Where is kiting going?

Hello everyone! Hope you all are getting out and getting your kite fixes in. The cooler weather is on its way. I would like your opinion. Where do you think kiting is going? How do you think it will get there? What can the average flyer do? What can the kite retailer do? What can the kite suppliers and manufactures do? We all want to share our passion with others. How do we do this. I do we get the word out? What do you think? Thanks in advance for your opinions! All of them matter. Have a great weekend!

I tend to agree with you on this. I dabble a bit with everything, to the point that I'm not really Good at any one aspect, but simply enjoy them all. (wish I could buggy better tho;-( Overall, I think that the more well rounded a flier is, the better they will be in a chosen field of kiteing... if that makes any sense.

Mikey luvs ya!!

I suppose you're american so maybe you don't know about this, but half the world is actually having warmer weather on its way...

Yep, the world is a round thing,

Wim.

(dunno where kiting is going though)

My kiting am going up to the beach for the weekend

How I think it will be going there by veedub bus

What can the average flyer do? It can do some tricks, and crash buggies

Sorry....no sarcasm intended...just couldn't resist it

and for those who have nothing better to look forward to than the long boring days of summer, I feel for you, and will be thinking of you as I scramble to make best use of the limited daylight, enjoying the fall colors, the crispness in the air, the better overall responsiveness of a kite on a nice cold day, the beauty of a fresh snow, the wide open expanses of a large frozen lake, and, and, and... As I think I've mentioned many times before... I Enjoy flying in the cold.

Mikey luvs ya!!

Indoors :^)

WT

I wasn't into kite flying in the 'good old days' when I am told interest was higher, so don't know where kiteing is coming from, much less where it is going. I do know that the number of flyers on our local field is down from a few years back because I used to see them there when I drove past, blissfully unknowing. I also know that the number of competitors in local competitions is so slim that prizes are not infrequently awarded just for showing up, and that spectator interest is practically nil. I contrast the latter with what I saw recently at the Bristol festival in England where the spectator crowd was not only huge, but also willing to pay the equivalent of USD 7.50 per car to get in. The event was so popular that the Auto Club went to the trouble of posting all of the highways (carrageways) and roads for miles around with directional signs showing how to get there.

I certainly do not agree that the solution is to offer cash prizes as an incentive to compete. If you need to be paid to come out and fly then you are not in it for the fun and the sport as everyone today is, by default.

Attracting more people, both competitors and spectators, seems to be the key but I don't really know how to do that. One way might be promoting awareness, which like anything else probably means more advertising, promotional TV events, and that sort of thing. And where is the money for that to come from? I think that the first answer has to be from the people that make the profits, which are the manufacturers and dealers. (I can hear them now asking 'What profits?'. A successful promotional campaign would ideally attract enough interest to grow the sport, possibly to the point that event fees could be charged (as at Bristol) to raise even more money for more advertising leading to more growth. It could be a rolling snowball kind of thing, but it has to start somewhere.

Before you buy.

I'm hoping that if we are seeing a decline it is only in a small portion of the sport (competition) and not overall. The materials, quality of manufacturer and designs of today's kites is hands-down improved over what was available during the 'hey-days'. When I started I could go to a Kligs-Kites located near the beach and talk with a knowledgeable kite flyer who could give me advice and tips. Now all the Kligs are located in special tourist oriented malls and you have to wade through a ton of 'wind things' and furry tails making noise in a paper sack to get to a minuscule display of yesterdays technology or low end kites. I may have to change my spring vacation plans from S. Carolina to N. Carolina to get close to a decent kite store!

I don't think cash prizes are necessarily an incentive to compete, at least the way things stand today, but they are most assuredly an incentive to promote. Pursed events traditionally attract more interest from spectators, command more attention with the media and generally are considered by local civic leaders to be far more 'grand' events than your basic small local trophied tournament.

Let's play a game called what if that illustrates this. . .

Joe Kite Event Organizer gets Red Lobster to host a pursed Sport Kite Open on the beach at Clearwater, Florida. It is in Red Lobster's best interest that this event would receive lots of radio/television/print exposure since they have real $$$ invested. They promote it at all their regional stores. The organizer works with RL's marketing dept. to make sure that the event gets lots of media coverage via press release, interviews and constant hounding (hehehe).

There's quite a buzz going on now...so other sponsors jump in since they figure if Red Lobster is involved it must be something pretty hot...so here comes Gatorade & Sunglass Hut with co-sponsorships.

Now this event is looking mighty fine...three major sponsors, maybe some good looking chicks in swimsuits doing a Miss Ripstop Beauty Contest. Throw in some live music, a clambake on the beach, a dozen or so vendors, demo fields....sounds like a pretty nice party, doesn't it?

Here comes Fox saying, this looks like a serious gig, let's give it coverage on our local affliate sports channel. All of a sudden sport kiting is looking mighty fine on television.

Are competitors going to be in short supply? Nah, this is too cool of a comp to not come and give it a go. So, I think it's safe to say that cash/prizes are incentive to compete - if not directly.

Now imagine if you will that 5 or 6 regional events like this one take place annually at various locales all over the states. Pursed events using local resources/media. If they keep it going, building on it by exchanging information amonst each other, I think that in only a few years, there might be enough collectively gathered clout to be able to approach a major sponsor to host the first '*insert corporations' name* International Sport Kite Open' which would be for the big bucks at some cool locale.

Poof, before ya know it we have ourselves a professional sport kite circuit that would get a modest share of national media exposure.

Would the numbers swell in AKA comps? Don't know - but with some agressive promotion by the AKA I would suggest that some immediately visible growth would be appreciated. Over time, with a strong AKA presence at each of these opens, encouraging membership and participation in AKA's trophied events [as a ladder to the professional circuit] - well, it could end up being a beautiful relationship that would benefit both.

But Hunter you asked where is kiting going. I'll answer to sport kiting only.

I think sport kiting on a national level is still blindly driving around, fumbling in the glove compartment searching for a map, refusing to stop at the gas station to ask for directions. On a regional/grassroots level, it's already almost halfway there & doesn't even know it. I guess a better question would be 'do we want kiting to arrive?' I wonder about that sometimes...

Yea!! Now we are looking like a major surfing competition. Way to think Ellen! You looking to be written in as a candidate for AKA president?

Before you buy.

Here I come again, a voice from the past. When I helped produce the early kite events in San Francisco and in Wildwood, there where cash prizes. Not just little ones but quite generous one. Then when I was asked by the Long Beach WA City Manager to produce the first NW event, there were also cash prizes. After the first year it was apparent that the return just wasn't there. The return meaning tourists interested in spending their money by coming to view these exciting events. To this day, there have been no more thrilling events than those produced in Diamond Head in Hawaii, Marina Green, in San Francisco and Wildwood in New Jersey. What's gone wrong? The people who put their lives aside to make these events happen just burned out or lost a whole lot to make it happen. Who is going to pay for those purses? Manufacturers? Many did but the hands just kept coming out for more and more. Most manufacturers and retailers are too small to sustain the amounts it takes to market such events. Marketing is the key, and also costs the most. The ideas you put forth are not so new, it's the action that makes things happen, not the talk. A whole new group of competitors are coming up and a whole new spirit is a risin' but all will have to pull the cart. Don't reinvent the wheel, look at what happened before and move forward. Again I say check the records and you will surprised. There is still one among who still carries the torch of passion. Mr. Roger Chewning. Back him up! Kathy Goodwind