (UTC)

History of kitesurfing
History of kitesurfing - perhaps someone could write up a brief history of the sport from Cory Roeseler's original rigid-fram 'KiteSki' (sp?) to the modern foil kites and international sport we know today...

Associations - Also, I'm from Western Australia so I only know about AKSA/WAKSA and the IKO, but perhaps somebody else could link other kitesurfing associations?

splintax 07:34, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Nomenclature: Kitesurfing vs. Kiteboarding
Internationally, Kiteboarding is governed by the International Sailing Federation and has been recognized as such by the International Olympic Committee, which I believe is the highest instance regarding such matters. The offical name there is "Kiteboarding" so I would suggest to use the term Kiteboarding instead of Kitesurfing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mschwendtner (talk • contribs) 09:59, 25 February 2011 (UTC)

A few days ago, User:Tfmajor revised a Kiteboarding wikilink on the Boracay page to read Kitesurfing instead. Noting that Wiki has sepaprate pages for Kiteboarding and Kitesurfing, I revised that further to mention both names for the sport.

I am not a KiteBoarding/KiteSurfing person, and I find it confusing to have two names for what is apparently the same sport and to have separate wiki pages for each of the two names. Could these two wiki pages be combined, with the page being located at whichever is the most generally-accepted name for the sport and the link for the alternative name made a redirect link?

Note: This section was posted to talk:Tfmajor, talk:Kitesurfing and talk:Kiteboarding -- Boracay Bill 23:59, 25 July 2006 (UTC)

The two major english language magazines, SBC Kiteboard and Kite Boarding made a deliberate decision in the late 90's to refer to the sport as kiteboarding. It was thought at the time that the term kiteboarding better described the various styles of riding and meshed more closely with the naming of the other action sports of Skateboarding, Wakeboarding, and Snowboarding. Kitesurfing is used primarily in the UK to describe the sport, and has it's roots in windsurfing. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 74.127.244.227 (talk) 12:33, 6 May 2008 (UTC)

All brands & magazines are referencing to this sport as "Kiteboarding". Why wikipedia still sticks to old name? VladGenie (talk) 08:36, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Mad Sport
I just saw this sport for the first time down on Sandymount strand two weeks ago. Six guys were doing it and it looked out of this world! 193.1.172.163 22:10, 20 June 2006 (UTC)

Proposal to rename kitesurfing article to kiteboarding
Hi there,

Looks like there is some confusion about terms for this sport - kiteboarding vs. kitesurfing. Here are my comments:

"Kitesurfing" refers most specifically to riding waves (surfing) on a board and using a kite. This is only a small but growing part of the sport and people don't really differentiate it when they talk about it. "Kiteboarding" refers to riding on a board with a kite, mainly on flat or choppy water. The best reference would be that all the main magazines ("Kiteboarding" by World Publications and "SBC Kiteboard" by SBC Media) use the simple "kiteboarding" terminology. I believe there has actually been editorial written in one of these magazines about this specific topic of the correct name for the sport. Might be worth having someone look into.

---

I agree with you. This page should be renamed to Kiteboarding, it is the correct name for this sport. Kitesurfing is only a part of Kiteboarding sport, meaning techniques of wave surfing with kite. IKO is about kiteboarding, all big gear producers use term kiteboarding. VladGenie (talk) 02:36, 17 May 2010 (UTC)

---

I agree as well. as mentioned above, internationally, Kiteboarding is governed by the International Sailing Federation and has been recognized as such by the International Olympic Committee, which I believe is the highest instance regarding such matters. The offical name there is "Kiteboarding" so I would suggest to use the term Kiteboarding instead of Kitesurfing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Mschwendtner (talk • contribs) 10:00, 25 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Retain name. Kitesurfing is the term in common usage in Australia now both within the sport and by the general public so I think the article name should be retained. The usage of the term "kiteboarding" as a synonym is mentioned early in the article.  Peter Campbell 12:22, 13 January 2014 (UTC)

Categories
I've added the categories Extreme sports, as well as water and air sports as all three seem obvious after watching some people doing this in Rio. Pejorative.majeure 22:19, 24 November 2006 (UTC)

Parasurfing
Parasurfing redirects to Kiteboarding. If individuals are using stylized parachutes and not kites, shouldn't that be included as an alternative name, esp. if the redirect is already there? Nowhere in the article is the word "parasurfing" mentioned, nor is even a parachute included as part of the equipment that can be used. Pejorative.majeure 22:19, 24 November 2006 (UTC)


 * You might consider the type of kite used because some are similar in construction to a parafoil (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kitesurfing#Foil_kites), other are not. To say they are the same is a horrible over generalisation. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 58.7.141.137 (talk) 09:22, 20 January 2007 (UTC).

