Kids ski class for Australia

Does anyone in Australia make or import anything like these.

With a lot of the guys I paddle with being fathers it would be great to establish a kids "class" of ski to get them into the sport.

Regulate size, weight etc or just the one design and sponsor a kids series, any Aussie manufacturers interested in turning out such a ski at a reasonable price.





EDIT: In the past couple of hours a few facebook friends have expressed an interest in getting some sort of junior series off the ground. Very interested to hear from anyone who can contribute to the idea of a junior race series in Australia that uses a particular ski to keep cost down and the playing field level.

Dez from Blast Race Management is onboard with the idea so could be a great opportunity for a manufacturer to step up and be the boat supplier and as such the beneficiary of much publicity.

Manufacturers are welcome to contact Dez through his website if they wish to discuss this further, there will be more work being done behind the scenes as others come onboard through facebook contacts etc.

There are two types one is called the Guppie and another is sold by Mango Racing in Sydney

Thanks Tom, that's a start. On another forum it has been mentioned that even these ski present a challenge leg length wise.

I think the key to making a junior series work is to make it affordable, get the cost down and sell lots of skis.

That's why I'm thinking a manufacturer backed competition with ski's sold in bulk to parents interested in the competition, in other words get the interest in the comp established, do a bulk order for the series in the area and away we go.

Lets see if we can get a small pilot series, perhaps linked to some of the bigger races that are nearby protected waters started over here in the West and go from there.

I just checked the the prices online for the ski's I mentioned and they are not cheap, as is the case here in Aus for our ski's.
I organise the Marathon 9 series here in NSW and find that a lot of the juniors are put of by the price of new boats, second hand isn't so bad but new boats again pricey

Cheers and good luck with the organising

Tom

Unless the kid is competing in a regulated sport why would you pay that kind of money for arguably a play thing, lots of plastic skis would be just as much fun for mucking around on.

If we develop a class and people know it has a future then the manufacturer is happy as they sell lots of skis and they know it's an ongoing business, it also reassures parents there is a strong 2nd hand market as new kids come into that class.

Gotta be an attractive proposition for a ski manufacturer to have their name linked with the development of our sport.

I am not proposing to get things up and running overnight, it could be that a manufacturer that does not presently make anything like this wants to come onboard to develop the class and build a ski to a price point!?

AR: What would be an acceptable price? And for what paddler weight and age ranges? Probably single skin e-glass and vinylester layup to allow faster build time.

We are yet to come to a consensus on ages and hence ski specs but I would like to see something that a 6-7 year old could paddle and be able to handle up to say a 13 y/o and personally I would pay around $1200.

These are just my thoughts however and would be keen to hear what others thought.

Would be nice to see some of the manufactures, or even one get behind developing youngsters for our sport?

last time I looked at results to see age group popularity I think it was the 50yr group that was the biggest! Must be the only sport in Australia apart from Lawn Bowls with those figures?

Would be good to see a single boat class for young kids over short courses to help introduce the sport. Surf clubs get a lot of new club members from nipper parents who see what fun surf sports can be.

Also I can't believe more teenagers couldn't be attracted to the thrill of big breeze ocean downwinders. Heaps of fun and adrenaline producing!

In order to better understand what if any are the shortcomings of the guppie ski I went out and bought one. Will test a range of kids in it and see how it stacks up.

I am led to believe that SLSA looked at skis for younger members a while ago.
Apparently medical advice was that younger members should NOT paddle skis as their body hasn't developed enough for the greater strain paddling puts on the shoulders, arms and back.
Thinking about it it is true that the strain on the upper torso is far greater than board paddling due to the mechanical leverage the paddle gives you.
I am not a medical person so I cannot comment on how valid these points are in medical terms only that most doctors and pediatricians I speak to agree that it wouldn't be a good thing as children's bones haven't developed fully and paddling in any competitive way could do permanent damage.

Food for thought!!!

Shanan

Hmmm, thanks will take it onboard.

My initial reaction is that everything in moderation, my daughter is already doing surf cadets so is keen just to have a go.

I took my 12 y/o out this morning and she really enjoyed her 5km.

I think it would be important to have the right length paddle, keep the distance and intensity realistic and keep it fun. I'm looking forward to do some cross training out on the rescue board when she's on her nippers board.

And medical advice is that marathons kill you, and that being normal means sitting in front of the TV each night.

For some strange reason they also believe that drugs are better than exercise and that you cannot have a baby outside of a hospital.

They will also tell you that a 50 year old shouldn't take up paddling as it will ruin your back, yet this is what I did to rehabilitate what I was told was an injury that could only be fixed by activity restricting surgery with a low success rate.

Doctors smocktors, there may be some good ones out there, but they are few and far between.

Let em paddle, let em play in the dirt, let em fall down every now and again.

Tell the doctors they can shove their drug /surgery centered views and lets live a real life.

Kids/adults are meant to move and push themselves in all sorts of ways, not be wrapped in bubble wrap.

Rab, hope you had your heart rate monitor on? What you get up too writing that?

RAB,
Did you actually read what I wrote??

The medical advice was in regard to COMPETITIVE paddling where continued hard training over long periods MAY have an adverse affect in kids development. Recreational paddling is a totally different thing as it is in smaller quantities and much lower intensity.

I totally agree with let kids get dirty, run jump and play. So much so I let my 5 yr old try an obstacle course in January against my wifes' judgement and he ended up with 10 stitches in his forehead. I have felt extremely bad about it for months now but I suppose these things will happen to kids as they grow.

I will say that I wont ever totally ignore a medical CONSENSUS as I figure that I cant be right and EVERYBODY else be wrong. Commonsense is the key although it should be called rare sense as it is not all that common these days.

Shanan

Yep I did read what you wrote.

But I have been around long enough and the cynic in me developed enough, to know that that consensus of opinion is more about a group of people that do knot know the athletic body and do not understand the sport, covering arses more than anything based in reality.

Gymnasts train from toddlers, likewise swimmers who generally compete every week at club events.
They don't dish up injuries by the minute.

Football and soccer on the other hand..........yet they still have strong child participation.

This is all a crock of shite and public perception mainly.
Let em have a go.
Lets give em a paddle, but for christs sake, lets make some the right bloody size for em.

Every time I see a less than fully grown adult, and many small but fully grown smallies paddling, they are trying to wield some mammoth huge beast of a thing.

That's where any injury prevention should begin, a fully considered, totally appropriate sized equipment based activity.

Given sensibly safe water conditions and equipment that is size specific, I don't believe there is any barrier to juniors having a ball in a competitive environment.


Now a bunch of 40 to 50 year olds with poor core strength, very poor flexibility, degenerative back injuries is the strong growth area of the sport.

And you suggest that kids shouldn't do it?




Get real.

Just picked up on your thread from a year ago a sit's relevant to me now. We're importing a junior ski called the Jester into Australia as of now. It's a quality ski, stable, adjustable peddles, 13kg's and perfect for kids aged 8 an up - also a very good entry cost level ski for ladies wanting to get into paddling, under a height of 5ft10. You can chose your deck colour from 8 options, Very cost effective - drop me a mail on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Cheers
Andrew