[ricki]

A time to look back on Silke's tragic accident 14 years past and the strong impact her sacrifice had on our sport and eventual improvement in safety. Her terrible accident in large measure launched the development of Quick Releases (QR) or "brakes" (why would we ever need brakes?). It may not have been totally obvious in the early days but there were circumstances in which it was infeasible to manually unhook, the load was simply too strong. A mechanical release was needed which wouldn't be disabled by high kite loading. In time this reality came out again underscored by Silke's terrible accident. It took several years of T&E for reliable QR to be developed but her loss along with common sense underscored the need for such devices. Her loss also motivated the restoration of the use of kite leashes along with the development of "trick friendly" designs. The growth of wake-style kiting also promoted leash use as kiters grew tired of chasing down their kites after busted moves. Our sport has come a long way but still has room to develop. Thank you Silke and rest in peace.