Over Summer we had Sandra working with us, she is a young european girl who is living her dream. She is an amazing Kiter and a very experienced and patient teacher. We were lucky to have her help us out. Here is a little about her and the wonderful life she has created for herself. Introducing Sandra
My name is Sandra, I was born in 1993, on 12th of May. I am from a tiny little country called Slovenia that most people never hear of. Most people have hear of Venice, Italy. Well, my home town Ljubljana is three hour drive away.
I started kiteboarding in Teneriffe, Canary islands. My parents took me on windsurfing holidays when I was 12 years old, but I wanted to do something ‘’cooler’’ than windsurfing – that’s how I and my sister started kiteboarding. My parents got hooked as well and in the next couple of years I and my family would travel to different kite destinations around the world just to enjoy this sport. I am super thankful to my parents for making my dreams come true and support me in every possible way. My dream was to become a professional kiteboarder and I entered a few competitions but decided to finish my education first and that crushed my dream. I only decided to become an official instructor two years ago because I was granted an instructor position on Maui, Hawaii for half a year and it seemed as a great way to travel. Teaching people how to do sports is my passion as I’m coming from ski instructing background. I enjoy getting more people hooked on this sport as it completely changes your lifestyle! All you can think about after getting into the sport is where and when you can travel to find the best wind and waves/flat water.
My favourite thing about kiteboarding… it’s changing through the years. I used to be a complete adrenaline junky and would enjoy the rush I got when I landed a new trick.I still enjoy that now but I also really appreciate the local kite community and friends you make along the way. To every new spot I travel I instantly make a connection with people that enjoy the same sport as I.
Before coming to Australia I was aware there is a big surfing community there but was expecting at least as big of a kiteboarding community. However I was surprised to find the best kite spots I’ve seen in my life totally empty, with maybe one or two kiteboarders here and there. Or even a completely empty spot! Coming from Europe where the good kiteboarding spots are super overcrowded this seemed like paradise. I think there are great opportunities for this sport to develop further as Australia have quite high standard of living. I think the problem here is the strong surfing community – a lot of good surfers are not willing to learn something new as they are already good at one sport. But they don’t see the advantage of using the wind to catch the waves when the conditions are not as good for wave surfing. I think it would be great if we could open more kitesurfing schools around Australia and grow this amazing sport.
Raley to blind with surface handlepass
Rally
Photo by Jimmie Hepp
Top Picture – Kitefishing on Maui – every 4th of July they organise a kitefishing competition – you attach a fishing line to your harness and cruise through the water slowly, trying to catch fish! Only one time per year though as we love our ocean.
