AKSA Boardroom news

Evaluation of Kiteboarding Equipment for Rio 2016 is next !

Sun, 08 May 2011 13:03:02 GMT

The International Sailing Federation (ISAF) has confirmed the ten events for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition at 2011 ISAF Mid-Year Meeting in St Petersburg, Russia.

ISAF President Göran Petersson led the ISAF Council in more than three hours of debate and discussion before the ten events were decided. Over 50 Submissions were received for consideration following the changes to the process for selecting events and equipment that was agreed in November 2010.

The ten events selected by the ISAF Council for the 2016 Olympic Sailing Competition are:

Men's Board and/or Kiteboard - evaluation
Women's Board and/or Kiteboard - evaluation
Men's One Person Dinghy - Laser
Women's One Person Dinghy - Laser Radial
Men's 2nd One Person Dinghy - Finn
Men's Skiff - 49er
Women's Skiff - Evaluation
Men's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Women's Two Person Dinghy - 470
Mixed Two Person Multihull - Evaluation

Whats next ?
Mens and womens Windsurfer and/or Kiteboard - evaluation. This means that in the next stage equipment (both kiteboarding and windsurfing) will be evaluated for suitability in the Olympic Games. At the same time there will be a format evaluation, both about competition formats as course racing or kitecross/slalom and the possibility for combined events of either teams consisting of a windsurfer and a kiteboarder or teams of a male and a female competitor in each discipline, for one nations medal respectively. The preferred option of the boards community is to have both sports in the Games rather than taking the risk of one in - one out. But this is up to the evaluation commission now which will very soon publish details on the evaluation process, and request additional information about formats and equipment.

The Vote
In November 2010, a provisional list of Events and Equipment ("the slate") was agreed by the ISAF Council. Since then, ISAF received over 50 Urgent Submissions which proposed alternative slates. A two-stage voting process, similar to that used by the IOC when choosing a host city for the Olympic Games, was used to decide the final list.

After the first stage, seven Submissions went through to the second stage of voting. There was a palpable sense of tension in the meeting room as the Council awaited the results of the second stage.

About the ISAF Council
The ISAF Council is the final decision making body of ISAF. It is chaired by the President who was elected along with seven Vice-Presidents for a four year term in 2008. The Council also includes the other members of the Executive Committee, Presidents of Honour and a Treasurer (all non-voting). There are also 29 appointed members who represent each of the regional gropus of sailing nations, and representatives of the Oceanic and Offshore Committee, the ISAF Classes Committee, the Women's Forum and the Athlete's Commission (non-voting).

At the 2010 ISAF Annual Conference, Council agreed that the process for selecting the Olympic Events and Equipment should be changed and approved new Regulation 23.

The report from the Olympic Commission recommended the change as a way to better serve the ISAF Member National Authorities (MNAs) and sailors and to provide greater continuity for the sport between Olympic Games' and create a system for Equipment evolution.

Other decisions made in St Petersburg
A full report of the decisions made in St Petersburg will be published in the minutes, these include:
• Decisions on the core events for 2020 were deferred until the 2011 Annual Conference in November.
• 29er XX granted Recognized Class Status
• 2014 Youth Olympic Games Events confirmed as: Boy's Windsurfer, Girl's Windsurfer, Boy's One Person Dinghy and Girl's One Person Dinghy.
• Olympic Class World Championships set to continue
• A single ranking system for the Olympic events to be operational from 2013 onwards.

Help needed to save a Sydney Kite Spot

Gavin Stevenson — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 20:37:04 GMT

Silver Beach, Kurnell,
one of Sydney’s top kitesurfing spots, is under threat.

We need your help.

PLEASE COME TO KURNELL BEACH AT
10:00AM Saturday 12 February:

Sutherland Shire Council has plans to erect a fence along the foreshore of Silver Beach, Kurnell. This will seriously impact kiting access and increase the risk of injuries to kiters. There are also plans to re-vegetate Bonna Point, a popular winter kiting spot.

A public meeting has been arranged with Council on Saturday 10:00am, 12th February at Bonna Point (far western end of Silver Beach, Kurnell).

We need a strong show of support from as many people as possible at this meeting to persuade the council that this would be an inappropriate, unsafe and unwelcome addition to the Kurnell beachfront..

If this proposal goes ahead it will increase the risk of kiting accidents and result in very limited beach access. Safe kiting at Kurnell and Bonna Point could be lost forever.

This meeting is critical and probably the only opportunity you will have to provide your say about the proposal.

