I remember at high-school (yes i did go) Windsurfing was part of school sports.It was on a rotation with catamaran sailing,rockclimbing,gym and something else.....So you had a choice.The worst thing you can do is try and force a sport onto a kid..and it sorts out the ones who actualy want to do it.

I wonder if any schools would be interested in adding it to their list.
Have the perth windsurf hire/schools approched any schools??

Do any yacht clubs in Perth have windsurfing fleets, shortboards, old wallys, longboards or formula? The junior sections of clubs have been great for developing yachties and have excellent programs, coaching, camps and competitions. Is /has anything like this occuring for windsurfers?

Bring back the longboard.
sail anywind condition, anywhere, anytime.....
Get people on the water......school sport etc

watch the sport grow again.....

We have now banned Nintendo and Play station in our house. The kids really complained at first but now have got used to it. We had a PS2 over the christmas holidays and the kids hardly played with it. It is what they get used to.

For once I think Neil is way off the mark. There is no one issue affecting numbers coming to the sport, and it's certainly not a new thing with numbers declining for the last 20 years odd. It is easy for parents to blame computer games for many things but often it's a result of bad parenting right from the start. If you do not get your kids out and active by the time they are 10, then they have no hope from then after as they begin to be heavily influenced by peers thereafter. Not too many kids don't enjoy being out and about, however if it is not an established part of their life why would you expect any different in their teens.

All this crap about not forcing kids to do stuff is BS, it is a case of knowing what is good for them (within reason). Sure they may bitch and moan but IMO they will rarely regret it when they are older. Everyone goes through the same- i'm sure most top athletes have said to their parents a few times they do not want to go training today. I do think increasingly however lifestyle change as a whole has a big influence on the ability of parents to cater for their kids active needs- if mum and dad both work 6-6 monday to friday they are not going to have much time for taking the kids to sport.

Parents are not going to spend over $1000 on something which kids could lose interest in after a week. Computer games are a certainty, buy a console and you've got kids doing something. Focus needs to be put into making the sport accessible, more school based scheme's or windsurfing schools taking advantage of government subsidies for education enrichment.

Wally's being the answer? I disagree with this very much, whilst I acknowledge there is a large wally fan base in windsurfing (and on seabreeze) it is not a visually exciting part of the sport. It has been there from the start and has done nothing to improve numbers on the water (apart from being the beginner board of choice). To prove a point, many schools in Brisbane have a longboard and rig stored away somewhere including the school I went to but they are seldom if ever used.

The anti-couch-potato movement got a bit of a boost today with the release of the appalling stats for diabetes in Aus.

"The biggest threat to Windsurfing is........."
Lack of imagination..

Kids get plonked in front of a TV from an early age. They are not taught to imagine. They do not look at something, and think "I could do that" and if they do, they don't have any of the fundamental building blocks.

I had a sandpit, a creek, a huge grassy hill (that isn't as big now for some reason!) and a lawn. We spent hours as kids digging holes, chasing eels, sliding on cardboard boxes, riding bikes etc.

My young cousins have a TV. They had absolutely no idea what to think when we found an old piece of roofing iron, some rusty nails and a couple of bits of 4x2 and made a kayak with them. Then they didn't want to try it in case they got wet, or got a bit dirty.

The real world is a bit too real for these kids - you can hurt yourself, get wet, get physically tired, and worst of all, you have to make an effort. And then, once someone pushes you into it, and you've gotten over the fact that you suck at it (because you've never tried anything like that before) there's a slight chance that you might enjoy yourself without being prompted by canned audience laughter.

I make a point of taking random kids for a short ride on my windsurfer if it's a light day at the beach (as long as they ask their parents first). I had a queue of kids lined up to have a ride up the beach and back on my mountainboard one afternoon, and despite the fact that I couldn't practice any of the things I was planning to, I was happy to take them all. Why? Because of the chance that a simple gesture might plant a seed in their imagination.

Funnily enough, my parents recently found a box of old stuff in their basement. In it was my first photo album (from when I was 7 and living in Australia). I was as surprised as anyone to see a windsurfer on the cover. Perhaps a seed that was planted at age 7 and took 19 years to grow?

It's pretty hard for kids to go windsurfing when they don't own a car. Do you think you'd still be windsurfing if you had to get your parents to drive you and all your gear and pick you and all your gear up all the time???

