Just got this from James Brown. Sounds like a valuable effort and worth supporting. Looking forward to what they'll come up with for the tour. Check it out:
_______________________________________________________
Greetings Snowkiters,
An exciting development has recently come about, and we are looking for your valuable opinions about the newly formed American Snowkite Association and North American Snowkite Tour. We would appreciate it if you would go to the A.S.A. site http://www.americansnowkiteassociation.org to check out what is going on and chime in with your thoughts.
This is a big step toward legitimately organizing snowkiting in North America. Europe has been way ahead of us for a long time but we can catch up with your help!
What happened?!
During the recent AWSI industry gathering, there was a special session about snowkiting. This session had the highest attendance and enthusiasm during the week according to Anton Rainold from Colorado Kiteforce. Kiteboarding Magazine editor, Aaron Sales led the session and many companies, pro riders and enthusiasts showed up. The result was the formation of the North American Snowkite Tour.
Along with the tour, they realized that the U.S. and Canada need to form separate legitimate associations in order to create a tour that includes both countries and has the potential for snowkiting to become an Olympic event. A tentative tour schedule has been posted and will be under discussion as everything gets worked out. Again, your opinions are welcome and encouraged.
P.S.
Please feel free to post this message on your local area websites or forward this email to anyone who may be interested.
Regards,
James Brown | Editor and Creative Director
V. 303.979.4738 | F. 866.267.6718 | 1775 Xenia Street, Denver, CO 80220
Visit us online at http://www.driftsnowkitemag.com
American Snowkite Association
Moderator: MK
Re: American Snowkite Association
Tighe - Thanks for sharing.
For those interested, I have checked into the ASA forums and wanted to summarize what I am hearing.
It sounds like the group that met at AWSI started as an "impromptu" gathering. The ideas of starting both an American Snowkite Association (ASA) and a North American Snowkite Tour (NAST) came out of that meeting. The Association and the Tour are being discussed as two seperate entities. It looks like there are 43 members listed on the website as of Friday.
From what I have read so far, it sounds like most of the interest is being voiced by kiters from the western mountain regions of Colorado, Montana, and Utah among others. I did see the people running the Tug Hill,NY snowkite event adding their name to the list. If we want to have a midwestern presence on the NAST, the local event organizers AND local snowkiters should probably make our feelings known on the forums. I personally believe the Mille Lacs Crossing has a long, distinguished history and deserves a place on the NAST if Mike Fox and his team elect to take part.
The ASA is in the early development stages. They are still trying to determine things like: organizational structure, nominate candidates and hold a Board of Directors election, and decide if membership would require dues. The NAST is also in the early stages of development. They are trying to organize a tour committee, tour sponsors, and a tour schedule.
At this stage I would say if anyone,or any event, is interested in getting involved, now would be the time. You would be getting in at the start of either the ASA or the NAST and able to help influence the direction and growth. If you have the interest, I suggest jumping on the website and get involved.
I want to be fair and say there have been a few blogs on other forums questioning the need for a formal association and/or a formal snowkite tour. It has created some interesting comments and debates. In the end I think participation is an individual decision. If you see value, support the organization or event. If not, just keep kiting !
For those interested, I have checked into the ASA forums and wanted to summarize what I am hearing.
It sounds like the group that met at AWSI started as an "impromptu" gathering. The ideas of starting both an American Snowkite Association (ASA) and a North American Snowkite Tour (NAST) came out of that meeting. The Association and the Tour are being discussed as two seperate entities. It looks like there are 43 members listed on the website as of Friday.
From what I have read so far, it sounds like most of the interest is being voiced by kiters from the western mountain regions of Colorado, Montana, and Utah among others. I did see the people running the Tug Hill,NY snowkite event adding their name to the list. If we want to have a midwestern presence on the NAST, the local event organizers AND local snowkiters should probably make our feelings known on the forums. I personally believe the Mille Lacs Crossing has a long, distinguished history and deserves a place on the NAST if Mike Fox and his team elect to take part.
The ASA is in the early development stages. They are still trying to determine things like: organizational structure, nominate candidates and hold a Board of Directors election, and decide if membership would require dues. The NAST is also in the early stages of development. They are trying to organize a tour committee, tour sponsors, and a tour schedule.
At this stage I would say if anyone,or any event, is interested in getting involved, now would be the time. You would be getting in at the start of either the ASA or the NAST and able to help influence the direction and growth. If you have the interest, I suggest jumping on the website and get involved.
I want to be fair and say there have been a few blogs on other forums questioning the need for a formal association and/or a formal snowkite tour. It has created some interesting comments and debates. In the end I think participation is an individual decision. If you see value, support the organization or event. If not, just keep kiting !