It is imperative that we are on best behaviour at the meeting, and convey a mature attitude towards the council and its proposal. Please only attend if you are happy to abide by this.

Please come along and show your support to the Kurnell residents who also do not want this development.

Meeting time and location again is: Saturday 10:00am, 12th February at Bonna Point (far western end of Silver Beach, Kurnell).

People who are unable to attend the meeting but would like to provide suggestions can download the reply paid questionnaire below, or pick up the questionnaire from the council foyer in Eton Street, Sutherland. For more information call 9710 0333.

http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/files/32aa320c-25a7-498c-9a1d-9e7800d613da/Bonna_Point_Community_Consultation_Questionnaire_pdf.pdf

Pass this message on to other people who may be interested in attending this meeting or filling out the questionnaire.

Thank you.

NSWKBA Committee

Membership Fee increase from 1 January 2011

Gavin Stevenson — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 11:41:23 GMT

Unfortunately due to some large claims over the past few years the cost of maintaining the excellent policy that AKSA members enjoy has increased considerably. AKSA members have been lucky to enjoy a level of cover that other Australian sports do not at a very minimal cost. From 1 January 2011 the individual AKSA membership will be increased to $125 in order to cover the cost of the new insurance policy, and still provide operating funds for each of the State Associations. The adult membership fee is split in the following manner:

$65 Insurance premium
$30 AKSA operating funds
$30 State Association operating funds

For more info see the insurance page under membership benefits > insurance

AKSA Annual General Meeting minutes and financial report now available

Gavin Stevenson — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 21:04:25 GMT

The minutes and associated reports from the AGM held August 21st are now available in the documents section.

Cheers
Gavin
AKSA Public Officer and Treasurer

The New WEBSITE

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:45:17 GMT

- Thursday, September 10, 2009

So Whats the Deal?
At the AGM in Mackay in 2008 a representative of each state KSA came together to form a new federal structure of administration for the AKSA. A new constitution is being developed which will describe a three tier affiliation of Australian kiting organisations. AKSA - the national head will provide a single unified body to a attend to those matters the states see best suited to a single national administration. AKSA will be a board made up of 1 nominated representative from each state KSA. Each KSA shall then in turn provide support and unity to local beach and regional groups of kiters - the kite clubs or beach user groups.
This was a vision of our founding fathers way back when - perhaps you could say we have come of age? But still with a long way to go!
The point of all that detail here is that the new website will be a reflection of this 3 tiered federal structure. AKSA now 'owns' the new central core site which will carry, as its major functionality, a central data base system or CRM. This CRM will be the central record storage for every new registration which comes in through an online registration format which will be common to all state sites. Each state will be given a skeleton site which is directly linked to the central AKSA core site. Each state can take their site and do with it what ever they wish. Each site can look and feel as different or similar to the AKSA site as each state web developer wants to make it but they will all share the common online registration form (but even this can be 'skinned' to match each different sites look).
States will then also be able to offer local and regional clubs similar base sites which will 'plug-in' under their state site.
SO WHY BOTHER?
The most critical and important benefit will be savings in membership management. This has been a huge,cumbersome and costly task for AKSA and all states for the initial 9 years of AKSAs existence. With the new site AKSA will have every members details recorded from the minute they sign up. States will have all details of all their own members at that exact same moment. The information can be maintained within the state or shared with others by simply allowing or barring access to your own database. For events and comps this will be a tremendous benefit. State confidentiality can be maintained even with shared access as the access can be limited to whatever fields are required for the comp or event entry. An administration free record of the entire national database of kiters - awesome.
But the benefits go way beyond the CRM.
By having 7 sites all running off the one Dot Net Nuke platform we will have a set of 7 webteams all talking the same language. The development potential then becomes enormous as they each develop their own sites whilst sharing skills and knowledge between each other.
If one webteam falls apart or is missing for a time then we have 6 teams right there on hand to help out if things need attending to. (And dont we all know how much the panic can set in when our web crew disappear to Bali for a month!)
The webteams will not only be sharing ideas but they will also be sharing software. Once one team decides they want a new 'goodie' that piece of software is automatically loaded onto the central site for all to use - IF they want to.
Hosting will be done at one place - one cost. Another huge cost saving but it also simplifies content exchange.
Content exchange will involve just a few clicks of the mouse (well almost). With shared approval and access our webbies will be able to cut & paste content between sites with ease. State stuff can stay state based; stuff of wider interest can go direct to other state sites or to the national AKSA site or both.
Take up of the Concept?
At the time of writing this article WAKSA is just hours away from launching its own new DNN site. All WA registrations for 2009/10 will be directly through he AKSA CRM system. We can all thank Stephen Baldry & Brad Wright (the WA web team) for the central AKSA & now WAKSA sites.
SA, with webmaster Terry Langford, & Tassie's Sam Morgan (both DNN skilled) will soon follow suit with a new linked sites for their states.
SEQKA is dead keen to upgrade asap & pleased about all the advantages the group of teams will make to their web development. But I think they may still looking for a DNN skilled webbie?
NSW is committed for this year to a membership system on their already awesome site but will be coming across with all of that amazing content for season 2010/11.
KBV are still undecided.

