What are the prerequisites to learn kitesurfing?

For this new blog post, here are some recurring questions that we will try to answer today🙂

Am I too old to learn kitesurfing? At what age can children start kiting? What physical conditions to start kiting? Is an old injury compatible with learning and practice?

The first logical question we all ask ourselves when signing up to learn a new sport is: what is the ideal age to learn kitesurfing?

Learning and practicing kitesurfing will be suitable for a very large audience ranging from 8 to 80 years old.
. There is actually no no real age limit and we most often find on kite spots as many 20 year olds as 50 year olds.

 

Kiting will also appeal to all audiences, given that there is no difference between men and women. Kiteboarding being a relatively gentle sport in practice (apart from the most extreme disciplines) and the power of the sail adapted according to the wind, even the smallest people will not encounter any problems learning to kite. Often, attached to an image of extreme sport, kitesurfing in its early days attracted young lovers of riding and thrills. Today, this image is gradually disappearing, with kite brands offering more accessible and safer equipment. Now very ofthen, we will find as many man as woman kiteboarders on kite spots.

Kitesurfing for children

At Addict kite school Tarifa, we have put everything in place to be able to welcome and teach kitesurfing to children, from a very young age. Safety being of course the essential point of their learning, we have adapted the material to their practice.We accept children from 8 years old and over their age, we will be vigilant about their weight. Indeed, children weighing less than 30 kg will unfortunately not have the prerequisites to start a kitesurfing course in Tarifa. Children with too thin a body shape will not be able to handle the sail and make enough opposition to practice.

 

However, if your child weighs more than 30 kilos (around 8 years old), he or she will be able to have an exceptional experience and will have the chance to be one of the youngest kiters in the world. Like most sports, learning young is priceless. Not having the same apprehension as adults, they will experience more efficient and rapid progression..

Small wetsuits, harnesses, vests, kites, boards… we have all the equipment suitable for the youngest.

Physical conditions

Now that the age question is answered and you’re ready to sign up for your first kitesurfing lesson in Tarifa, just the question of the physical conditions. Although there are no mandatory prerequisites, good physicalconditions will help you progress faster.

 

As kitesurfing is a fairly complete sport, you will need to use all your muscles to stand up on the board. The neck, traps and shoulders will help you look up and steer the kite, the abs and thighs will help you stand up and manage the board.

Our courses take place over several days, you cannot avoid morning aches and pains 😀.

Subsequently, you don’t need to be an excellent swimmer to learn or practice kiting, but being comfortable in the water is very important. There will be many situations where you will no longer have your feet and you will have to recover your board, return to the shore… Of course the wetsuit and the use of a flotation vest during the lessons will allow you to tire less and thus concentrate on everything else.

During kite lessons, we always have a rescue boat nearby, ready to intervene if necessary.

In Tarifa, no medical certificate is required to book a kitesurfing course.

Finally, it will be entirely possible for you to consider learning and practicing kitesurfing after a past injury. We of course advise you to check directly with your doctor to verify that everything is ok. But many kiteboarders have had old injuries to their knees, shoulders and handles. The different harnesses and the evolution of materials will even allow all people suffering from back pain to consider learning and practicing kitesurfing.

So the best thing is to test and discover the sensations without preconceptions.

For more information on how our kite lessons run, we advise you to visit our latest blog post.