List of kitesurfing locations
The list is getting rather long for the already long main article. I suggest we move it to a stand-alone list article linked from here. Dhaluza 12:24, 9 January 2007 (UTC)


 * I agree. A separate article would work for this. Peter Campbell 00:29, 10 January 2007 (UTC)

NOTE - The Category:Kitesurfing locations I recently created to catalogue locations has been listed for deletion. You can vote or comment on this here. This means the newly created Kitesurfing locations article may also get deleted, unless editors vote to keep it. Peter Campbell 07:01, 21 January 2007 (UTC)

Content requiring reworking
The following content has been removed from the article pending reworking. The content is copied from a website and much of it duplicates what is already in the article. In addition, peacock terms are included. Peter Campbell 22:40, 2 February 2007 (UTC)

Reasons for kite surfing
Kite surfing as one of the fastest and most recent growing extreme water sport in the world is becoming safer due to improvements in kite design, safety release systems and training. Kite surfing methods are being constantly enhanced and so with the gear and equipment which are developed continuously seeing that this sport continues to gain popularity. There are a variety of reasons why people go kite surfing. Below is a list why increasing numbers of individual are getting engrossed in this sport :
 * Wind surfing, Wakeboarding, Surfing and Kite flying all rolled into one. It’s like doing various kinds of outdoor activities at one time!
 * Kite Surfing is an exciting outdoor activity. The sky is the limit so to speak!
 * It can be done essentially on available open large bodies of water and dependable steady winds. It can be both practiced along the shores and on large lakes and rivers likewise.
 * Learning how to kitesurf is easier and takes less time than learning the basics of Wind Surfing.
 * Major seaside cities offer courses on Kite Surfing as it continuously attract aspiring participants. There are also clubs for all kite surfers. Likewise, many tropical destinations are following suit.
 * People go Kite Surfing but for strong person with the right dedication this water sport can prove to be a fun and an incredibly exciting sport.

-- It shoud have not deleted in the first place... You should have at least edited it, if in conformance to your judgement is true. It seems that you know what is opt to do then. You should have edited for further expansion and edition... The information listed is not really bad. It only needs revision. We both know for a fact that the information was placed because of a purpose? And not to be just judged and removed.... Reader contributor 07:01, 15 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The content in question should not have been added as it is a direct copy from a website, which is not allowed, and was not referenced either. Some is also opinion and quite a lot duplicates content already in the article.  Please refer to WP:NOR, WP:CITE and WP:COPYVIO policies/guidelines on article content.  Regarding external links, please review WP:EL.  WP:Attribution and WP:What Wikipedia is not are also relevant.   --Peter Campbell 09:14, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

How-to and 2nd person
The article contains a lot of how-to content, which is not permitted on Wikipedia. Also, there are a lot of 2nd person "you" references, which are also inappropriate. Recent edits have made this problem worse, instead of better. Dhaluza 04:53, 4 February 2007 (UTC)


 * Someone needs to bite the bullet and shift the "howto" content to Wikibooks. The current form of section of the article will encourage more of the same. Peter Campbell 11:41, 4 February 2007 (UTC)

I have made a start on removing the "you" references in the article. When this has been done, will look into moving the how-to sections out and clearing up the tag. Richard Thompson (Talk! | Contribs) 08:46, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

Dangers and safety
Hallo Peter, with my contribution I would like to enlarge the area of the 2-linekites (beginnerkites) and point out to a security breach not considered by the supplier of a 2-linekites: A 2-linekite which can modify into a 4-linekite, has 3 attachment points on each kitetip. The attachment points are not visually different. Own tests have shown that the kite, if the attachment is different on each kitetip, cannot be controlled as expected. Because the range of the kitetips, which can be changed any time, a warning sign should be added at the kite or in the instructions to avoid accidents. The pilot will check the attachment before kiting and can be sure that the kite flies well. I like to add even further details to the flight behaviour of a dejusted kite. My question now, do I have to start a new report or may I add my experiences into the above one? Anja —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kiteroulette (talk • contribs).