There is lots more to tell - plus I would like to have someone a bit more IT savvy edit this story before its up on the site too long. Im sure all the IT gurus are having a good old chuckle at my interpretation. But here it is for now anyhow - a sort of laymans introductory overview.
Like the website itself you should check back here later for translations, improvements and additions.

The AGM that was

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:44:13 GMT

- Wednesday, September 23, 2009

The AKSA board held its first AGM since the inception of the 1 state 1 rep model in Perth on the 20th Sept.
There will be a variety of reports published on the site as they become available for publication. In the meantime here is the result of the polling for c'tee positions. As we have temporarily reverted to the model rules we needed to elect 4 exec positions and 3 general c'tee positions despite our ongoing commitment to run as a federal board of stste representatives.
President - Paul Harrower SEQKA unanimous
Vice President - Terry Langford SAKSA unanimous
Treasurer - Gavin Stevenson NSWKBA unanimous
Secretary - Phil Morrow WAKSA unopposed
General c'tee - Sam Morgan TKSA
General c'tee - Alex Bell
General c'tee - Dale Stanton

All tabled documents will be posted in the appropriate places as soon as possible along with numerous reports from officers of the 2008/09 board.

AFFILIATION GOES NATIONAL- all states are in.

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:42:40 GMT

- Thursday, September 24, 2009

Whilst we still need to finalise the fine print of a new affiliation agreement between the state KSA's & AKSA all states have now signed off on draft and agreed to finalise the document by majority approval of any final draft variations.
This means that AKSA's determination to operate for its second year as a cooperative 1-state-1-rep board can continue while we work through the required changes to have this structure officially ratified.
The AKSA reform which began at Mackay last July is rock solid. Members can be totally reassured that; being a group of reps from your own state KSAs; the AKSA can be nothing but wholly transparent; open to constant scrutiny and have nothing but the interests of state associations & local kiters built into its very structure.
AKSA is now what it was always intended to be - the states c'tees working together for their own good, for the good of each other and to provide this great sport with a national identity. By joining your state KSA you are not only looking after yourself but also your sport at local, state and national level.

Click the logo of your state KSA to find out how to join - do it now!

Dividing up the Pot

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:41:40 GMT

- Sunday, September 27, 2009

At Mackay in 2008 the inaugural board of state reps elected to maintain the status quo of fund division for one year while we collectively assessed the needs at both national and state levels. So 2008/09 was set to remain with to $30 to AKSA $35 to States. During the course of the year two rebates were mutually agreed on and applied such that at the end of the season AKSA was effectively funded with a total of $24.50 per member leaving $40.50 with the states.

At the series of meetings around the AGM in Perth this was one issue which was discussed. It was agreed that for 2009/10 the official split should be set at the new level of $25 to AKSA $40 to states. This has been passed and is now policy. The board will continue to refine all of these issues as the state reps redefine the whole AKSA/State relationship.

Members should be completely reassured that this is one issue which is clearly indicative of the total transparency and collective good which is a natural result of having a federal coalition working towards the best outcomes being achieved at all levels. It was a very satisfying move to have this funding policy adopted among our first decisions for the 2009/10 year.

IKA or IKF

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:40:47 GMT

- Friday, November 20, 2009

A recent post on the Seabreeze forum has raised this topic among kiters. At the risk of facing criticism the board would like to advise kiters that at this point in time AKSA has not registered affiliation with any of the claimant international organisations. We receive regular notices and advice from both sides which we monitor & discuss from time to time but until we are convinced that there is clear evidence that we should support one body against the other we have chosen not to act.

It is of vital importance that Australian Kitesurfing is aligned internationally with the go ahead body which will be responsible for the progression of the sport on a united front. Many of the current issues on the boardroom table at AKSA are issues which may well dissolve on a national level once an international body is legitimised and accepted worldwide. To give just one example - judging criteria for the different disciplines. Pointless AKSA working away at developing our own national standard when others; with a much broader base of experience; are working on internationally accepted rules which we would certainly look to adopt as soon as they are made official.

