Kitesurfing Glossary
[How to understand the most in your first kitesurfing class]
You heard a lot about kitesurfing and decided to get started? Congratulations! This page will help you to get familiar with the slang of this new and exciting world.
This kiteboarding glossary helps you as a beginner in kitesurf to understand common terminologies of this sport. Below you find a small selection of basic expressions. Trust me, there are way more ;-)
Body Dragging
body movement in the water while using kite power to move through the water without the board
Chicken Loop
semi-flexible connection element between the pilot’s harness and the (control) bar
Control bar
or simply "bar": steering element used to control the kite during flight
Dive the kite
downward flight movement of the kite to generate power to perform a waterstart or gain more power and accelerate
Downwind
following the same direction like the wind. More infos in the Wind Direction Guide.
Gust
spontaneous and significant increase of wind speed
Heelside edge
edge of the board where your feet face inward
Inflation
valve used to inflate the kite
Intermediate zone
area of the wind window that is used to generate only controlled power in a certain direction
Leading edge
inflated front edge of the kite that always meets the wind first
Leash
flexible cord that connects the pilot with the safety line of the kite
Neutral zone
powerless area along the edge of the wind window
On-shore wind
Wind that blows onto the beach with 90º angle. More information can be found in the wind direction guide.
Off-shore wind
Wind that blows onto the sea with a 90º angle, away from the beach. More information can be found in the Wind Direction Guide.
Power zone
area within wind window downwind of pilot that will generate the greatest biggest amount of force
Rider
person flying the kite
Side-shore wind
also cross-shore: wind that blows parallel with beach and sea. More information can be found in the Wind Direction Guide.
Static zone
area in the wind window where kite remains still
Toeside
edge of the board where your feet face outward, the edge closer to the toes
Trailing edge
back edge of the kite that can not be inflated
Twin Tip (board)
common type of symmetrical kiteboard
Upwind
riding straight against the wind source
Wind Window
whole area in which a kite can fly; always in relation to the current wind direction