According to David Dorn of the United States Kiteboarding Association, ?kitesurfing is losing its ?extreme sports? image and has become a mainstream sport. The sport?s shift towards becoming mainstream has been a gradual process since the sport?s early days?. David says, ?it was inevitable with the spread of improved techniques and, knowledge and better equipment. The newcomers now have the benefit of all the experience, and experimentation that has come before them.? These days, extreme has given way to mainstream, with a widening range of participants, some as young as and 7, and as old as 70.
David says that ?in the development stages of the sport, the danger aspect was highly publicized and was hyped up to bolster the sport?s hardcore appeal.?
?We have since spent years promoting the sport responsibly and sharing our message of safety.?.
The United States Kitesurfing Association was formed in 1999 to promote safe and responsible kiteboarding and protect the access of kiteboarders to public beaches and waters. The association is the first of its kind that brings together the interests of all kiteboarders across America.
Founded by kiteboarding industry leaders, business owners and competitive athletes that work together to promote and protect the sport. Their combined expertise gives the association the basis for informed actions. The association's activities include promoting safety, maintaining access to beaches and launching sites, tracking product improvements, distributing safety information to the public and industry representatives and assisting in the creation of localized associations that deal with government agencies on a city and county level. And is a combined voice and advocate for the industry to address government and federal regulatory agencies. The association supports equal and fair access for all water users. David Dorn a co-founder of the USKA, is a 10-year professional kiteboarding instructor and instructor-trainer, whose expertise and experience has made a major contribution to the development of safety education and the implementation of certification programs. David is an authority on kitesurfing techniques and training methods, and has trained a network of instructors that help keep kitesurfing safer for all of us.
?We understood from the get go that we were on the margins of other established sports. We knew that we would have to take a responsible attitude, to become accepted by the watersports community, and to find our place amongst them on the ocean,? he said, and ?We had to live down the general misconception that we were ?out of control?, and we had to show them that we had mastered our equipment and could perform as well as them.?
During the course of the sport?s development the public?s opinion has played a crucial role. Although the sport met some initial resistance, it has steadily won over public approval, and that has been an important factor in the success of Kitesurfing. David says that ?part of the early mystique of kitesurfing was that it was an extreme sport that was the exclusive domain of hardcore surfing athletes?. Those talented watermen laid the groundwork for others to follow. And a rapid evolution and expansion of the sport ensued. The experience and knowledge of the first wave of kitesurfers coalesced into a collective knowledge of kiteboarding principles and survival tips. As this knowledge spread, the sport quickly became accessible to a wider range of participants.
David says, ?There will always be the extremists within the sport that take it to new levels, like kiteboarding in remote and isolated areas, doing feats of endurance, breaking world speed records, or riding in huge surf. However, the majority of kiteboarders today are less extreme, and more mainstream. They will ride during steady predictable winds on flat waist-deep water, on a local lake somewhere. The lucky ones will plan their family vacations, to kitesurfing friendly destinations, like Hawaii, or the Caribbean.? He says ?In the near future we will see many more families participating in kiteboarding together. And sending your 12 year old son or daughter to a Kitesurf school will be just like sending them to a summer camp.?
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