We would welcome input from any source which could add to the body of information the board has available from which we can make a decision.

Nationals Results 2010

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:38:29 GMT

- Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Results of the 2010 AKSA Australian National Freestyle Championships held at St Kilda beach, Melbourne, Feb 11 to 13, 2010.

Men
1. Andy Yates (Caloundra)
2. Keahi De Aboitz (Noosa)
3. Ewan Jaspan (St Kilda)
(Note: Keahi and Ewan get a "wild card" into the PKRA World Tour comp to be held in Gold Coast in December as Andy is already competing as the world's No 5)

Women
1.Chrissy Gaudieri (Perth WA)
2. Shannon Duckar (Perth WA)
3. Michelle England (Newcastle NSW)
(Note: Chrissy given a wild card into the PKRA World Tour)

Juniors
1.Keahai De Aboitz (Noosa QLD)
2.Ewan Jaspan (St Kilda Vic)
3.Lincoln Reeves (St Kilda Vic)

Masters (over 35s)
1. Scott Sollar(Terrigal, NSW)
2 Mario Stefano (Adelaide SA)
3. Rob Sellar

The Andy Yates Talent Award, best up and comer; Lindsay Hobbs,15 (Gold Coast)
AKSA appointed judging panel:
Toby Bromwich, head judge at St Kilda comp and one of six full-time PKRA World Tour j udges.
Sam Light, from Hayling Island, UK, and 2009 British Kite Surfing Association Men's Open winner, ranked 5th in PKRA World Tour circuit.
Tom Court from Isle of Wight, UK, ranked 11th and on the PKRA World Tour circuit and until recently UK No 1 for under 18 Alexander "Sir Rowdy" James Lewis-Hughes, experienced kiter and judge from Elliot Heads, NSW.
Jesse Richman, Maui, Hawaii, 2009 and 2008 KPWT World Champion.

The AKSA National Freestyle Titles was a sactioned IKA event. The full list of all competitors and final placings will be submitted to the IKA for World Ranking Placements.

Hero Stories

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 08:36:33 GMT

- Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Prompted by the recent heroic rescue of a jetski accident victim in Victoria the AKSA board has resolved to develop an Australia wide register which highlights the many positive events experienced by those who pursue our great sport. Details will be released soon but as a precursor the board would like it known that significant rewards from AKSA are about to be offered to members who are considered to used their kiting skills to positively impact on the broader community in some significant way.

"HERO STORIES" will be featured on all state KSA & the AKSA websites. If you know anyone who may qualify for 'HERO' status get onto them now to prepare their story in time for the announcement of our first round of awards at this years AGM.

More soon ..........

BOARD MEMBER - job description

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:17:20 GMT

- Wednesday, September 02, 2009

The Board of AKSA is made up of one nominated representative from each state affiliate. It is the role of each board member to ensure that wherever possible the national body moves in accordance with the goals and directions of his/her state association AND that their own state association is kept fully aware of, and moves in unison with the goals and directions of AKSA as well as the other states contributing to the federation.
It is a role where cooperation, communication, compromise and confidentiality are intrinsic values used to ensure the improvement of all parties which make up the federal coalition.
What are the Responsibilities of a Board Member
1) be willing & available to participate in at least one monthly (after hrs) IT or Skype meeting of the board.
2) be willing & able to access & respond at least 2 or 3 times per week to email internet postings to the private forum for discussion items that are currently on the table.(for now this is googlegroup)
3) be thorough in reporting to and from your state committee all relevant items of board and committee discussion
4) wherever possible be available to attend at least one meeting per year in person along with all other representatives. Normally this would be the AKSA AGM.

For an official description of what a board 'should be' check the following reference.

http://www.dsr.nsw.gov.au/sportsclubs/ryc_corporate_boards.asp

IKA Affiliation

Sat, 30 May 2009 01:36:49 GMT

- Tuesday, March 16, 2010

With reference to the previous article the AKSA board would like to announce that AKSA is now an affiliate of the IKA - a division of the ISAF.
We believe this is a positive move for the future of kiting in Australia and we look forward to bringing you announcements regarding the alliance as developments occur.

The first benefit to come out of our union is that the recent AKSA Freestyle Titles in Victoria was a sanctioned IKA event. Place getter were therefore awarded wildcard entries into the PKRA World Championship Event on the Gold Coast later this year.