 * Anja/Kiteroulette, what you may be valid, but Wikipedia has a policy of no original research WP:NOR so including the type of content you mention is not appropriate in this article or elsewhere. All content added should include and external reference and/or citation to ensure it is worthy of inclusion.  You could try posting your content on a kiteboarding community forum.  Peter Campbell 00:41, 12 February 2007 (UTC)

Better yet post it on my "how-to" Wiki over at http://www.how2kitesurf.homeip.net - Its looking for content!

Hallo Peter, may I write following: A 2-linekite, which is convertible into a 4-linekite, has 3 attachment points in the range of the kite tips. The attachment points are not visually different. A different combination of the attachment causes a uncontrollable flightbehaviour.

'cause I have made the experience, I do have the copyright. Till now, the bad flightbehaviours of a dejusted kite were not published. With my contribution I would like to make use of my right and publish these now.


 * Kiteroulette, content added to Wikipedia requires an appropriate citation. Original research is not permitted.  Please check your content meets this criteria.  If it does, it can be added.  Peter Campbell 09:47, 3 March 2007 (UTC)

When will you publish my article? Do I have to publish first the technical report of an engineering office? Do I have to send it via e-mail. The technical report states the problem with a 2-linekite. Maybe I have to create a homepage which show this technical report? I really don't know. Please give me some advice. Anja —Preceding unsigned comment added by Kiteroulette (talk • contribs) 16:30, 21 March 2008 (UTC)

The board leash is a dangerous piece of equipment. I would suggest to remove it from the list of equipment items. It is not important and in fact dangerous to use a board leash and removing it from this page will contribute to the safety of the sport. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.173.246.125 (talk) 22:41, 10 October 2011 (UTC)

Snowkiting image
I have shifted the snowkiting image recently added to this artile to the snowkiting article Peter Campbell 01:17, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

External link - xKiting.com, please comment on inclusion
The following external link has been added (by IP address edits and User: SurfboYbe and removed several times from the article:


 * xkiting.com - Kiteboarding Tools!

It appears to be semi-commercial to me - at least as a directory of sellers.

Opinions on whether this is worthy of inclusion please (e.g. support, oppose):


 * The site does seem commercial, although includes information on kites. I would oppose the inclusion of this link - Richard Thompson 09:30, 6 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Commercial sites are sites different from xkiting.com. Do you see any money-making involved in xkiting.com? Nobody is earning money or making money with it. The site is made for information about kiteboarding products. Does return some news, video's,... and many more tools in the future. Commerce comprises the trading of something of economic value, this is not the case with xkiting. Xkiting gives information. Support..


 * Oppose. The content is very light, and there is a commercial directory as part of the site. I think some relevant policy links are WP:NOT and WP:NOT (advertising). Peter Campbell 22:30, 6 March 2007 (UTC)


 * The information on the site is limited, seems to me to be a start up website looking to push visitors their way. Although the site may not be directly commercial, the link inclusion would seem to be a soapbox.  If the content of the site improves there may be good reason for it to be included in the article, but at this time my opinion of inclusion is still the same. - Richard Thompson 10:49, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Here is another revelant policy reference: WP:EL External link guidelines  --Peter Campbell 03:49, 9 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Exclude I had the same reservations that this was a semi-commercial site primarily aimed at product info, not kiteboarding info. Dhaluza 10:55, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * You should really take a look at what commerial sites are. Dhaluza here above says it's product info, well what is commercial at that? Do you see a 'buy here' button? Do you see (google) advertising on the site? So I'll repeat, there's no money making involved in this site. It's made for information only (and other tools). People here are working hard in their free time to make a site like this for the kiteboarders, and you all just support it like this, very nice. Commercial says business, xkiting is not a business. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SurfboYbe (talk • contribs).


