Any one have reliable stats on how many kiters AUS and N.Z have compared with roughly 5 years ago?? Be interesting to know how quick or slow our sport is growing..

YEW

The best bit was the sheep joke

Don't question just accept.

Wasn't to many around when i started. 2000

I would love to find a 8.5 Wipika classic and give it ago. Would bring back some bad memories.

No quick release, only depower was to edge hard as possible.

Spent many walk of shame on that old girl.

All I can remember was people saying your mad , ya gunna kill yourself. Come close a few times but still here

Plummet said..

Underoath said...

I'm questioning the validity of this graph. The names aren't even correct for God's sake.

I'd accept either "convicts" or "racists" for west islanders.

Yeah, I hear you guys don't just root the white sheep.

high as a kite said..
Wasn't to many around when i started. 2000

I would love to find a 8.5 Wipika classic and give it ago. Would bring back some bad memories.

No quick release, only depower was to edge hard as possible.

Spent many walk of shame on that old girl.

All I can remember was people saying your mad , ya gunna kill yourself. Come close a few times but still here

I've got a 5m Airush that's was cloned from the Wipika Classic. (2-line/4-line convertible...) Identical in every way except the logos. Still kiteable in 35 knots! Flew it only a couple of years ago and it was just fine!

Remember all those delamination problems? We should've just not fussed. The surface comes off and peels away and it just keeps flying!

Water relaunch? No problem! In 35 knots, hits the water, rolls over and immediately relaunches! Remember drifting around in the water for 30 minutes trying to get those 12m 4-lines to drift across the wind after they went down then finessing it to tip up so you could re-launch? Then, of course, it would always tip over and you'd have to start all over again!De-power? Who needs it? Low aspect and lots of hard edging! If it weren't so darned dangerous, everyone should be required to learn to kite on one of those just so they'd realise how bloody difficult it was back then!

This is the first time I've used google trends, but it looks like kite surfing is on a decline.
https://www.google.com.au/trends/explore#q=kite%20surfing

Australia is following a similar trend to that seen world wide and wind surfing is the same.
https://www.google.com.au/trends/explore#q=kite%20surfing%2C%20wind%20surfing&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT-10

In fact searching for any kite brands sees a similar decline in people googling those brands... I wonder if they're all seeing a decrease in production as well or am I just reading it wrong.

But it all seems to work out, potatoes have been showing up on the internet more frequently lately. Does correlation imply causality?
https://www.google.com.au/trends/explore#q=kite%20surfing%2C%20potatoes&cmpt=q&tz=Etc%2FGMT-10

I reckon Eppos right. Its the noobs who google kitesurfing.

These graphs show new entrants into the sport. Which it would be fair to say has slowed.

Empirically I'd agree, seems to be more. I hope it's decreasing personally, but that's just a selfish wish.

My point is maybe because the sport is well known now, finding information is not as limited. There is always someone around to ask...

Bedtime reading with my son last night, a book he got from the school library, was all about a dude doing various sports (one per chapter) with his friends like BMX racing, etc and one chapter he was going kitesurfing!

Has anybody got any REAL graphs or other information(websites) on kitesurfing participants. (in particular from 2010 till 2016) Need for a uni assignment. Has the kitesurfing growth really stopped?, or are kite surfers just become to stingy to buy new kite equipment?

Hi Chucky49a

I can give you some approximate but real numbers around kiteboarding growth in Australia. In 2012 we had approximately 2000 members and in 2016 we have about 2500 members. This is estimated to be approximately 1/5th of actual kiteboarders in Australia (ie we would estimate in 2012 - 10,000 kiteboarders and in 2016 - 15,000 kiteboarders).

We would obviously like to see the ration of kiteboarders to members grow so we have more insured kiters around the country and more ability to grow and improve services for our sport

Send Kiteboarding Australia (www.kiteboardingaus.com.au) an email at contact@kiteboardingaus.com for more information.

Cheers

GM Kiteboarding Australia Limited