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Why does it seem windsurfing is fading away
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WutUpWitU



Joined: 21 May 2000
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 10:18 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

zirtaeb wrote:
Windsurfing is supercheap, compared to motocross, roadracing, waterskiing, and even ski/snowboarding.
And all those sports have the same techno talk and knowledge as windsurfing.
If you want simple jungle sports, try soccer, basketball, and solo running.


yea, compared to those it is cheap but
if you want to grow the sport with younger players it is not cheap to them
and it is not easy to get to the beach with no drivers license or car especially with all the stuff you need
and the techno talk
and then add the learning curve
how many people are willing to give up most of their short vacation to try to learn a sport that will not be a lot of fun to start with and then have no good place to do it at home and no one to do it with and no way to get to it

how many "sports" have all these barriers?
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ronm41



Joined: 02 May 2007
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

WATUPWITU wrote:
zirtaeb wrote:
Windsurfing is supercheap, compared to motocross, roadracing, waterskiing, and even ski/snowboarding.
And all those sports have the same techno talk and knowledge as windsurfing.
If you want simple jungle sports, try soccer, basketball, and solo running.


yea, compared to those it is cheap but
if you want to grow the sport with younger players it is not cheap to them
and it is not easy to get to the beach with no drivers license or car especially with all the stuff you need
and the techno talk
and then add the learning curve
how many people are willing to give up most of their short vacation to try to learn a sport that will not be a lot of fun to start with and then have no good place to do it at home and no one to do it with and no way to get to it

how many "sports" have all these barriers?


Well alot of sports especially speciality sports. Bottomline is how important is it to the family to have the kids into windsurfing and how important is it to the kids. There are a lot of people who haul their kids up to Tahoe and the expense of doing that for ski training and we have ice skaters around here where the parents haul their kids to the Bay area for that training as well, atleast 2-3 x a week Shocked . It all gets back to location, if the sport is important enough for the family, you would move to get close. I know I did, I live 5 mins away from windsurfing that is OK with maybe sailable shortboard wind 2-3 days a week and my wife who does a lot of kiting gets 6-7 days a week we also live 20 mins to very good BC and resort skiing. Very Happy . I gave up career advancement to do what I do with no regrets.
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 11:24 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Yep, this sport is doomed. You might as well just give me your gear
right now and avoid the misery. ;*)

-Craig

WATUPWITU wrote:
yea, compared to those it is cheap but
if you want to grow the sport with younger players it is not cheap to them
and it is not easy to get to the beach with no drivers license or car especially with all the stuff you need
and the techno talk
and then add the learning curve
how many people are willing to give up most of their short vacation to try to learn a sport that will not be a lot of fun to start with and then have no good place to do it at home and no one to do it with and no way to get to it

how many "sports" have all these barriers?
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WutUpWitU



Joined: 21 May 2000
Posts: 52

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 11:51 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

comparing it to skiing or skating does not really work when you have to travel at all. you take your kids to either of those and you KNOW there will be snow or ice, with wind, not so much.

as far as it being doomed, who knows? maybe it will just flounder along for a while and the pick up? or die? no crystal ball here, just saying it looks like tough times will continue for a while.

and no misery here, i love playing in the water and wind. gonna keep doing it till i can't whether it is windsurfing on those killer days or kiting on those killer days or surfing on those killer days or kayaking on those killer days or....
even occasionally still tele ski or snowboard but it is easier to travel for those. not wind dependent!
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ronm41



Joined: 02 May 2007
Posts: 180

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 12:28 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

WATUPWITU wrote:
comparing it to skiing or skating does not really work when you have to travel at all. you take your kids to either of those and you KNOW there will be snow or ice, with wind, not so much.

as far as it being doomed, who knows? maybe it will just flounder along for a while and the pick up? or die? no crystal ball here, just saying it looks like tough times will continue for a while.

and no misery here, i love playing in the water and wind. gonna keep doing it till i can't whether it is windsurfing on those killer days or kiting on those killer days or surfing on those killer days or kayaking on those killer days or....
even occasionally still tele ski or snowboard but it is easier to travel for those. not wind dependent!


I guess I was looking at the aspect of time, $$ and the committment a family has to make putting kids into highend speciality sports. Bay area family putting their kid into ski race training or freeride training is thousands per season. but you are right, it is not wind dependent however, events and training gets cancelled when weather doesn't allow it so there is no guarantees for problems and disappointments as well. I think a huge reason of why people quit windsurfing and kiting too is that it is so wind and condition dependent, the addiction of being a wind chaser does get old. Maybe not so much for Bay area but where I live it is never reliable especially if a windsurfer is going to take a flyer and drive the distance to a mid or eastern Nevada lake, a lot of driving for either the best windsurfing you ever had or sit and bake.
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 1:16 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

zirtaeb wrote:
Windsurfing is supercheap, compared to motocross, roadracing, waterskiing, and even ski/snowboarding.


