Introducing Kitesurfing

Our vision at Kite Mavericks is to introduce the next generation into this great sport, therefore some of you may be curious about one very simple question... what actually is Kitesurfing? Let's start with the basics.

Kitesurfing, or as some others may refer to it as kiteboarding, is a hybrid mixture of a few sports. Windsurfing, wakeboarding, surfing... and possibly the most exciting element of the sport, a hint of paragliding.

Windsurfing is the sport that began it all, using big boards and sails with a handle bar you use the wind and get propelled across the water at high speeds, riding waves and performing tricks.

Whilst windsurfing is a fantastic sport in its own right, the large boards and sails led pioneers to look into new approaches to harnessing the power of the wind on water and the first kite designs began to come to fruition in 1970's and 80's.

The first term, kitesurfing, is most similar to this form of the sport, riding larger surfboards, catching waves or simply going for a cruise using a kite you're attached to with a harness to pull you and typically done in the ocean rather than on flat water spots such as lagoons.

This form of kite surfing can also be referred to as 'strapless' referring to your feet being free on the board rather than fixed in foot straps or bindings.

Kitesurfing also has an element of wakeboarding, a similar concept where you hold the bar and ride a smaller board, but instead of being propelled by a speedboat, here we use a kite and mother natures power. This is typically known as Kiteboarding and refers to being strapped to your board with foot straps or bindings and is where the freestyle nature of kiting comes into play.

With the board attached to your feet you can perform much more technical manoeuvres in the air such as back rolls, twists and tricks involving unhooking... let's discuss this later.

The most common phrase for the sport is kitesurfing but it is actually the strapped in version of the sport which is most common... confusing, but don't worry if you get them mixed up, most people consider kitesurfing and kiteboarding the same thing and the terms can be used interchangeably.

The final ingredient to this sport and one which we personally think makes it the most exciting, is the hint of paragliding even parachuting that's involved. The thing that makes us fly! What is known in the kiting world as big air!

This is the most classic form of kiting and the one that gets the most people talking at the beach after a session, how high did you jump, how far did you fly? With correct technique and timing, this sport allows the kite to propel you into the air. Where you can perform tricks, kiteloops (megaloops for extra power), or simply enjoy the views if its early days for you in kiting.

There are constantly new and evolving aspects to this sport. Hydro foiling, wing foiling and one of the most exciting of all, the new Olympic sport of race foiling which will be on display at France 2024 Olympics.

With plenty of innovation happening all the time, kitesurfing is a sport that we're excited to watch thrive and to support to continue to develop and one where we hope to help as many people as we can experience the joys of what it has to offer.