Kitesurfing

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Sandra Hutchinson is our new guest. Sandra is mad about kitesurfing and she's going to tell us all about this unusual new sport. Hello, Sandra. Hello, everyone. I've heard of kite flying, but what exactly is kite surfing? As the name suggests, it's a hybrid sport. It combines surfing with kite flying. If I may, I'd like to clarify one point. The sport may be less than ordinary, but as a matter of fact, it's been around for quite a while. How astonishing. So when was it invented? About 10 or 20 years ago? Actually, it dates back to the 13th century. It wasn't a sports discipline then, but the Chinese used it as a means of transport. They used kites to take advantage of the wind to gather energy to power their canoes. So the technology, if I may say so, is pretty ancient. How interesting. I guess it's quite popular too. Incredibly so. Is it a sport for everyone? Is it easy to learn? Well, kite surfing is relatively simple when compared to other water sports, such as surfing or windsurfing, but it's still a fairly dangerous sport. So if you want to minimise the risks, you should opt for some training before you do it by yourself. For example, you ought to learn escape techniques which are very useful when you're in trouble. You also need to find out how to surf safely without posing a danger to the other surfers around you. So it isn't a sport for everyone, is it? Hardly. You've got to be fit, strong and have excellent concentration. But it's a sport to learn physics through. What do you mean? Because you can learn about aerodynamics and Newton's law of motion in a more enjoyable way than by sitting in the classroom and reading your tedious physics book. Unfortunately, schools are not so keen on that. Understandable in many ways, isn't it? Is kite surfing likely to become an Olympic discipline? It almost did, but was rejected in the end. It was supposed to replace windsurfing at the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games, but the idea didn't take off. I guess it's because the sport isn't yet massively popular, but we are still hopeful that one day we'll be able to compete at the Olympic Games. Best of luck. Thank you, Sandra. You're welcome.