The first Issue of Thriller has been published and is available by email. simply submit your email address in the form above "get the newsletter". The Party was a good time for all and many crazy story ideas were generated.

print versions will be available instore soon.

After a wait that was way too long, the Ozone 09 gear has landed. We will run demo days on weekends at the passage whenever we can, and whenever suits you, you can demo at Currimundi. Just ask in store (5438 8118). This gear has been getting awesome reviews worldwide, so find out what all the fuss is about for yourself. Book in a demo.

Speed Coaching is all about skills development in a quick easy format. $15 buys you 15 minutes in a radio helmet getting coaching and key tips from three top coaches. Andy Yates (Aussie elite rider), Torrin Bright (NZ elite rider) and Mike Walker (Kitethrills head coach) will watch you and give you the core tips and fault corrections you need to work on. Kitethrills continues to innovate to bring our customers the best service possible. We have recognized that intermediate skills need practice and most customers want to work on one or two at a time. This leaves the instructor doing a lot of waiting and watching and not a lot of actual coaching. Cut the crap! Get the message across! Now go practice. Register online or by phone 07 5438 8118

Finally after months of preparations, Kitethrills.com has a new look. The main goal is to make it easier for you to be our customer. The new website is just one way we are working on improving the convenience of shopping with us, you'll see more soon. Another important goal of the new website is to improve the communication flows between us. So please have a look and let us know how we can serve your kiteboarding needs better. What would you like to know, what would you like to buy, where would you like to go. Let us know so we can provide hassle free service for your next holiday, gear purchase or coaching course.

Do you know someone who wants to try kitesurfing? TRY IT is a hands-on intro to kitesurfing. Kitethrills TRY IT TASTER is good for people who haven't kited before but are keen to get into the sport. You will start to learn the skills needed to control a large kite so you can combine this with the board and get into the most exhilarating and awesome sport you could imagine.

We start at 4:30pm on Monday nights. TRY IT TASTER is held at Currimundi Lake or at Bulcock Beach / Happy Valley. You need to register your place beforehand and find out which location we will be at. Afterwards we have a BBQ and answer your questions.

Sign up by email info@kitethrills.com Subject: TRY IT or phone 0754388118 Visit www.kitethrills.com a few days before in case of changes

Kitethrills has given away dozens of free kitesurfing courses this summer as word of our free unlimited lessons offer spreads. If you know someone who is going to get into the sport., we will teach them for free - as long as it takes. All they have to do is prove their commitment to the sport. When they buy a new kiteboarder package from us, we commit to teach them the skills they need to use it. That's right! The Sunshine Coast's first, most experienced, and only licensed school is giving away full courses to those who truly want to get into the kitesurfing. Buy any new kite, board and harness package from kitethrills and you qualify. Learn to ride for free.

Linn: The Norwegian import Linn Thomassen has brought her international experience to Kitethrills and easily found her feet in the busiest summer months. Her patient calm and confident style of teaching has produced loads of happy kitesurfers this summer. Linn has instructed for three years in Spain and Portugal in some of the busiest schools and beaches on the planet. She is also a respected snowkite instructor in Norway and may accompany Kitethrills snowkiting this winter.
Tom McGregor: Super Grom - happy, hard working, eager to learn, always smiling, keen to help. Tom has been learning the ropes around the shop and test centre. Caloundra's newest kiteboarder! Look out for some jaw dropping action from young Tom in the waves in a month or two. Happy 14th Birthday Tom.
TJ: Tiaki Chaplin has been with us for months now and is largely responsible for the webstore and products on it. Its been a big effort to get all our product range loaded on the webstore and TJ has been relentlessly punching in the data, while serving customers and hiring kayaks down at the shop this summer.

Kitethrills originals return, Dave and Aaron have returned to the teaching team this year. Dave and Aaron have taught most of the Sunshine coasts most experienced riders and instructors. Its great to have them back on board, imparting their wisdom and inspiring the next generation. Kitethrills also has a new assistant instructor in Jake Bendle, Jake has been learning the ropes this summer and definitely has what it takes to deliver a top notch lesson at any level. While heavy work commitments kept Sam Parisi low profile over summer, he has been down at the beach a lot recently and has been smashing out some awesome lessons with loads of customers requesting him personally. Sam has been teaching in Caloundra as long as I can remember and we're looking forward to seeing more of Sam on the beaches as autumn progresses.
Thanks to all the team at Kitethrills for a huge effort over summer. Hopefully Kitethrills can keep you smiling for as long as you like.