 * Wikipedia is not about support for your site. As your site stands, with little content, there is no usefulness for it to be included as a link.  If the site improves its content then there may be good reason to include it.  If you want to increase awearness and get more content, from users, for your site I would suggest using kitesurfing forums to create interest.  You will need to prove to people that your site has enough useful information on the topic if you want them to vote to keep your link.  Peter makes mention of WP:NOT which is more where your site falls at this time. - Richard Thompson 11:37, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * From Xkiting.com - For Companies - "We are the searchengine for kiteboarding companies! Register your company and choose what information you want to be published of your company. After your registration you will be able to login and manage your account using our advanced admin area. It's made perfectly for your company to promote products. Add and edit kites, boards and accessoires. If there's something you would like more to have in our admin area, you just have to ask us and we will add it as soon as possible!". This is clearly a promotional and marketing service site, which I think makes it unsuitable for Wikipedia.  Not detracting from your good efforts in creating this, it is just not encyclopaedic. Peter Campbell 11:53, 7 March 2007 (UTC)

ok —The preceding unsigned comment was added by SurfboYbe (talk • contribs).

'Wikipedian kitesurfers' category created
I have just created the Category:Wikipedian kitesurfers for Wikipedians to add to their userpages. You can use by adding   to the bottom of your user page, or add    to your user page to display the userbox and add the category. --Peter Campbell 13:50, 9 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Thank you, been waiting for this - Richard Thompson 14:23, 9 March 2007 (UTC)

Board Grabs


I have created a diagram showing board grabs and the different names for each grab, shown above. The image is SVG and I release it for anyone to make use of/change to make it better/informative. How do people feel about inclusion in the article? 17:40, 13 March 2007 (UTC)

--I see no harm once this image is used... I have personally reviewed and tried as what is shown on your diagram. Reader contributor 06:56, 15 March 2007 (UTC)


 * With no further disagreement I will include this in the article at some point to day. I am going to create a new section under techniques called Board Grabs.  Although in the future it may be advisable to create a subcategory tricks and then include information on board grabs, kite loops and unhooked tricks etc.  09:14, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Information has now been added to the main article, any problems please discus/let me know - 15:15, 15 March 2007 (UTC)

Links - Other non Commercial
The other non commercial links needs to be addressed, I feel. There are now a lot of links that I feel would be better suited on the Kitesurfing locations article rather than the main article. Any comments? Richard Thompson (Talk! | Contribs) 07:55, 27 March 2007 (UTC)

I have now moved the links to the Kitesurfing locations article. Richard Thompson (Talk! | Contribs) 08:33, 28 March 2007 (UTC)

HangGliderHistory has just been added to the article - it doesn't have much content on kitesurfing at all so I think it should go. Any other thoughts on this? Peter Campbell 23:49, 18 January 2008 (UTC)

Lots of .com links in this section, as at March 16 2008 the .com and.co sites, with my suggestions, are:
 * sbckiteboard.com - Buyers' Guide, gear tests, travel, instruction and breaking news.


 * kitesurf-varna.com - Links Directory 1000s Photos and Video
 * REMOVED: already in Kitesurfing locations article


 * Kite-stuff.org - Home building kite stuff site.
 * REMOVED, not notable


 * iKiteboarding.com - Kiteboarding articles, pictures and news.
 * Remove; some commercial content (travel, lessons etc)


 * Document on KiteSurf (in French)
 * REMOVED; not much content and limited value to english wiki


 * KiteSpot.gr - Greek kitesurfing locations, news, gallery and forum.
 * Shift Kitesurfing locations as is country specific


 * www.kitesurfers.co.nz - Wellington, New Zealand, gallery, locations.
 * Shift to Kitesurfing locations as is location specific


 * www.seabreeze.com.au - Australian kitesurfing news, weather and gallery.
 * Shift to Kitesurfing locations as is location specific


 * Outer Banks Kiteboarding - Information on Kiteboarding on the Outer Banks.
 * Shift to Kitesurfing locations as is location specific blog


 * Extreme-sports - Lithuanian kitesurfing, windsurfing, snowboarding news, weather, forum, locations and gallery.
 * REMOVED; not specific to kitesurfing


 * SurferToday.com - Kitesurfing news provider.
 * REMOVED; commercial and not specific to kiteboarding


 * HangGliderHistory -Kitesurfing, Kiteboarding, KiteJumping timeline inclusion as kitesurfing includes large sectors of hang gliding.
 * REMOVED: nothing about kitesurfing (could be cited in text, but not a general resource


 * kitesurfing.com.au Sydney, Australia area daily kitesurfing weather forecasts, kitesurfing news, photo galleries and and other kitesurfing related information.
 * Shift to Kitesurfing locations as is country specific


