Yeah Chad it's fairly complex issue that has come up every few years since the beginning of kiteboarding in Minnesota. I looked at the early posts and the first time this was debated was 2003, even though the self imposed ban was in place before that.
We originally created the ban after a kiter was unable to relaunch his kite and got pulled into the SW bay near Thomas beach. His kite was up on shore and he was in the water. Lore has it that people on the trail were walking over his lines and a mom and stoller even went over them. Obviously if that kite had launched while that baby stroller crossed the lines, we'd probably never kite in MN again. So there are obvious risks to gazillions of people who enjoy the lake in the summer.
The lake is also an extremely gusty lake, especially in summer. Every parking lot and roof top create thermals that reek havoc on the wind, not to mention the buildings surrounding the lake. In 1996 I created LAWA (lakes area windsurfing advisory...kiting as we know it had not been invented yet) for the purpose to encourage riders to check out some of the other great lakes in Minnesota. Many windsurfers learned on Calhoun and gave it up because Calhoun was all they knew and assumed that was what windsurfing was. Just wanted to open the options up. Funny now that there is even a desire to kite there.
Obviously there are some very talented riders in Minnesota who could reduce (not eliminate) the risks involved with riding Calhoun. This is where the issue gets more complex. If we were to develop some certification system, or decide that experienced riders can ride Calhoun, the challenge comes in keeping less experienced riders (who magnify the risks) off Calhoun. Say for example some dude riding around Calhoun in his bike sees kiters and says hey cool I can kite here. They go on Ebay and buy a kite, attempt to teach themselves down there at the beach near the kid park and well you get the story.
The only way I could imagine it working would be to have someone "policing" the entire shoreline every day with the slightest breeze. Currently we don't have that system in place and it's hard for me to imagine anyone wanting to do that....specially for a lake with such poor riding conditions.
It's been pretty amazing that we've been able to maintain this self imposed ban as long as we have. I think there have been only around a half dozen times in the last 10 years that kiters were seen on Calhoun. All of these have been individuals who knew about the ban and decided to ignore it. I'm amazed that we haven't had people who are new or traveling through town that never hear about the ban and do it because the just don't know. It is an indication that people do find info on the ban and for the most part respect that, which is reassuring.
so bottom line:
Extremely poor riding conditions (mega gusty winds, massive milfoil beds to tangle lines and limit treading water, sailboats, canoes, etc)
Shoreline lined with runners, kids, bikers, dogs, etc etc.
No system in place to monitor riders abilities so opening up for some opens it up for everyone
Visibility and media coverage if something were to happen would be significant and potentially effect access to other more desirable lakes
I don't understand why on earth we even want to consider this.
Having said that, I DO think we should have an association that provides the following:
- Safety information about riding in Minnesota, riding with windsurfers, boaters, swimmers, etc
- Launch information, Required skill levels/per wind direction, safety info (boat launch rights etc), ideal wind direction, amenities, etc.
- Legal council when (not if) an incident occurs
- Maintains an open dialog with the DNR and works with them to ensure everyone's enjoyment of the lakes
- Explores options of insurance and maybe offers it to it's members
- Organizes (with DNR approval) beach/ Launch improvement activities.
I also think it is of the utmost importance that this association NOT have any commercial ties. I think if there is a board of directors that is is made up of riders with no connection to retailers, schools, and probably even manufacturers (ie. team riders) then this would ensure the greatest adoption and hopefully unilateral support. In return, hopefully the association would indirectly support all the commercial interests in the area.
We don't have to rewrite the book here. There are many examples of this type of organization, MORC (
http://www.morcmtb.org/subpages/aboutus.html) has done an incredible job, opening and maintaining trails throughout the state. They have monthly meetings of the board, which other members can attend and voice opinions. There are countless others.
I think it's time that we grow up as a sport.
I am interested, committed and very concerned about this cause, but I think my team rider status automatically disqualifies me from being anything but a member. I'll provide support, advice, consultation if desired. I hope that a small, non affiliated team can form and take the lead on this.
thoughts?
I think the matter this time around is more on educating the community at-large and arriving at a consensus of our codes of conduct re: site selection vs. skill-level. At least that's my take on what is in the threads.
Not sure what happened to him, but I haven't seen him since.