KiteATB'ing is not only fun, but when participants are taking risks, can also be dangerous. If your not wearing the appropriate safety gear or not keeping a safe distance from dangerous areas, you and others could be at a higher risk of injury.

You should always wear and use safety Equipment:

• A Helmet (essential)
• Knee Pads (advisable)
• Elbow Pads (advisable)
• Padded Shorts (advisable)
• Body Armour (advisable)

Never risk flying:

• In dangerous locations (Locations with Power Lines, Rocks, Trees, Fences etc.).
• When the winds are gusty or too strong for your ability as they could lift you and drop you suddenly causing injury to yourself.
• Without a large safety buffer down-wind (at least 2 to 3 line lengths) incase you temporarily lose control of your kite or have to let go for some reason.
• Over other beach users/walkers/animals.

Always:

• Check your equipment is safe before use, tyre pressure, nuts + bolts, bindings, lines or any kite damage could cause injury to you or others.
• Ensure you are confident that you can handle the conditions in which you fly.
• Ensure you have permission of the land owner or relevant authorities to use a flying spot.
• Have valid Insurance which you can get from any of the following: PKA, SPKA, BPKA, BKSA.

Many people have followed similar safety tips and have still been injured, but if they had not been wearing such equipment and evaluating the risks they may have been even more seriously injured, and as this sport grows we must all do our best to reduce the risks involved otherwise we will see more bans in more locations, which no-one wants.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 18th, 2006 at 4:34 am and is filed under Setup. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.