 * KiteboardingReview.com - Online kite reviews and discussions.
 * REMOVED; very light on for content and numerous links to commercial sites

Peter Campbell 07:15, 16 March 2008 (UTC)

External link to www.kiteboardingreview.com
A link to http://www.kiteboardingreview.com/ has recently been re-added twice. While this site is notionally non-commercial I note that one manufacturer has provided a prize for a competition on the site and reviews for their kites figure prominently. I don't think there is much significant content on the site, and there are numerous commercial links on it. Can editors please indicate whether they support or oppose inclusion of this external link? Peter Campbell 23:38, 31 March 2008 (UTC)


 * I support the inclusion of the site http://www.kiteboardingreview.com/. Firstly, content within the site is meaningful and relevant to kitesurfing, however, not suitable for inclusion in the article, such as reviews and interviews. Therefore it should be included, as recommended by the Wikipedia External Links reference. I have been searching the internet for kite reviews for months and this site is the best at this point in time. I do not believe this site is commercial in nature. The fact that 'featured kite' positions have been offered in exchange for prizes should not be viewed as 'commercial' since no profits are made by the website. Mick auf (talk) 00:00, 10 April 2008 (UTC)
 * Note that the link to this site has now been re-added again by Mick auf. I am waiting for other opinions on whether it should be included. Peter Campbell 13:22, 12 April 2008 (UTC)

Additional section needed "Kiteboarding styles"
Different styles of kiteboarding are developed. I think they difference is necessary to understand for everyone, who is interested in kiteboarding. They are also important to understand before buying new equipment, which is one of the most basic question with all newcomers to sport.


 * Freeride. Most of riders are starting from this style — just riding back and forth. All locations and equipment are good for this style. Twintip boards and kites with best relaunch and widest wind range are used most.
 * Wave-riding. As name suggests, spots with wave break are required to do wave riding. Most of riders use directional boards (with straps or strapless) with bow/delta kites. Basic move is to make carving turns on top and bottom of the wave. Kite pull is used less, since power of wave is enough to surf it. Many surfers prefer this style, since it resembles Tow-in surfing. Some riders do it unhooked after reaching the wave to minimize distance to Surfing.
 * Freestyle/Old-school. This style usually means high jumps hooked-in with rotations, grabs and board-offs. All types of kites and boards are used, as all types of spots.
 * Newschool/Wake-style. Crossover from Wakeboarding, newschool riders perform unhooked tricks and handlepasses. Flat water is perfect for this style, use of big twintip boards with high rocker and wake booties is very common. Most technically difficult style, usually practiced by young riders.
 * Kiteloops/Megaloops. Rides of this style like to jump high and then perform kiteloop while in the air. Kiteloops allows riders to generate enormous amount of pull and speed. Kiteloop is called megaloop, when it's performed with kite as low as rider itself. Ruben Lenten is most popular rider of this style. Most of kiteloop kiters do it on short lines and small kites. C-kites and twintip boards are most common here.

These styles are buried in Terminology right now and can't be extracted from there. They are important, since wakeboarder or surfer could start kiteboarding because he understands, that we could do almost the same things with kiteboarding.

VladGenie (talk) 09:08, 26 January 2012 (UTC)
 * VladGenie, good idea. I agree some more information on styles would be good to include.


 * My suggestions are:


 * * Wave riding - Riding big surf with a directional board
 * * Freestyle - Anything goes. This style also used for competitive events and is free-format and "go anywhere".  Involves technically using the board and the kite to get height enabling the kiter to do big jumps, rotations, board offs and other tricks.
 * * Freeride - Freeride is anything that you want it to be and the most popular aspect of the sport. Most boards sold today are designed for freeride. It’s about having fun and learning new techniques.
 * * Wakestyle - Tricks and aerials, using a wake-style board with bindings. May also include tricks and jumps involving ramps.
 * * Course racing - Events - like a yacht race along a course, involving both speed and tactics.
 * * Speed - Speed events and records, often at special locations. A special directional board is used that longer that a twin-tip and has much bigger fins.
 * * Downwinders - Going long distances downwind; less edging required. A subset of Freeride.
 * * Jumping - Getting air; or with kiteloops, big air. Also includes various aerial tricks.   A subset of Freestyle riding.
 * * Wakeskate - Similar to wakestyle but with a wakeskate board
 * * Kite Cross - Racing style that is a crossover discipline between the various kiteboarding styles. It is designed to bring the action close to the beach and right in front of the crowds and media with an easy to understand KO elimination system.  Courses are generally based around downwind or figure-eight slalom courses.


