What is the Student Kitesurfing Association?
The Student Kitesurfing Association (SKA) is run by a committee of students and ex-students who have been involved with the running of their respective university kitesurfing clubs. The committee were selected for their knowledge of kitesurfing, and their commitment to developing the face of student kitesurfing.
We are not a commercial venture, and therefore our goal is not to make money, or a salary. We run the SKA out of our passion for the sport and with a desire to improve student kitesurfing.
The SKA has grown from being a minor branch of the Student Windsurfing Association into an association in it’s own right. We do not ask for any subscription fee; a student who is part of their kitesurf club at university is automatically a member of the SKA.
At this point in time, we are in contact with around 30 kitesurfing clubs from various universities around the UK, and are currently helping members at other universities to help start their own clubs.
What the SKA stand for
The goal of the SKA is to introduce and further what is not just a sport but a lifestyle to university students. We aim to make the sport of kitesurfing as accessible as possible for students who do not necessarily have the means or the knowhow to get started on their own.
We set out to help beginners into the sport by subsidising tuition at our beginner events whilst providing a competitive base and improvement scheme for our more advanced riders.
Our vision is to provide access for all our members to cutting edge equipment in a wide variety of conditions and environments, whilst maintaining a safe learning environment and the opportunity to advance their skill levels.
What the SKA do
Events
This year, the SKA has a calendar consisting of ten events, which cater for those who have never touched a kite before to those who are competing on the BKSA national tour.
We will be running three beginner events to cater for around 50 students, which will provide cheap tuition in a safe and structured manner. We will be working with local schools in order to provide the best teaching and local knowledge in order to get the best for our students. Recent headline sponsorship from Flexifoil has provided us with enough brand-new teaching kites to make these events work in a safe, yet sustainable manner.
As well as beginner events, the SKA will be catering for intermediate and advanced riders by way of clinics and jams run by industry professionals. There will be the chance to test a huge variety of kit, get top tips from the pro’s on the latest tricks and the chance to work with and learn from professional photographers and coaches on how to make it as a professional kitesurfer.
This year will also see a national competition tour take place throughout the year with three stops hosted by Plymouth, Bangor and Southampton universities. The first tour stop will be a slider jam in November, followed by a wave event in Wales and culminating with the Student Nationals at Southampton in March.
Sponsorship
The SKA are committed to helping every university kitesurfer get the very best equipment as well as a helping hand into the sport where required. This involves giving them access to discounted products and support from companies associated with the sport of kitesurfing.
Consultation
As mentioned previously, we are also here to help new (and established) clubs flourish. Each committee member has experience of working in a university club so a lot of knowledge is available to those who wish to see their club improve and grow. We can offer advice on almost every subject concerning university clubs, including sponsorship, teaching, trip planning and budget preparation.
Training
Through an agreement with the BKSA, we are able to offer discounted Instructor training courses to our student members. We are also in a place to advise instructor candidates on where to find discounted powerboat and first aid courses; two things which are required to become a kitesurfing instructor.
Safety
In order to attain the longevity enjoyed by well established organisations like the Student Windsurfing Association we have put a huge amount of time and effort into developing a set of strategies for keeping our events as safe as possible.
With the current climate of litigation, access to beaches is diminishing, so we work hard to operate in a responsible and sustainable fashion.
Following guidelines set out by the BKSA, we ensure that we take every reasonable precaution to safeguard those individuals involved in our events and members of the public.
All of our activities have been risk assessed and comprehensively insured by an independent risk management consultancy, who continue to provide support and advice. Comprehensive documentation has been put together supporting each of our events in the form of risk assessments, emergency action and management plans, programmes and different condition contingency plans. All of these documents are available to those who wish to view them.