I see heaps and heaps... and heaps of kids on those little blade scooters now. They cost $30 and the kids can ride them, or take them on a bus, or fit them in a car easy, whatever, down to the skate park and the parents don't have to drive them.

I was thinking about this the other day. Skateboarding has to be the most accesible sport for kids, which may explain its popularity. A couple of hundred bucks will set you up and as long as it's not raining you can go skating.

Surfing, they can fit on a bus or carry on their bikes. Kiting possibly the same.

I think that's the reason, plus the cost, plus they don't know anyone who windsurfs.

Video games not only affect sports like windsurfing, they affect education and society in general. However they are here to stay.

I agree with Hardie in that technology is not the problem. Technology is the solution. GPS speed sailing is the first step in bringing together windsurfing and consumer electronic gaming.

The Nintendo Wii has shown people are interested in doing more in video games than pressing buttons and twiddling control pads. People want to get immersed in the game physically and mentally. This is similar to windsurfing in that it is an overwhelming experience when you are going for it.

Computer and video games were around when I was a kid and started windsurfing in the mid eighties. Games have progressed incredibly since then however in many ways they are not much more fun to play as they were back then.

Perhaps windsurfing can use video game technology to make down time, when the wind isn't blowing, more exciting. If you could take part in windsurfing activities while at home, that are as exciting as being on a board, then that would be fantastic.

Sorry i didnt read the whole thing but regarding how kids can be involed and kept interested, I think we all have to lift our game on the water.
A bunch of the neighbours and family friends kids had started windsurfing from when they were around 10, I must have been 15 at the time and we were all having a blast just cruising and jybing, little jumps etc, most of the older crew around was into slalom, and we couldnt really get into waves because the spots were on the other side of the island (this was in mauritius) and the parents wouldnt drive there and camp for the week end kind of thing..
Anyway then I got a bit bored of just going back and forth, i could watch freestyle videos but trying vulcans, falling a million times and never see anyone around actually doing them wasnt very encouraging. When kiting came everyone was just flying and flipping in the air so it was really attractive. I ended up kiting for the next 2 years and the other kids took it up also.
But kitesurfing seemed too easy (gear expensive, broken, etc...). Then I actually got more guts to throw myself into tricks, and with some swell the sensations get really addictive so you just want more!!!
You dont need much to throw a frontloop, i people actually see these at their local beach, i think it brings an awesome motivation factor!!--> if that guy can do it, I can!
Hourah!

I,m into computer games.I probably game as much as most of you watch TV.I learnt to fly an aeroplane on the computer.When a mate took me up in a little 2 seater stunt plane i took over , flew it(did loops) and landed the thing unassisted,although he was always at the ready.
I play online in some games and talk to my team mates/oponents who i have learnt more computer stuff from than i could ever learn from a book.
So games??? ...They keep your reactions sharp and your always learning something and socialising.
Much better than the mind poison that is on the box every night IMO.
Long as you get some exercise i can't see a problem with them.

I think the moral of the story is go out and get yourself a longboard or a wideboard and get your kids into it before the evil techno gadgets invade their heads. I have a new RRD Longrider waiting for me when I get out of the bush next week. Daughter #1 (7YO) can't wait to go for a ride on the front - she even spent all easter in the water and finally learnt how to swim, as I said she couldn't come out with me until she could swim. Nose ride, then stand up, then learn. Hopefully - but at least the chance is there.

Nintendo is pretty good though.......

Classic, the paranoia that windsurfing is ending causing panic from windsurfers. Now we will hear never ending rants about what a great sport it is and if only the youth of today were better people…blah blah blah. Never mind the reality that the world is a different place than when windsurfing was popular and working on trying to adapt windsurfing to suit modern society. Windsurfing is a big mess from the ground up and if it was a corporation it would be out of business. What’s so superior about windsurfing and so bad about computer games anyway? It’s just playing, escapism or whatever it’s the same thing so why are you so arrogant to think you are such noble citizens because you windsurf? You think it’s healthy; sure, windsurfing is hazardous and probably causes far more injuries than any supposed long term health benefits, just think of the sun damage to the skin and eyes for a start. Windsurfers need to start dealing in the real world.

What about the 2, 4, 15 concept/clubs that are in Britain and also we need schools which mean we need windsurf shops to run them.

Unfortunately people do want instant gratification like video games and jet skis.