 * Reference: http://kitesurfing-handbook.peterskiteboarding.com/kitesurfing-styles


 * We could work on refining/combining these lists. What is the source of the content you suggest?
 * Peter Campbell 11:17, 26 January 2012 (UTC)

Peter, I've written this text myself. I know about No_original_research policy, but can we find "peer-reviewed journals; books published by university presses; university-level textbooks; magazines, journals, and books published by respected publishing houses; and mainstream newspapers" about kiteboarding styles? Maybe some magazines have done review of styles, we can do some research.

Tell me, if discussion on kiteforum.com could be such "peer-reviewed" source. I could start that discussion to determine styles, that will suit most kiters.

Regarding your proposed section, I wouldn't include competition-only styles like Course racing, Speed and Kite Cross, since none of kiteboarders are doing it on a regular basis. Also Jumping and Downwinders are subsets of other styles, but I think that keeping it short is important here. I would include only distinct styles. That is why Speed/Racing/Course race style should be included, because it has distinct gear and people involved into it.

Also it could be good idea to tell, where people from other sports should look to.

Also, looks like pages like this exist, even there are no reliable sources about performing ollie trick :)

VladGenie (talk) 11:36, 27 January 2012 (UTC)


 * I agree that keeping styles section simple is the go. But I don't think Kiteloops/Megagloops is a style - rather they are subsets of jumping. Also "newschool" and "oldschool" are not in common usage.  Course racing and Speed are different in terms of events and gear.  Otherwise, I think it is good to go.


 * Regarding references, we just go with the best we can get. There would be very few peer reviewed sources.  Magazines and official website are OK, while forum posts are not really appropriate.


 * Peter Campbell 02:25, 27 February 2012 (UTC)

numbers
I had a debate with User:KiteAnalyst on the number of kitesurfers. After reading the ISAF Kiteboarding Format Trials Report, I replaced the 250000 figure cited in a North sails brochure by the 1.5M cited in the ISAF report. User:KiteAnalyst reverted it a few days later explaining : "The source for your update (ISAF Kiteboarding Format Trials report) does not offer a credible source for those figures". I reverted again with : "The International Sailing Federation is the international body reviewing kitesurfing for the olympics. You won't get a much more more credible source than this one."

He then added the phrase "These figures, however, have not yet been independently verified" labelled "Added disclaimer to 2nd paragraph. The source of those figures is not ISAF but the IKA, a promotional/lobby association for kitesurfing". Thinking it was a bit harsh (but partly true), I changed the phrase to a more balanced formulation : "the number of kitesurfers not yet reviewed has been estimated by the ISAF and IKA". The writers of the report are: Kamen Fillyov - Chairman of the ISAF Windsurfing & Kiteboarding Committee, Bruno de Wannemaeker - ISAF Equipment Committee, Michael Gebhardt - Olympic Windsurfer and professional Kiteboarder, Markus Schwendtner - Executive Secretary, International Kiteboarding Association. 2 ISAF, 1 IKA. Not really blinded lobbyists.

I agree that's a large number, but it seems more realistic than 250000 : in France alone, there is 25000 licenses in the biggest federation, mainly for students, and on the spots there is one in ten people with a license, so there is pehaps 200000 kiteboarders. France should be a quarter of Europe (UK : another quarter, north sea : another quarter, latin europe : another quarter), so it could be 800000 kitesurfers in Europe, half the world. Wild guess for me, but the ISAF/IKA should have asked national federations for estimations, they could be very close to the reality. --Marc Lacoste (talk) 10:19, 5 November 2012 (UTC)


 * Hello Marc, I agree with your revision - I just edited it for grammar (respectfully). I hope you don't mind. The problem with the report you're citing is that it's at the center of some controversy at ISAF at the moment. Despite the pedigree of the authors, the figures in it are not sourced. I tried to look for third-party validation of those figures, and I cannot find any. Apparently, no one has done a credible market study of the sport in the past 6 years (the figures you quoted at first). Several industry manufacturers are on record saying that they have no idea of the size of the market, or the production volumes of their competitors. I agree that today's figures are probably closer to 1.5 million than 250000, but without a good source, it was prudent to do the revision we did. User:KiteAnalyst 12:42, 8 November 2012 (UTC)


