MAKING THIS AMAZING SPORT ACCESSIBLE TO AS MANY AS POSSIBLE
OVERVIEW
Kite without limits is an Australian first, opening up the sport of kitesurfing to people living with disability through the use of a “sit kiteboard”.
With the explosion in popularity of the kitesurfing, so to comes the priority for people of all abilities to conveniently access it. It is our goal here at Seabreeze to make this happen.
Kitesurfing continues to be considered an “extreme sport”. However in regards to safety, kite gear has now developed to such a level where many of the risks have been minimized. This has helped open the door to “sit kitesurfing”, which gives those with little or no use of their legs the chance to take on the challenge of kiting, by sitting on a board, rather than standing.
With the help of generous volunteers and donars, Seabreeze Kitesurf School has implemented a sit kiteboarding program at their Melville location on the Swan River, allowing them to invite people living with disability to give this special sport a go.
This location, with its waist deep and flat water is the ideal spot for sit kiteboarders to learning quickly and safety. It is also located adjacent to the road, providing for easier wheelchair access.
PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS
Specialist instructor training
It is difficult to find schools or trainers that offer kitesurfing programs aimed at people living with disabilities. However in June 2019 Andrea travelled to Tenerife to assist Nicolas Lanquetin who was in training to become the first sit kitesurf instructor. Along with IKO examiner Max Piona, they learned more about methods and difficulties for seated kiteboarders and helped develop a special program for them. In July 2019 is visited the only specialized sit kite school in Italy where he gained further experience in teaching sit kiteboarding.
Specialist equipment
Andrea has brought these learned skills to Australia to open the door to sit kitesurfing here. Obviously this also requires costly equipment, being a specially adapted sit kiteboard and a rescue jetski. With the help of our donars (and digging deep into our own pockets) we have finally purchased all the board components from suppliers in Europe amd shipped them and assembled them here. We still need your help to purchase a rescue jetski so that we no longer need to rely on volunteers to lend a boat each time we run a session.
Community Awareness
We appreciate that not everyone is in a position to support our project financially. But you can still help. Please talk about our project in the community. Or perhaps you know someone with a special ability that would like to learn with us. The more people that know what we are doing and get involved the better.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
We are calling on anyone that might like to help move this program forward to assist by making a donation towards the purchase of equipment. No contribution is too small!
For local business that might like to get involved, this is not only an opportunity to contribute to a great cause, but an advertising opportunity or potential long term collaboration. As you can imagine, teaching from Melville Beach Road, any equipment you provide would be placed on high visibility on one of the most popular (and affluent) foreshores in Perth, not to mention exposure to over 7.5k followers across our various social media channels.
WITHOUT YOUR SUPPORT WE CANNOT REACH OUR GOALS
