Winter Kiteboarding

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If you ever drive west down the 403 into Hamilton you may have noticed the massive kites out on the water at Princess Point from time to time. They’re kiteboards. Although this may not be the weather you picture when you hear “kiteboarding” , the sport can be done all year round, and today’s weather was perfect to get out on the frozen lake.

It takes time and finesse to harness the power of the wind. Tiny tugs on the kitestrings can send your sail plummeting to the ground. Kiteboarding instructor, David Rittberg, spends about ten hours with beginners before they master the basics. “It’s a lot of legwork, just like downhill skiing, snowboarding or wakeboarding. It’s a lot of legwork to edge against the kite and then your back and your arms get a good workout for controlling it.”

In his nine years of kiting, Mr. Rittberg says he’s seen the sport explode in Europe, but Canadians haven’t caught the bug yet. He blames the winter, even though kiteboarding is a year round sport.

Safety features on the kite’s harness let riders detach if the wind gets dangerous- so it’s relatively safe. However, Mr. Rittberg does have one warning, “Once you get into it, you kind of forget about work, you forget about everything else and you just chase the wind around the world.”

If you try it, he says, prepare to get addicted.

David Rittberg is hosting a clinic with McMaster Sports this Sunday, Feb. 1st.
For more information, call 905-523-8880.