Understanding event types and skill levels for competition consist of pair or individual. They will fall into classes or groups that are Novice, Experienced or Masters. In the good old USA your only requirement to compete is to be a member of the American Kitefliers Assocition.

The event types you will hear referred to as a discipline like “individual ballet” or “precision”. There are 20 different disciplines recognized by the American Kitefliers Association. When you get your program for a competition you will need to understand the three letter designation for the disciplines so here is a little chart to help in your understanding.

Discipline Abbreviations

First Letter            Second Letter              Third Letter
E = Experienced   I = Individual               B = Ballet
M = Master          M = Multi-line             F = Freestyle
N = Novice          Q = Quad-line             P = Precision
O = Open              P = Pair                      T = Train
T = Team

In a program you would see examples like the following:

MTB = Master Individual Ballet
OPP = Open Pair Precision
NMP = Novice Multi-line Precision

Note: When you see “Open” as a discipline it means that competitors can be Experienced, Master or Novice.

Where is the Best Place to Watch a Sport Kite Competition?

Always check to see where the judges are sitting. They will be positioned somewhere behind the competitors for the best view. Somewhere around this area will give you the best field of view. The competition field will always be roped off for two reasons. One for the safety of the spectator’s and two for the competitor’s because if they fly outside the ropes they are disqualified.

Why Music Sometimes and Sometimes Not?

The two main types of competition include the Ballet and Precision. The Sport Kite Ballet is always choreographed to music and a routine will run from about 2 to 5 minutes. Watch The Mystery Ballet and Light Wind and don't forget to turn up the sound!

Precision Competition

With Precision competition there is no music used. The requirement here is for the competitor to fly three different figures and a technical routine of their own design. It is broken down into 4 classes of competition which are as follows multi-line individual, dual-line individual, dual-line pair and dual-line team. Each class has 12 possible compulsory figures that can be flown in Precision Sport Kite Competition. In this video see Stack Sport Kites Eurocup 2008.

While surfing the Internet for your first sport kite you will be amazed at the variety of kites. Many shapes and sizes and different types, so what do you look for to make the best kite selection.

Materials that are used to make some you will find to be more durable than others. The cheapest are paper sails but they are very fragile. The stronger and water-resistant types are made of rip-stop nylon or rip-stop polyester. You will find that carbon fiber tubes and fiberglass rods outlast the wood type many times over.

Cherry Bomb Sport Kite - $ 42.90 The Cherry Bomb Stunt Kite is built tough to handle the serious demands of learning. Responsive to give you maximum control, the Cherry Bomb is fully trick-able.

The light-weight kites are the types that fly the best. The cheapest or most affordable kites you will find made of wood and plastic. Sail is made of plastic or paper in very light-weight material you will find are not as durable as the nylon and fiberglass types.

Size matters! Shape matters! The larger kites fly much better than the smaller ones. Remember the larger the kite is going to pull against the wind a lot harder, so stronger control lines will be needed. The shape determines also how well it flies. No matter what the shape birds, fish, people or any kind of geometric pattern the finished kite will have to be balanced.

All kites are different in some way and will require a specific wind range in which it will fly the best. The very light kites prefer the very light winds. Flying in very strong winds requires stronger construction materials and control lines.

For a beginner or the novice start out with a simple kite like a nylon delta kite, the eddy kite and sled kites you will find the easiest to set up and fly.

For the novice adding a tail adds two things a very dramatic flair and stability to the flight characteristics.

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