First off there were no instructors for Watersports West out there, Steve-O is the only instructor around who works directly with the shop. They weren't involved and their name did not need to be dropped so harshly, they are one of the best resources around for kiting and thats that.
Now let me apologize for any of the riders in my club that may have been riding in potentially dangerous ways, such as a close to people or in the "illegal swim zone". The only reason i started the club was because i saw their were college kids getting into the sport and i knew they would hit the beaches in numbers with kites. I have been riding here for two full seasons now and wanted to bridge all the gaps between college riders and local riders, i do not want any college rider ever being responsible for a beach ban or an injury to riders/spectators.
Since our beginning i've actually posted this and our goals as well as all my contact info, asking locals to not hesitate to call if they saw anything wrong with college riders on the scene. We've hosted two beach clean-ups this year and are planning a third, we're also working on getting air-compressors installed at the skyway and a sign made for the bird nesting regulations against watersports on all gulf facing beaches at fort desoto through august. This forum is great but a problem can be solved much better directly rather than posting names and obnoxious comments like
"Will the kite club survive when the complaints start rolling in to Eckerd College?
Would either WSW or Eckerd College kite club survive the lawsuit if there were an injury?"
Scott thanks for posting this in the first place and doing it respectfully, tom appreciate your input, 203 918 6637, thats my number, dont hate. Rather than complaining to cyberspace call me personally and i will set the kid straight who you deemed as potentially dangerous or reckless. Toby thank you for defending us a bit, i'm aware of all risks associated and to bring up the club in this issue is not cool. We're going to survive and were going to be safe and beneficial to the community.
I'm trying to do the same thing as everyone, ride as much as possible, get better every time, promote kiting as one of the best sports in the world, and preserve our riding locations through safety, regulation awareness, and environmental sensitivity. We just moved into a house off of 20th ave in PAG, we're pretty stoked that we would have another way to provide local riders with perks, like a grass to kill your kite, outdoor shower, elevated balcony, air compressor, and just a general locations to start/stop downwinders. We also have handle pass/trampoline/and slack line, unicycle, indo board, surf ball, and standup paddle boards for cross training.
The guys got excited about the house and i guess rode out in front rather than walking up two blocks, dont worry this wont happen again. I was guiding a downwinder from north st. pete beach and was not on the beach untill about 6:30
I am a PASA Certified instructor, my paperwork is being reviewed right now, i've taught windsurfing, sailing, and wakeboarding for six years now and know all about safety protocol and eliminating negligence on the beaches and with beginners. I will be an IKO instructor as well by the end of this month. We're just trying to help and get our names out there to hopefully get sponsored.
We've taken leaps and bounds forward this year and won an award last night from eckerd college as the most improved/outstanding club of the year. If you have problems with us tell me and i'll solve it. I'm workin my ass off to make the scene around here a bit more organized, have some kiter parties this summer, organize owc trips, obx trips, and even one to brazil. I'll be living here all summer in order to plan for next year and plan with the bars/ promoters try and get us a better kite hangout, like ft. lauderdale and key west have. We're also trying to set up some other local boarder-x and course racing but were a bit hesitant because of the complaints from last years that came up. We're trying to keep things moving forward. If you dont like the sound of any of this PM me and i'll be sure to not send you the memo.
In the end sorry for my riders riding close to shore and around people, i've talked with them and they were doing it because the kids in the water and the spectators were asking them to and cheering them on. no one other than other kiters had anything bad to say about them, most were pretty stoked to see guys landing new tricks and what not. I told them regardless they need to be out of there and just walk farther north between the don cesar and PAG where there are no people. Hope this issue is squashed and sorry if any feathers were ruffled
-matt sexton
President of Eckerd College Kite Club
TritonKiteboarding.com
sextonmg@eckerd.edu