Maybe Kiting Wasn’t Meant To Be Organized
There is an interesting discussion on the Gone With The Wind Forum about the future of organized kite flying. Apparently over the years, there has been a steady decline in participation at both a competition and organization level. There just aren’t as many kiteflyers competing at competitions, attending kite festivals, or joining the AKA. I’ve been thinking about this phenomenon for a long time, and will probably write some stuff down in the future… but in the mean time, jump on over to the GWTW forum and see what others are saying about the situation.
Below you will find my initial comments.
Competitions are just not spectator friendly. Heck, I’m into kites, and I personally find competitions boring unless I have some personal involvement in it. There is also not much incentive to actually compete. What do you get for competing? A small plaque if you are lucky? The admiration of your kite buddies? The thrill of competition? To me, that just doesn’t justify travelling 100s of miles to attend a comp. And thats just for a competitor… there is absolutely no incentive if you aren’t competing.
As for lack of attendance to regular kite festivals, its all about money. Money buys publicity, publicity gets the crowds, crowds bring the money.
AKA? I hate to complain about something when I’m not willing to involve myself in fixing it (how many times have I seen Dave G. use that as a rebuttal?) Truth be told most people are happy to fly kites without the insurance, and the magazine really isn’t that exciting. There just isn’t any incentive to join the national organization.
Future of kiting? Local clubs. Kite shops used to be where the majority of people learned about kiting. Now with kite shops dying off, the only other way an individual is going to get exposure to anything but a diamond kite is through local clubs and individual kiteflyers.
Just my random thoughts.
Personally, I don’t see the problem. I have been a member of the AKA for many years now. I have competed, won some, lost a lot. But for the life of me, I can’t figure out why anyone, especially a kite flier, would be so rude as to bash the AKA, the president, and the competition, and finely the AKA magazine. (Obviously a personal issue here.) Try reading the AKA statement of faith. You obviously don’t get it. It is all there to promote kite flying and improve the way of life for every family that is willing to make, and or, fly a kite. If you don’t like the AKA for some reason, keep it to your self and let the rest of America have fun and decide for them selves if they like it.
I will forever strive to HELP the AKA and my local club, no matter how many problems they have, or what problems they encounter. Despite the thoughtless people that put them down, they are doing a great job bringing the communities together flying kites and making friends.
And the AKA magazine is great too!
Interesting points CodyDude, but seems like a fanatical position to take. As if the AKA can do no wrong. The AKA isn’t a divine entity, it makes mistakes and fails in some areas.
To blindly say that the AKA is doing a great job, would be to ignore the sad reality that organized kiting is in the decline. There aren’t as many kiteshops, festivals, or clubs as in years past. Membership in the AKA isn’t growing, it is declining. Kite competitions are experiencing dramatic decreases in attendance. I don’t know anyone in the kiting community that would say that kiting is growing and prospering.
[…] About a year ago, I wrote a post concerning a discussion over at the Gone With The Wind Kite Forum about organized kiting : Maybe Kiting Wasn’t Meant to be Organized. This is kind of an update to that post. I welcome any and all comments. Its free and easy. […]