Here Come The Girls! Women’s kitesurfing in Watamu
Women’s Kitesurfing in Watamu
Having kited for the past 17 years and from working around the world in numerous kite schools, one thing is quite evident about kitesurfing and that is it is a largely male dominated sport. From instructing kitesurfing to competing in events, numbers of females have been relatively low when compared to males. Although in recent years the tide seems to be turning (excuse the pun!)
Here in Watamu and particularly over the last year we have seen a big shift in the number of women participating in the sport. We have a great female kiting community here in Watamu there are a number of local women who are regularly out on the water. In addition to this we have a group of women that live in Nairobi that come down to Watamu over weekends during the season to enjoy the great conditions we have on offer. For the first time that I have ever seen anywhere worldwide we had a day on the Watamu kite beach recently where there were only girls out on the water all afternoon, not only that but I was also teaching two women to kitesurf at the same time.
To see such a significant shift in recent years I think also has to do with the great work the female pro riders have been doing at publicising the sport and showcasing to other women what is possible. We recently have had Colleen Carroll visit us at Tribe and it was awesome to see her drive, dedication and skill as an athlete. Colleen was so impressed with Watamu as a location she is looking to host coaching holidays here next year; more info on which to follow.
It is great to see more women getting into kitesurfing and awesome to see them descend on Watamu. Watamu has massive appeal of not being too busy of a location along with 5km of beach meaning there is plenty of space for everyone to kite. The water is wonderfully warm and we get great winds all year around. There are tonnes of accommodation options from budget to high end along with a number of other activities to keep you entertained over extended holidays or long weekends.
Here at Tribe we are really keen to assist with the rising number of female kiters. Kitesurfing has nothing to do with strength but is all about technique so do not be put off by that idea. Our core group of female kiters in Watamu are keen to show what can be achieved and are leading the way encouraging more women to get involved in kitesurfing. We are excited what the coming Kuzi season has to offer, Tribe have instruction in a number of languages with both male and female instructors. We look forward to seeing you soon!
