Alberta Kiteboarding Association

Here’s a awesome challenge worth checking out!

https://www.facebook.com/ABSnowKite

Alberta Snow Kite Challenge We are excited to announce the first Alberta Snow Kite Challenge starting February 26 running throug

This last weekend was a busy one at Parkland Beach on Gull Lake. This area continues to attract more and more kiters due to its smooth wind and ease of access. The swimmers area is not marked yet and as a result there were a lot of kiters coming right up to the beach. There were instances of some beginners crashing their kites close to the shore. The problem is that there were also a lot of families playing in the water. Having talked to a bunch of you, I know I wasn’t the only one concerned with this.

There have been formal complaints to the community this week and there is a real risk of kite access being shut down for us unless we change how things work between beach users and kiters. I have talked with one of the people filing a complaint and their concerns are valid. After discussion with other local kiters, I’m putting out some suggested guidelines we can use to self police and inform the kite community about this particular launch area.

These changes will include having a designated kite launch and land area, an entry and exist point to the lake, and a minimum safe distance from the swimmers or the swim area.

Included is a photo with the layout of the recommended areas.

Kite Launch and Land Area:
This area will stay mostly the same. Keep kites west or north of the sand/beach area on the grass. It’s highly recommended that beginner kiters stay down wind, so that in the event of an incident, kites will crash in the open grassy field with less chance of harming any people. Once a kite has been landed, wrap up your lines and secure your kite. If you are changing kite sizes and it’s a busy day, please pack up the kite you’re not using to save space for others.

Water Access:
From now on everyone should be entering and exiting the water down wind of the beach and swim area. Follow the grass line to the water and walk out and around the swim area (if the swim area markers are out).
People leaving the beach have right of way over people coming into the beach. Doing this will reduce risk to beach users in the event of a kite going down.

Safe kiting distances:
Everyone is expected not to kite in the swim area. This includes having your kite go over top of the swim area at anytime. If the swim area is not marked, or people are swimming past the markers, allow at least 2 kite lengths to the nearest swimmer. Beach users always have the right of way!

Due to the poor snow conditions the Cooking Lake Endurance has been postponed until conditions improve. Sorry for any inconveniences this my cause. Once we get some decent coverage again we'll post a new event date with as much notice as possible.

We may still try a beer league course race before then if we can find a favourable safe spot with a good wind direction.

Play safe out there Alberta

It was bitter cold out there today! But that wasn't enough to hold back the energy of all the riders that braved it. Snow and wind conditions were good, leaving things wide open for some excellent battles on the course.
Big thanks to all the riders and volunteers that came out and made another race a great success. Thanks to Byron at Alberta Bluetooth Torques for hooking us up with some prizes.
Here's a few pictures from the day and results. But please post more pictures if you have some.
Already looking forward to the next one!!

Big thanks to everyone who came out to the Oldman Dam Jam last weekend! The weather was excellent and the wind delivered! It was awesome to share the stoke with so many kiters at the same place. Hope to see you all again soon!