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#1
08-22-2007, 01:06 PM
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Quote:
i know some riders that have been kiting over a year but only get to do it everyonce in a while and are not extremely good at it yet, but then you have riders like josh (the ripper) that can throw more moves then 3 trick scott  after only a month or two.....2 cents
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handle passes are easy...  at least i think they were.. been so long i cant remember 
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#2
08-22-2007, 01:33 PM
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Yellow isn't a statement of skill. It means we don't have to babysit.
If it's obvious that someone can't ride, they are not given a yellow band. I don't think a board with chips, skill levels, etc is going to work ... it doesn't identify the rider, and it requires a sign every 300 feet along a beach for clips rings, whatever. If I ride up to someone on the water during a down winder or something and ask them to hold/catch my kite, how do I know if they are a beginner? I can't go back and look at the register board. The bands on the other hand can be done right now, without any major cost involved, and it's obvious even on the water. Either instructors can hand out green bands to beginners (which I don't expect to happen), or everyone else can wear a yellow band. I really expect only yellow and red to be used. So if someone is wearing a band, you can safely assume they know what they are doing. If they are not wearing a band, and you don't know them, you can assume they are a beginner. The real advantage of the band is to say "hey, you don't know me, but this band is telling you I know what I am doing so don't worry about me". Of course the only way this will work is if everyone who has been riding for awhile is willing and remembers to wear the bracelet each time they ride. Another option might be to do a single wrap of yellow electrical tape around one side of the bar. This wasn't my idea, I'm just trying to refine it.
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#3
08-22-2007, 02:53 PM
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i think the bands could work but definitely need work and agreement. However, i think the reverse colors would be better like a traffic light. If you see a red rider you should watch out and look both ways. A yellow...stay a safe distance and use caution but not a hazard. Green bands mean you can sail thru being confident that the green rider is a competent and safe rider.
The part about the downwinder makes sense but i don't think most of our safety issues exist with downwinders. its with crowded launches with hazards. these would only need to be posted at the major launches in the area. (EB,skyway,lassing,PAG? etc) The tags on the board would identify the rider and the kite they were flying. When you arrive, you walk (don't need to be every 300 feet) to the board, check in and see people's info. and add your own. When you come in to take a break (every couple hours or so) you take another look at the board if you notice a lot of different/new kiters on the water since you started. Another feature that we used at the harbor i worked at in the keys was to write weather forecasts for that day and possibly the next. Just like in boating, if its windy, they put out small craft advisories. If it is gusty and possibly hazardous wind, we can point that out on the boards so that when people arrive they have suggestions. such as "very gusty, onshore wind...not recommended for green riders". Just throwing out thoughts as well...
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#4
08-22-2007, 03:40 PM
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Quote:
I understand the board idea... I've used it while racing r/c cars, kart racing, r/c flying events, etc. But, when you look at the board and it says "Mike, beginner, green waroo" and you look out on the beach and see 15 green waroos, it's not very helpful. On the water, forget it. Half the time I can't even remember the names and faces of people I've met a dozen times already, much less Mike on a green waroo, or the 30 other people who are on the board I can't read from the water. In kart racing, a beginner usually has a white X on the back of his helmet. This tells other drivers to avoid him like the plague and give him plenty of space while passing. It seems to me the arm bands are probably the easiest solution so far. You can almost always see a rider's wrists... even while they are body dragging. But, since we won't know who the beginners are going to be, the only way we can do it is to wear one if we are NOT a beginner. If you're not wearing a band, you're either a beginner, not a local, or just not familiar with how things are being done now and someone should walk up and ask you some questions and give you a band if you need one. It's like the "hey, u guys know me and know I can ride" club... either you're in it, or you are not. If Stevil wants to do a skills checkout for beginners before they get a band, that's fine with me..... Hell I'll be the first one to wear the band too, I don't care. I'll sleep with it on if I need to remember to wear it. We'll need one in rainbow for E-Bone.
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#6
08-22-2007, 04:01 PM
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I like the band idea. There's no way I'm going to go out and spend the money to get certified just so I can have someone launch for me. I almost always have someone with me whom launches my kite anyways...
But really, what will we do if someone doesn't have a band? Just talk to them? What if they blow you off? You've gotta at least try enforcing what we already have (buddy system) before throwing money and added ideas to the problem. Before launching ANYONE you don't know, how about assuming they don't know what they're doing. Ask them how long they've been kiting for and even just test them on some hand signals before you do. Problem solved without any wristbands.
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#7
08-22-2007, 04:55 PM
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Like in many things I think keeping it simple is better. After some reflection, I’d suggest using just two colors. Green for competent self-sufficient rider and above, red for volunteer mentor/monitor. Those without bands would be those still learning and requiring close supervision at difficult launch sites, and also newcomers. A sign could be posted along the lines of, Kiteboarders, this is an intermediate to advanced riding site, please talk to a kiter with a red wrist band for more information. Then some disclaimer of liability. The Red bander could then issue a green band upon demonstration of skills or suggest alternate launches or lessons. Anyone without a band would end up getting approached so often they would want to get a band, and there is no color that carries a weenie stigma. I think just super fat rubber bands would do, you can't find them just any place and it keeps the cost down so when I forget mine I can beg Scott for another without feeling guilty.
Bob
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