Kite-4-Life is the kiteboarding sector of Action Sports Foundation, a non-profit public charity in St. Petersburg, Fl. ASF is our parent organization, and created to set up and adminter public service programs and veteran appreciation events in several action sports, kiteboarding included.

ASF and K4L are designed towork together towards preserving access, obtaining NEW launch sites and riding areas, and to increase the number of kiting events throughout the USA. We also afilliate local associations with ASF/K4L to help them on their own beaches. As kiters, we all want the freedom to ride where we want, and K4L and ASF are created to help you do just that.
Be sure to check out the ASF site at www.actionsportsfoundation.org  to see some of our already completed events and clinics. You too can make these type of events happen in your area, and start building a better relationship with local officials, the public, and each other!

To get involved with ASF, or to submit an article for the site, please contact us and we will get you set up.
See you on the water!

Steve Sadler, Director
ASF
(813) 389-3683 or info@actionsportsfoundation.org

Written by Steve Sadler

Monday, 12 May 2008 02:23

This was our first event with the school, which is a marine-themed middle school, located on beautiful Boca Ciega Bay in Pinellas County. Before the event, I met with school faculty and our kiter-friendly history teacher, A.J. Gilberg. After getting a first class tour of the grounds and science building, we discussed the healthy benefits of our favorite sports, the increasing popularity, and the need for more positive role models in the community. The staff at MBMS is very excited to have a group of athletes such as us attend this event, and many ideas were flowing at this meeting. Several teachers are interested in learning to kite, and offered to assist in assembling future wind and water sport programs with TBKA to highlight the healthy benefits of our sport. Kiteboarding applies to much of the curriculum they are already teaching including Health and Fitness, Science, even Math and Geometry! Local kiters Amber Platowski and Josh Taylor fielded many questions from the crowd of students and parents about Kiteboarding, while Brian and Kyle, of Fortes Inboard showed off their sled and offered up free lessons for Honor roll students! We had planned a Kiting and Wakeboarding exhibition, but boat problems and dying seabreeze kept us grounded. Brian donated 2 lesson packages for the prize drawings, TBKA members donated a Kiteboarding lesson package, which were distributed by school faculty. We also made a great impression on the other attending organizations including Surfrider Foundation, Suncoast Sierra Club, Green Armada.org, Florida FWC, and Coast Guard. The event was a great success and we appreciate the hospitality of MBMS and its staff! We look forward to more great events with this, and other local schools, in the near future! Thanks everyone who helped pull this first event off with style! Member Spotlight: Brian is a local legend in the Wakeboarding scene, and is a great asset to kiters and instructors as well! His skilled services have helped many kiters develop their board skills in the early stages of becoming a kiter. Their website is www.fortesonline.com Kyle is an awesome Wakeboarder and a student at Admiral Farrogut Academy. He is an up and coming rider who is mentored by one of our own local kite/wake instructors, Adam Delvecchio, who could not attend the event due to an injury earlier that week. Heal quick Adam, we miss you! Amber Platowski got some great shots of the event and did a great job of keeping things organized. She’s a familiar face at the local riding spots and sacrifices valuable riding time to get great action shots of all of us! Her photography is well known locally, and I am happy to report that The Kiteboarder magazine has taken notice of her talents and published several of her pictures in recent issues! Check out her website at www.kitesurfingpics.com and admire the awesome pics from the eyes of a kiter-chick! Congratulations Amber! Josh Taylor is a former student at MBMS and now attends Osceola High. He is now 17 and his desire to become a professional kiter motivated him to improve his grades, attendance and attitude. His parents and teachers are pleased with his amazing progress and fully support his efforts! J.T.’s progression on the water parallels his school work, and he’s now sponsored by our local shop, Watersports West,Transcend Kiteboarding, and Eclipse Kiteboarding. Nice going Josh, keep up the good work!

What a Day!

The recent Beach Day 4 the Kids with The Children’s Home was, by far, our best event ever!  Their staff brought about 85 kids to Ft. Desoto Park to treat them to a day at the beach with local kiteboarders, surfers, windsurfers, and skimboarders who volunteered their time to help out at this event. The volunteers’ reward was seeing all those smiling faces having a great time in the water, just like we get to do so often. All the kids were trying out the boards, and some of them were even surfing the small waves!  

This event was set up by Mike Hall, who is a local professional kiteboarder, wakeboarder, and sailing instructor. The day was sponsored by several local restaurants including: Shaner’s Land and Sea Market, The Wharf, and The Undertow Beach Bar. Their donated food was prepared by volunteer chefs who had 5 grills going full blast for several hours. Feeding over 150 people outdoors is not easy, but the teamwork of the volunteers made this very fun and easy to do.  After filling up on burgers, hot dogs, and chicken, the kids participated in an egg toss, with the winners getting to throw their eggs at “Mr. Mike”. The egg toss was followed by a tug-of-war on the beach, and of course, more water time for everyone.

Steve-O of Watersports West brought out a few stand-up paddleboards for the kids to play on, and John and Julie Pappas of Suncoast Surfrider Foundation brought a bunch of surfboards and skim-boards, complete with volunteer instructors. The kids ages ranged from 5-16 years old, with the majority in the 8-11 range. They all had fun, and are definitely eager to get back on the water to practice their board skills! This was our first big event and really made a great impression on the kids and staff of The Children’s Home, who were all smiles all day, so our mission was accomplished! We are looking forward to the next fun event with these wonderful children. Thanks to all the Tampa Bay locals who helped make this event a success!  

(See more Pics of the Event) 

From Chris Boulanger of The Children’s Home:  

I just wanted to thank you and your organization for a great day on Wednesday. I have not seen the entire campus have that much fun, staff included, in a long time. The event was very well organized and the people you have working with you were great with the kids. We were honored to be a part of your organizations first big event and look forward to seeing Kite 4 Life grow!
Good Luck with everything and be sure to pass along a BIG Thank You from everyone at The Children’s Home.

Join Kite 4 Life and Tampa Bay Kiteboarding Association

Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Ft. Desoto Park
North Beach
11 AM – 4:30 PM

We will be welcoming youth and staff of The Children’s Home to a day of fun in the sun!

Conceived by Mike Hall, a local professional Kiteboarder, Wakeboarder, and Sailing Instructor, the day includes skimboarding, surfing, and windsurfing, softball and soccer games, sand castle building contest, face painting and more with Tampa Bay Rays players, professional water-sport athletes, and volunteers from K4L who will make this a day the kids will never forget!  There will also be kiteboarding and wakeboarding exhibitions by local pros, and the kids will get to try sailing a boat provided by the Clearwater Community Sailing Center.

The K4L environmental education team will talk to these youngsters about the importance keeping the beaches clean, respecting, and protecting marine life. The day’s activities will be wrapped up with a beach cleanup, to leave Ft. Desoto in tip-top shape.  Several local restaurants have donated food for the day, including Shaner’s Market, The Wharf Seafood Restaurant, and The Undertow Beach Bar.

If you would like to donate or volunteer for this great event, please contact
Mike Hall at (727) 564-8609 or
Steven Sadler at (813) 389-3683.

See you at the beach!

Kite 4 Life is a non-profit organization of local athletes, industry professionals, and sports enthusiasts whose mission includes educating the public about safety, environmental awareness, and the healthy, positive lifestyle of action sports.