British Kite Surfing Association : Official Website

Clubs

Why do you need a club ?

Clubs are the lifeblood of the sport ensuring a local point of contact for any issues that may arise locally.

Councils and bodies prefer to talk to clubs as apposed to individuals.

Form a club in your region do not wait until there is an access issue - get organised

Below are a couple of scenarios that could occur at your local beach which only backs up the reason for a club.

Member to Member collision

Member A was jumping and hit Member B downwind. Member B broke his leg and was off work for 3 months.Member B sued member A for loss of earnings. Member A claimed off his liability insurance and Member B was compensated for the accident and Loss of Earnings. Member A crashed into Mr Z’s Campervan. Mr Z sued Member A and was compensated for the damage.

Worst case scenarios-

Kitesurfer Mr W whom is inexperienced and has no liability insurance has a weekend break out at a beach he is not familiar at. This local beach has no form of club, no designated kitesurf beach. Mr W despite warnings from local kitesurfers who can see his lack of experience continues to go out loses control and crashes into a family injuring little Johnny. Mr W is then sued – he looses his £250,000 house ends up in jail and the local council ban all kite activities on their beaches. The local crew try and sort things out, but are unable to do so.

Can you afford to lose everything?

Do you want to lose the right to use the beach?

This “Worst case scenario may have been avoided by formation of a local club because they would-

1. Agree with the council designated kitebeaches, you can now tell members of the public they are sitting on a beach designated for an agreed activity.

2. Have a code of conduct asking for all kiteriders to have 3rd party liability insurance and obey the code of conduct that could be given out by club members in a brochure, signage, or website.

Education not confrontation

When forming a club the following should be taken into consideration-

1-Club Name – Suggestions – remember you will be dealing with local authorities
2-Coverage – What Beaches to cover
3- Club Fees – £5 - £10 Club fees
4-What to use club fees for - Signs Tags for harnesses Membership cards Safety Cover in summer Training days Club BBQs Competitions Publications Stickers Safety Boat etc
5- Elections- Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Safety Officer, Events Officer , Child Protection officer
6- Club Remit - Safety, Liability Insurance, Beach Access, Education, Teaching standards Council liaison, Code of conduct.
7-Identity/ Communication – Logos, Flags, Websites

BKSA benefits to recognised and affilated clubs on BKSA joining system

Club join fees start from £5 payable when you join with your BKSA membership - the club then gets a refund of £10.
Some Funding available

BKSA benfits to affilated clubs

Insurance for club activities , social and events
Access when available to club BKSA race crew and equipment - Safety Boat , PA , VHF Radios , Signaling devices etc
Additional funding

The BKSA are actively encouraging the formation of clubs and have put together joining packs including everything you need to run a club.

There are many other ways we can help, remember the better organised you get the more likely you are to protect your local beach. We want to work with local clubs to ensure you can ride anywhere in the country.