MANFREDI SOPRANI – PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT & SOFT SKILLS

Kitesurfing
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Kitesurfing – Fifty years of evolution
• During the 1970s there were occasionally successful
attempts to combine kites with canoes, ice skates, snow
skis, water skis and roller skates

• In 1984 the Legaignoux brothers patented an inflatable

kite design that has been used by companies to develop
their own products

• In 1996 Laird Hamilton and Manu Bertin were

instrumental in demonstrating and popularising
kitesurfing in the Hawaii

• In 1999 became a mainstream sport with the entry of

key windsurfing manufacturers namely Robby Naish and
Neil Pryde

• Nowadays competitions are being held around the world

that include contests for freestyle, wave riding, long
distance racing, slalom course racing, and jumping
heights

• From 2024 it will become a permanent Olympic

discipline

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Kitesurfing – The Equipment
• The Leading Edge Inflatable kite is a single skin kite made of
polyester with inflatable bladders providing structure

• Flying Lines are made of polyethylene, to handle the dynamic

load in unpredictable wind while maintaining a small cross-
sectional profile to minimize drag

• The control bar is a composite bar which attaches to the kite via
the lines. The rider holds on to this bar and controls the kite by
pulling at its ends

• A kite harness attaches the rider to the control bar. The harness
reduces the strain of the kite's pull from the rider's arms,
spreading it across part of the rider's body

• There are now several types of kiteboards: directional surf-style

boards, Twin-tip boards and hybrids. The boards generally come
with sandal-type footstraps that allow the rider to attach and
detach from the board easily

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Kitesurfing – Styles and Locations
MAIN STYLES

• Freeride: is the most popular style, it’s about having fun and
learning new techniques

• Freestyle: the kite and board are used to get big air (jumps) so
that various tricks can be done while airborne. This style also
used for competitive events

• Wave-riding: is a style that combines kiteboarding with surfing.

Locations with a wave break are required

MAIN LOCATIONS

• Italy: the most renowned is Porto Pollo within Sardinia region

• Spain: in the city of Tarifa there is a 10 km long bay that is

characterised by durable windy season

• Around the world: other famous places are located in the North
of Brazil, in Mauritius Islands and in the Hawaii

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