Hey Sailors,

Issue #1
Insurance brings up two things:
One for the sellers and users, to be sure, but another for the casual bystander.
Imagine a newbie with a "trainer" gets out-of-control and smacks someone.
Who's responsible?
What insurance company will just stand-up, do the right thing, and pay?
They're in the business to make money, not pay.
That's where it gets dicey.

Issue #2
Problem with a phone-list of those willing to teach tractions kiting is that willingness isn't a skill.
Doing something is not the same as being able to teach others to do it.
There is a responsibility to impart more than basic do-this/do-that.
Understanding the context we play in is as important as how to rig.

I have used the idea that learning to fly the kite first, before a board or buggy enters the picture, as a way to cull the herd.
Lots of folks want, but fewer want to learn how.
If they're unwilling to invest their time in the field, I figure I am ultimately wasting my time.
After they've bothered to build some kite skills, then I offer to help the transition to the "moving anchor" and the specifics of their traction.

I am hearing from too many who have seen the images of kite traction and want that ride.
Too bad "want" isn't the prime skill needed.

Then... through the haze and dust... a select few find the wind.
They become our brothers and sisters.

Actually, I like the way that works.


Safen Up! Buggy On!

"Often wrong... Never in doubt"

the coreylama

In the outer banks NC at kitty hawk kites, they dont have free lessons, they are actually quite pricy but they have any were from just useing a kite to advanced water lessons and they are all PASA certified but it is a large company that i spread all acrossed the outer banks so, they mostly want $ but they are good lessons but i dont really know if they are worth it, i was pretty good with a kite but i still tryed the land coruse (kite control) and then i took a privte lesson since they dont give landboarding lessons only kite controll and water lessons

Quote:

Quote: Originally posted by coreykite Hey Sailors, Issue #1 Insurance brings up two things: One for the sellers and users, to be sure, but another for the casual bystander. Imagine a newbie with a "trainer" gets out-of-control and smacks someone. Who's responsible? What insurance company will just stand-up, do the right thing, and pay? They're in the business to make money, not pay. That's where it gets dicey. An insurance program like we are speaking of will normally have a few components.... 1) Accident/ Injury policy. That's what covers the newbie with the trainer. 2) Genaral liability. That's what takes care of the bystander that gets smacked. Also property damage. 3) the ability to issue certificates for additional insured. Tha would be to cover the 3rd party property owner where the event took place. There is often a per-certificate fee involoved. That is not to say there aren't any remaining "gotchas"- you really do have to read the fine print and make sure you meet the conditions. Quote: Issue #2 Problem with a phone-list of those willing to teach tractions kiting is that willingness isn't a skill. Doing something is not the same as being able to teach others to do it. There is a responsibility to impart more than basic do-this/do-that. Understanding the context we play in is as important as how to rig. I have used the idea that learning to fly the kite first, before a board or buggy enters the picture, as a way to cull the herd. Lots of folks want, but fewer want to learn how. If they're unwilling to invest their time in the field, I figure I am ultimately wasting my time. After they've bothered to build some kite skills, then I offer to help the transition to the "moving anchor" and the specifics of their traction. I am hearing from too many who have seen the images of kite traction and want that ride. Too bad "want" isn't the prime skill needed. Then... through the haze and dust... a select few find the wind. They become our brothers and sisters. Actually, I like the way that works. Good points. Culling the herd is good when identifying trainers. A properly constructed and executed certification program will do this. A group of subject matter experts (such as yourself) identify a list of key skills that a candidate must posess and be able to demonstrate. Sure there is some subjectivity, but generally it provides the vetting you speak of. I have seen this done effectively in other sports related training and certification programs. Safen Up! Buggy On! "Often wrong... Never in doubt" the coreylama

I like the phone list idea a lot. I also agree that it's important to teach a person the theory and basics of safety BEFORE they get a shot at it. Sometimes a person will come along and with very little instruction be off and flying very well. They aren't taught the right way to launch ( from the side ) , safety zones and such things because we just sort of introduced them to the kite and they were off. Allowing us to fly ourselves and sort of forget about them. Or tell them how great they are doing. If they just ape us I'm ashamed to admitt that they will see mostly bad practices. Especially around launching, landing and safety zones.

Hey Jake,

Very interested in talking to Chris, We've got to get some sort of recognized structure set up in North America for Buggies/ATB's. As it it, I'm looking into flying over to the UK to be trained over there, but even then I'm not sure if the NA insurance companies will consider it valid training. If there's a way to get certified in NA, I'd be all over that. Please help hook a brother up.

Paul B.