Kite Sports

Kite boarding
Tracy Kraft

The oldest kite sport is kite fighting, in which kite fliers engage in airborne "tangles" that test the merits of kites and kite makers. Usually cutting line—covered with ground glass or other abrasive material—is maneuvered to sever the opponent's line. Practiced in a number of forms throughout Asia, kite fighting is most prominent in India, Pakistan, Thailand, Japan, Korea, and, once again, Afghanistan, now that the prohibition against kite flying, imposed by the Taliban, has been lifted. North America is developing its own kite fighting traditions, in which combatants maneuver to touch rather than cut each other's lines.

Indian fighter kites for sale
Photographer unknown

Kite power has recently become the new motor for a variety of outdoor sports. Kite surfing on water, kite boarding on snow, and kite buggying on beaches and dry lakes are just three examples of the power and fun these high tech engines bring. Additionally, kite sailing may be on the verge of transforming this ultra-competitive sport (already, America's Cup yachts have experimented with kite spinnakers). To the dream of harnessing nature's power come kites of new materials, new designs, and innovative applications. The Drachen Foundation will sponsor a kite sailing symposium in 2006, and regularly prints contributions from and about sport kite innovators in the DF Kite Journal.