Background
Hayling Island has long been a key location for watersports.
It is claimed that windsurfing originated here. It is no surprise then
that shortly after kitesurfing arrived in the UK, the West beach at
Hayling Island became one of the most popular kitesurfing beaches in the UK.
Beach Ownership
You may ask why you need to be a member of HKA to kitesurf here.
The simple answer is this is a privately owned beach. In the early days, a
number of incidents involving other beach users and kites cartwheeling across
the golf course, quickly damaged the sport's image. The beach owner
and council were clearly worried and the threat of a bye law banning kitesurfing loomed.
The founders of the HKA successfully fought this threat and kitesurfing is now
permitted conditionally.
Conditions of Use
The conduct of kitesurfing from the Golf Club Beach is licensed
by the freeholder to the Hayling Island Kitesurfing Association. Kitesufing can take place
here under the control and governance of the HKA and strict
conditions. The license covers the beach and the sea, including the
sandbars. The HKA are charged annually for the licence and this is paid
for by membership fees.
The principle condition is the formation of a self-regulating
club. All kitesurfers must be a member, must have approved third party
personal liability insurance and must abide by the rules of the club. See
Information for further details about the club rules.
A further condition is the regulation of kitesurfing instruction. The HKA control the
licence for all kitesurfing on the beach though the licence specifically permits
one designated and approved kitesurf school. Importantly this means that you cannot self-teach
or teach your friends at Hayling. If you want to learn how to kitesurf at Hayling see
Useful Links.
Insurance
The HKA is affiliated to the British Kitesurfing Association
(BKSA). This means that, to join the HKA, you must also join the BKSA. BKSA
insurance is the only insurance permitted by the HKA. Being an affiliated club
provides a higher level of insurance protection for the club and its committee
members and earns additional revenue in the form of rebates from the BKSA.