School

WNZ extends it's sympathy to Ken Kingsbury and family

I have just received a sad message from Ken Kingsbury to say his wife Elizabeth has passed away after a long illness. I had the opportunity to spend time with Ken and his wife when I attended a 5 day windsurfing instructors course in Rotorua - Ken was at that time the WNZ Chief Instructor and ran a windsurfing school on the edge of the lake. I well remember their hospitality at the time - and we met up again a few years ago in Rarotonga where they moved later. Our sympathy goes out to Ken and his sons Guy and Simon, and if anyone would like to contact them please contact me for Kens email address.

ADVENTURE ACTIVITIES REGULATIONS have been approved by cabinet

Cabinet has approved regulations to improve safety in the commercial adventure tourism and outdoor education industries, which will come into effect on 1 November 2011. The regulations sit under the Health and Safety in Employment Act 1992 requiring commercial adventure tourism and outdoor education operators in New Zealand who provide activities that are designed to deliberately expose participants to a managed risk of serious harm, to undergo a safety audit and be registered.

Health and Safety in Employment (Adventure Activities) Regulations 2011

Despite our best efforts it looks like the system has managed to bypass us in the consultation phase for this legislation. Consultation closed on 9th of August. The draft legislation is available below:
Draft for consultation - http://www.dol.govt.nz/consultation/adventure-tourism/regulations/hse-ad... .

YNZ made a submission, and while they do not mention windsurfing (no surprises there) many of the points they make are relevant to windsurfing. Ironically, kiteboarding is not mentioned, either by the draft or YNZ.

Key points

New risk management regulations could close windsurfing schools

The worst case scenario could be that some windsurfing schools could cease operating if they become subject to new regulations planned for introduction later this year. From October 2014, without a current outdoor safety audit certificate it will be an offence to provide activities which involve significant hazards and some level of instruction or leadership. It is anticipated that typical up-front audits will cost between $1300 and $2500.

Akaroa Sailing School

Akaroa

Oliver Davey -
Ollie has spent all his summers on the water making use of the awesome conditions that you can get around New Zealand! In 2008 he started-up the Akaroa Sailing School to help others get into sailing and windsurfing and make it easy to experience the unique sailing conditions in Akaroa Harbour.

Windsurfing school setup for sale

If you ever though a lifestyle change to teaching windsurfing was an option then this may interest you. Full school setup (or parts thereof) has been posted on Trademe.

If you are associated with a yacht or windsurfing club that wanted a set of gear for teaching this is also a great opportunity to get the gear you need as the seller is also prepared to break it down to order as an option.
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Local windsurfing contacts wanted for summer media commentaries

LAST CALL - Radio stations often have a spot where they chat to someone about the conditions for surfing etc. each day, just a couple of minutes usually, maybe only once or twice a week. It would be great if we could get a list of contacts who would be prepared to comment on the local conditions for windsurfing on an occasional basis and maybe add a few comments about the sport, how to get started, how to stay safe etc. This would obviously suit someone running a business related to windsurfing, kiteboarding, SUP etc.

Regulations drawn up for adventure tourism - how will this impact windsurfing instruction?

Safety audits costing up to $2500 could impact windsurfing schools when new safety regulations come into force on 1 October 2011. The Government announced in August that adventure tourism operators would be required to be registered and undergo a safety audit. The new regulations come under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, making it an offence to provide activities involving significant hazards and some level of instruction or leadership without a current safety audit certificate. They won’t apply to organisations that don’t charge fees, like schools or voluntary clubs or groups.

Windsurfing NZ Affiliated Windsurfing Schools standards checklist

Practise your windsurfing instruction skills in the USA (Ad)

Every year we send thousands of young people from around the world to work at summer camps across America. We seek people with select specialist skills such as windsurfing,and this is a great chance for them to coach the skills they have to children.