I want to say a big thank you to all of you that helped out or showed up at the events this year for the inaugural kick off of the NAST. It was such a blast and the overall response from everyone was very positive regarding the concept of the tour. Yes, some tweaking needs to be done here and there, and a lot of volunteering and hard ground work, but the future looks awesome for next year!

Those of you that didn't make it to the stops on the tour, no worries, I am sure we will meet up at the ones next year. Plus, next year the sights are set a lot higher and we will be attempting to incorporate MANY stops from Alaska to Canada to all of America. Next year tho, we hope to not only have point-earning events, but also be fully supportive of rally's and local get-togethers.
For obvious reasons this first year was limited to four point-earning stops so we could work out all of the kinks, glitches, and goblins. I hope this didn't offend anyone, but with the limited volunteers it was apparent that stuff needed to be dialed in before the tour is taken to the full national level.

So here it is, thank you thank you thank you. Thank you to the snowkite community, thank you to the kiters, thank you to the locals, thank you to the spectators, thank you to everyone that even thought about the whole tour concept.

On that note, for those of you that did attend can you answer a few questions?
1. What was your favorite stop?
2. What was your favorite part (i.e. race, freestyle, etc...)
3. What do you think really needs to be worked on? (aside from wind conditions)
4. What do you feel would be some really great non-wind day events?
5. Any other thoughts?

For those that didn't make it to the events:
1. Why did you choose not to attend the events?
2. What events would you like to see incorporated into the tour next year?
3. Any other thoughts?

I am personally more than happy to take all criticism and praise and think that everyone that is a part of the community right now should have a say. So lay it on me and I will make sure that it comes up in the next go-around.

Have a good one, and come out and ride with me in Colorado thigh burning powder!!!

Nic

I really planned on going to snowkite soldier but the trip proved to be too expensive for me alone. I will start saving for next year. I tried to snowkite several times this year but I only got 2 short local sessions. I need to find more places within a couple of hours from where I live. No criticism but I would like to hear how things went!

For those that didn't make it to the events:
1. Why did you choose not to attend the events?
A. Too much time, money and fuel needed to attend events that are western based. Originally therwas supposed to be a visit to the eastern U.S. but that got dumped. If I were to head west to say Snowkite Soldier I would likely spen my time freeriding and exploring all that kickass terrain. Not sitting around riding close to the launch area.
2. What events would you like to see incorporated into the tour next year?
A. Haven't given it any though having not attended any of this year's tour. I would be interested in a long distance point to point race. Something in the ball park of at least 40miles.
3. Any other thoughts?
A. Points systems are lame. They only allow either sponsored riders or the privledged/wealthy to compete with any hope of winning. Your average snowkiter cannot afford the travel required to compete effectively in a points system competition structure. That is unless the series is relatively local, as in statewide.

To be honest, I had totally forgotten about this whole thing. We're a bit isolated here in the Northeast.;-)

Flash,
It was the most amazing events in the history of kiting, and although there was a huge effort by all I have to nominate you and Gary Greene for the most hardworking and dedicated to the North American snowkiting world. Thanks

1. DSO was the only stop I could attend, too expensive to get to the others.(Expense in travel, more expensive to take the time off of work!)
2. Favorite part was just the camaraderie, as always. Racing is always fun, trying for tricks is fun. Just having fun and not being ultra-competitive is nice for me. I deal with enough of that in other sports.
3. Needs more promotion(cross sport/retail presence possibly advertisements/attempts to gain more large-scale local media coverage), and WAY more stops on the tour. I felt bad that several of the people I regard as the best in their field were unable to attend any events due to them being in another country or merely live on the east coast.. Need full support from sponsors for the tour. Wainman supported, but didn't show at the DSO(even though there is a wainman rep in Denver...nice work fella, whoever you are). Epic was a sponsor, but I heard of no demos, perhaps the rep was only there as a rider. For the reps who do show to be more vocal about trying their gear, it still seems to be a "sure you can get on a demo" but then something comes up. Perhaps organized signup for a demo?
4. No wind? Bocce ball, horseshoes, bungee/winch into a kicker, ultimate frisbee, fire up the BBQ?

5. Yeah, you need to heal well enough so you can actually ride at one of these! I was sad to see you at two DSO's in a row without you doing any riding!

Love it guys, thanks, this is all getting passed on into the next conference call.

Another Eastcoaster here that hopes you can make a stop around these parts next time.

East coast folks, which events would you like to see the NAST try and woo into joining?

Anything in the East Coast region...
Kitestorm would be one option. The Tug Hill event would be another.
Course... you could just come out to Tug Hill at any time during the year and set something up... I suppose. Though you might want to coordinate with some of the locals to make sure it goes off without a hitch. Would be cool to see two events take place in that region... Its a great snowkiting region...