 * This formulation, "These figures, however, have not yet been independently verified", is putting such credibility stress that it's very close to "those numbers are a wild guess by incompetent people". We don't have other numbers than those, and they are perfectly credible until proved otherwise. The dispute is mainly from the olympic windsurfing people, who wants to minimize kitesurfing impact. (from my humble perspective, on the spots I see 1 windsurfer for 5 to 10 kites now. windsurfers are fleeing to kitesurf : smaller package, easier to learn, and now cheaper) --Marc Lacoste (talk) 18:14, 8 November 2012 (UTC)

a grammar question
Hi! I have a couple of questions. In the sentence "Leading edge inflatable kites, known also as inflatables, LEI kites or C-kites, are typically made from ripstop polyester with an inflatable plastic bladder that spans the front edge of the kite with separate smaller bladders that are perpendicular to the main bladder to form the chord or foil of the kite." - what exactly forms the chord or foil? The smaller bladders? Or both the smaller and the main bladders? And is chord synonymous to foil? -- C opper K ettle  13:37, 29 October 2014 (UTC)

well we found the black box sorry go to the sit www.bbc.com — Preceding unsigned comment added by 109.78.139.156 (talk) 17:37, 24 March 2015 (UTC)

opening section
It should contain relationship with kitesurfing. Setenzatsu (talk) 16:37, 13 April 2019 (UTC)

Man-lifting kites?
Do Kiteboards really count as man-lifting kites? There is a discussion on this at Talk:Man-lifting kite. &mdash; Cheers, Steelpillow (Talk) 17:58, 27 August 2020 (UTC)

Safety statistics & newer gear
I added a citation needed tag to the comment on newer gear being safer. While it seems true, a reference/source would be useful. And without a source, how do we know it's true? Twasonasummersmorn (talk) 01:18, 3 January 2023 (UTC)

Le kitesurfing, un sport d'amour et de passion.
''Je me nomme Alexine et je suis étudiante à l'université de Montréal, je souhaite à travers ce texte vous partager ma passion, le kitesurfing. C'est un sport nautique palpitant qui combine la puissance du vent avec la grâce de la glisse sur l'eau. Les adeptes de ce sport sont souvent captivés par la sensation de liberté que ce sport permet de procurer. La sensation de se laisser porter par les vagues tout en étant propulsé par une aile est époustouflante. Comme Ernest Hemingway l'a si bien écrit dans "Le Vieil Homme et la Mer", le kitesurfing incarne parfaitement l'idée que "l'homme n'est pas fait pour être un animal de somme, mais pour voler comme un oiseau. Le kitesurfing a évolué au fil des décennies pour devenir un sport à part entière, avec ses propres compétitions et communautés passionnées. Les riders se servent d'une planche de surf spéciale et d'une aile de kite pour se propulser à des vitesses impressionnantes. Le contrôle de l'aile est essentiel, car il détermine la trajectoire et la vitesse du rider. Les figures aériennes et les sauts spectaculaires sont courants, offrant un spectacle visuel époustouflant pour les spectateurs. Le kitesurfing ne se limite pas à la performance, il permet également une connexion profonde avec la nature. Glisser sur l'eau, ressentir la brise marine et observer le monde sous-marin à travers une eau cristalline crée une harmonie entre l'homme et la mer. Comme John Masefield l'a exprimé dans son poème "Sea-Fever", les kitesurfers partent "vers l'horizon, pour le large et le vaste ciel", explorant l'inconnu tout en s'émerveillant devant la majesté de l'océan." Cependant, il est important de noter que le kitesurfing est un sport exigeant qui nécessite une formation adéquate pour garantir la sécurité. C'est un sport extreme ou c'est la nature qui choisit. Les riders doivent être conscients des conditions météorologiques, des courants marins et de l'équipement qu'ils utilisent. Comme le disait Mark Twain, "La connaissance est la seule chose qui soit capable de vous sauver dans ce monde, et la seule chose qui peut vous couler."'' Alexinecuoq (talk) 15:01, 3 November 2023 (UTC)