That varies a great deal. We seldom feel compelled to buy dedicated vehicles, fly to the ends of the earth, and/or take career hits for any of those except WSing.
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kellygeygan



Joined: 10 Apr 2000
Posts: 65

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:14 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

You may be right ...when the family together approach was sacrificed for the extreme approach probably 80% of the present and future consumer
market was also sacrificed. There is room in windsurfing for ALL types of participants and gear....gear that appeals because it works at home, works anywhere and everywhere ...making travel optional..not forced ..is the future...
Kiting offers this already and so does windsurfing...it is called Formula. It is the fastest growing windsurfing class in Europe...same thing will happen here. Gas prices will increase and people will look for thrills at home.
I never hear kiters bashing big 16 to 20 meter kites...but just say 11.0 sail or Formula Board and prepare for lots of negative, ignorant opinions. They say things like "slow" "cant turn" "too technical" these are clearly statements based on imagination, not reality.."slow" ? watch what boards again dominate the Cabrillo Enduro... "cant turn" ? that is a figure 8 slalom course ....involving turns. "too Technical" ? Guess not, since it outperforms slalom gear in a slalom race....cognitive dissonance.

techno900 wrote:
wavedave,

From another thread where I posted this:
Quote:
In the beginning (80's more or less) everyone (inland sailors) had a longboard and the more advanced added a shortboard. Everyone was on similar gear with limited choices, and the difference between the skill of the advanced sailors and the beginners wasn't that much.

Those new to the sport weren't intimidated by the "skills" of the advanced sailors, and we were all pretty happy just to be on the water even in light winds.

However, as equipment improved along with sailor skills, plus we started to get the excitement and adrenaline rush of sailing faster and faster, cruising on the old longboard became somewhat boring for many of us. At that point, new potential windsurfers were mostly exposed to the higher wind sailors and were more likely to pass on the sport unless they were into the excitement side rather than the cruising side.

I think the SUP has now replaced the old longboard, so the type of windsurfer that was happy with just cruising, is now back for the SUP boards (some with sails). It's a little like the 80's all over again, which is a good thing.

As you said, kite boarding has impacted our sport as well, more and more choices for those that like to be on the water. And as I understand it (haven't done it), it's easier to learn and become proficient compared to windsurfing, plus it has a "cool" image which appeals to the younger generation and there is less "junk" to haul around. Having watched it a lot since it's beginning, it has little appeal for me.
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cgoudie1



Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Posts: 2597
Location: Killer Sturgeon Cove

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 2:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Windsurfing is a niche sport, and it always was, because weather
is chaotic, and the learning curve is long. It expanded, because it was
"fashionable/cool/new", but that doesn't keep
people in an activity. After the "newness" wears off, it's only a certain
type of person (and they're highly recognizable), that'll really live for
it. Pining for a time long past when the world was filled with colorful
sails is neither productive nor healthy. The sport is what it is. It's
not going away, but you won't see a board in every garage either.

Kiteboarding is slightly more accessible, because it's easier to learn,
but it'll shrink, just like Windsurfing did, because it's the same kind of
niche sport.

At least that's my opinion.

-Craig

WATUPWITU wrote:
comparing it to skiing or skating does not really work when you have to travel at all. you take your kids to either of those and you KNOW there will be snow or ice, with wind, not so much.

as far as it being doomed, who knows? maybe it will just flounder along for a while and the pick up? or die? no crystal ball here, just saying it looks like tough times will continue for a while.

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beallmd



Joined: 10 May 1998
Posts: 1154

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 4:30 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Hey, what's the alternative?


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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Sat May 05, 2012 5:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

kellygeygan wrote:
Formula. It is the fastest growing windsurfing class in Europe...same thing will happen here.


Given its dependence on bringing a fleet of racers together with adequate breezes on a schedule laid out even days, let alone weeks to months, in advance ... I'll believe it when I see it. For 30 years now I've always chuckled when people ask me whether I'm going windsurfing on some given date hours to months in advance. The answer is "I hope to know by noon that day, and will know for sure by sunset that evening." Of all the facets of windsurfing, none turns me off more quickly and thoroughly than each and every aspect of racing. The whole premise of recreation for many of us is escaping rules and timetables and obligations, not adding more of them to our lives.

I wonder how high the correlation is between political persuasion and a penchant for regulated recreation?
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