Kiteboarding is flying a big kite (from 75 to 180 square feet) about 100 feet high in the air and then using that kite to pull yourself across any surface while riding a board. The kiteboarder wears a harness around his or her waist and hooks up to the lines that connect to the kite. Depending on the kite, between 2 and 8 lines attach to the kite and a handle bar allows accurate navigation to produce a wide range of wind power. A board, not unlike a snowboard, is used to navigate across the surface of the water. On the snow, a snowboard or skiis("Kiteskiing"), or on the ground, a mountainboard("Kitelandboarding"), which is something like an off-road skateboard.

Few agree as to where this sport really originated. While some say that Thomas Edison was the first person to actually use a kite to pull himself across the water, recent origins of the sport date back to the mid-90’s in Hawaii. Today, sophisticated advances in the equipment and years of experience have led to a safer sport that is practiced in all corners of the Earth, on water, snow,land, and of course, air!

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