A few ideas were posted on kiteforum.com at:
http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewt...asc&highlight=
including:
Thanks Toby for passing the story along. This is too often repeated all over.
What would you do if you see some guys about to drag race through a crowded playground area? That is if you had the ability to alter things.
Kiters and swim zones are not unlike that. That is at least to those of us that can see an obvious threat. MANY bans that I have heard about included repeated complaints about riders going in and out of swimmer zones. Just get the hell offshore and shred hard there! You would think these guys are terrified of the water or something, hugging the shore like that. Is it more fear than the desire to show off or what?
Take a stand to support YOUR access or be ready to kiss it goodbye, a launch at a time.
Get more of your local kite bros onboard with these access preserving concepts. That way you won't be the Lone Ranger in trying to tackle the odd indifferent rider or clueless wacko. This is easy and obvious as are the consequences of inaction.
and at
http://www.kiteforum.com/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=2306084
Including:
There is a new system being put together for riding at Crandon Park in Miami. That is the one site in Florida (and the only one I know of with these sort of restrictions to date), that you indicated I think. This approach might be considered a last resort for contested launches that either have or soon will be banned for which no other viable option appears to be available. These sort of contested launches appear to be related to areas with substantial user pressure, e.g. lots of bathers in more populated areas. It is planned to try to perfect the system in Crandon and then export the model to other similar contested launches where something like this might be wanted by local riders. That is in lieu of a permanent ban.
PASA is to form a council for each launch or geographic area. The council will be formed of local PASA instructors, kiteboarding association members for oversight of things. The designated launch is to be administered by local kiteboarding schools. Riders are to have minimum kiteboarding certifications demonstrating they ability to be able to ride upwind and self-rescue given constraints imposed by the Park and other users. To access the Park you need to show a PASA Level II certification card and an access sticker for Crandon Park. If riders don't follow the rules they are subject to suspension. We have tried voluntary compliance for years. That approach wasn't always that successful unfortunately. In this case guys are being paid to be there and as a part of thier duties to also enforce access requirements for this one launch. They are to be backed up by Park Authorities in this as well.
Crandon has already had two bans and this sort of program has been dictated by not only rider behavior but also by the Park management. Riding responsibly, free and at will is a far better than having to impose all these restrictions on riding. Avoiding causing complaints and problems in the first place is key (HINT). That way you can focus on riding and not have to deal with all this stuff which is a pain to say the least. Ride like responsible adults and skip all this stuff, easy.
and
kailuakiter wrote:
Thanks for your responses, they were a lot of help. Like florida, our problems stem from being an overcrowded beach with too many sunbathers and houses near shore. The main complaints against us are violations of the swim area and endangering beach users by doing tricks too close to shore. Also people resent the space on the beach taken up by our kites.
I think our major problem attempting to implement a permit system would be to get legal support from our local government. Anyone in America have any suggestions with that?
Are there lifeguards at the beach? If so, I imagine that some kiteboard. Perhaps they can assist in brainstorming and working out a viable means of approaching the public administration. If not, who has juridiction over the beach and nearshore waters, the police, marine patrol and coast guard? If this is the case, the process becomes more complicated. Still, in Florida and other areas, they are members of the enforcement agencies that kiteboard and may be willing to help to try to secure access.
A more direct approach that might work would be to apply for a concession permit. I seem to recall this issue has been raging over on Maui. In this case, it might actually work to your advantage. The governing body may or should have a permit filing procedure for an occupational permit for operations on public lands. Depending on the terms of the permit, which you would need to learn about before approaching this agencies directly, may dictate whether this is a good approach for you or not. I would solicit help from kiteboarders that also happen to be attorneys or are in public govenment to assist in evaluating and implementing this approach IF it appears to be a good approach in your case.
It is in the interest of government to signup all businesses for these sorts of permits. I am not advocating using this to exclude businesses but to promote as legitimate instructors/schools to obtain permits. Depending on your research you may find that the police or even lifeguards (they have some police powers in Hawaii I think), might aid in the enforcement of the permit. The permit holders would be responsible for operating a concession for kiteboarding. That is instruction and also controlling access, IF the public sector goes along with this. Government is likely to require insurance on the part of the concessionaire. To date PASA is the only kiteboarding group to offer such insurance for schools. They MAY have a similar insurance product for such riding concessions as well in the near future, fingers crossed on that one.
This is similar to what is being done at Crandon Park. However every jurisdiction is different and needs to be judged on individual merits.