Quote:
Originally Posted by RickI
Some have been posing this as a vendetta against "kids." Nothing could be further from the truth. Also, once you are into your 20's, you are kind of stuck leaving the kid label behind.
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?...I didn't pick anything like that up.
Personally, I don't care if it's a 10 year old or a 60 year old. They need to be busted.
Quote:
Originally Posted by heemskn
This discussion assumes that the kiters that caused the issue knew the rules and purposely broke them. That may be true in this case, but how clear are the rules really? There was quite a bit of discussion recently on this site about kiting inside the buoys near Tampa, and most of that was between experts. So how is a beginner or visitor supposed to figure it out?
Nick
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There may be a few spots where unique rules apply. Anyone with common sense would stop to check, ask local kiters, ask the guards if there was ANY question. If someone says they did not understand the rules this is in most cases pleading total ignorance (and that's not a valid defense) or else they are "playing stupid" - which I see all the time. Either approach is unacceptable.
Most new riders have been thru lesssons. I spend at least 30 minutes going over thses issues in classroom, and then these principles are carried thru onto the water. I know for a fact that a lot of instructors do not cover this subject appropriately - often times because they are conducting their lessons in conditiiions where they would appear to be hypocritical. So some duty lies with the instructors...but in the end it is up to the individual to use good judgement in all circumstances.
I believe that it would be conservative to say that most of the people violating the rules much of the time are a handful of the experts. Newbies do it too but mostly because of lack of ability or unfamiliarity with a spot and special rules that might be posted. Again, neither is acceptable, but the experienced riders know better and should be leading by example and not corrupt the sport.