Two recent injuries at Caloundra are worth bringing up as they both have valuable lessons for us all. Firstly though, its important to acknowledge the fact that kitesurfing is statistically a very safe sport for participants and spectators. Injury rates are very low compared with other common sports and pastimes, both against the clock and on a participant basis. In a study I coordinated for the Australian Kite Surfing Association in 2004, it was shown kitesurfing is less injury prone than most ball sports such as the football codes, netball, basketball and most contact sports. So the recent accidents...
Firstly, while teaching a beginner to waterstart and ride the board, Aaron Jarman received a set of powered kite lines to the face. They collected him in the mouth and wrapped the left side of his face, leaving a nasty burn mark and a mild whiplash injury. This came totally out of the blue for Aaron and he could easily have been a non-kiting member of the public enjoying a day at the beach. Aaron said the kiter was getting pretty loose and pushing his limits but was a fair distance off. A few seconds later the accident happened. The kiter had been pushing his limits far too close to others, wiped out, looped the kite and collected the ex-national champion with his lines. Lets learn from this accident and be more respectful of space around others, especially when pushing your limits. Don't be a pushing limits upwind of others
Secondly Dave McIntyre was kiting in the recent big winds, had been landing his repertoire consistently when he caught a front edge on take off and went into a forward roll unexpectantly. Unaware he was weighting his back hand, the kite looped heavily from a low position and slammed Dave horribly, leaving him in hospital with broken ribs. Again when the limits are being explored, we need to take extra care. Dave injuries could probably have been avoided if he had chosen to bring out the safety gear for the big winds. We currently have an excellent range of impact/bouyancy vests from Dakine and Litewave. You can have them built into the harness, light weight and low profile, thick and buoyant, under your waist or seat harness, or with spreader bar integration to avid the ride-up effect. There's no denying it. Impact vests and helmets are safer.

Andy has been training hard in Western Australia recently, and winning a few comps over there on the side. Andy says his key training focus for the World Tour has been on consolidating his moves and building his consistency with the more difficult moves. Making sure he has his switch as strong as his regular side and generally trying to enjoy the hard training he's doing. Andy is back on the coast and enjoying the recent winds we are getting. Last month Andy smashed it at the Kite Jam winning by twice the points of the nearest competitor against some hot riders from Europe and the PKRA tour. Cant wait to see him ripping again. Also against some good competition, Andy won the Core Online Slider Jam.

Pauls renewed focus on surf comps couldn't have started better. In ideal conditions Paul won what was reported to be the heat of the day. Gold coast surfers were amazed at the quality of the waves at Moffats and compared them to the best the Gold Coast could offer but without the crowds. Double overhead take offs and glassy long walls gave Paul a long awaited opportunity to show his skills. Surfing with wreckless precision and tearing the waves apart, Paul scored 18.8 / 20 in his final and the trophy of the u/18 division. Well done Paul we all hope to shred like that in your next events.

Yes you may have noticed him down at the beach and helping out in the school recently. His rehab is over and his shoulder is as good as new. Aaron has really been enjoying the Ozone Sport and is looking forward to his new kites arriving soon. The 06 and 07 dual national champion has always been riding the Peter Lynn twin skins but has made the change to the inflatable kites. After trying a few different kites the Ozones stuck on him and Kitethrills and Ozone are happy to have on the team.

Kitethrills recently arranged a Custom kite to be built for Solahart. Leading Edge Media, and Kitethrills combined with Ozone and Solahart to create the purpose built kite. A couple of obvious benefits of this innovation include, excellent, edgy and unique billboard marketing; tax deductible kitesurfing gear as a business expense; marketing spends that will last a few years and works more for you the more you kite. Ozone will customize large power kites or small trainers. Contact us for more information or a quote for your logo. More details here.

The Cocos Islands winter getaways has been going so well for Zephyr Kite Tours and Kitethrills that we are now offering more travel products for our valued customers. Weekend trips to the Sunshine Coast, and our innovative new travel product, the mystery tour where we can nearly guarantee wind for the weekend. Learn more at kitethrills.com or zephyrkitetours.com.au

You may have seen the TV ad Kitethrills had on WIN this summer. It was regularly shown during Wide World of Sports and the cricket. Thanks to Aaron Hadlow, Ben Wilson, Andy Yates, Toby Bromwich, Shannon Stent, and Phil Lamont for helping Kitethrills produce this awesome ad. Check it out.

With the busy summer holidays past us, we now have the time to open our test Centre more regularly. The team will more frequently be down at the beach managing the gear for you to test. We've got a great range of gear available for demo, but if there's a specific item you want to test, then let us know and we can arrange it for you. Give us a call at the shop to find out which beach will be working on the day and where to find the test centre. We cannot guarantee your test equipment will be presented exactly like this.

Membership to the Australian Kite Surfing Association has many benefits. Some are tangible, like the $10,000,000 public liability insurance you get in case you hurt someone.; or the DVD of the whole first series of Kitelife; or eligibility for any of the competitions and events in Australia. Some benefits are not so tangible; like the behind the scenes work that goes on to protect access to our beaches and the rights of kiters. AKSA is run by volunteers and has incredibly low operating costs. The vast majority of your annual membership fee goes directly into projects that develop the sport. AKSA membership can be purchased at the shop, and you will receive your membership pack shortly afterwards in the mail. Don't wait till its too late, protect yourself, protect the beaches, protect the sport. Join today.