Lewis Crathern has been introducing school children to the joys of kiting for 15 years. His mission with the Wonderful Wind Tour is to inspire school children through captivating assemblies, workshops, and thrilling kite-flying sessions. Read more about how he shares the power of wind and ideas for a greener, more sustainable future in this article!

10 Schools - 5,000 school children and my passion of kitesurfing to engage them with… It was quite some time ago when I began visiting schools (15 years, 2007), but these days it has become ever more important to spend time with the next generation. They have been through COVID and are also now very aware of the climate crisis on our hands. School children need some positive stories from the outside world, and with a sport like kitesurfing, you can't lose.

The Wonderful Wind Tour works in partnership with the Global Wind Energy Council and is supported by my sponsors, Duotone International, Windguru, WOO, and ION UK. Twice a year, I hit the road in any given region, performing assemblies, workshops and demonstrations. When the wind allows, kite flying sessions with the kids are also possible, but a lot of work goes on before I have even visited the school.

Local media is targeted to help promote the tour, and then it's time to contact the schools directly. Depending on which country we will be in, there can also be a lot of approval and planning required - especially for photography and video. With that all cleared and the likes of videographer Joost Essenberg and photographer Eunice Bergin on board, the 2023 summer UK tour is almost ready to go. There is just one more thing to plan: How possible will it be to fly a kite on the school fields?! Of course, that is not so easy to do in person sometimes, so I turn to Google Maps. In the old days, this was not even possible, but nowadays, I get a good feeling about whether or not I will be able to achieve the 'magic moment' from what the satellite shows me.

For the Wonderful Wind Tour 2023 edition, I felt it was really important to not just talk about making changes to our everyday lives in order to help the environment - I wanted to actively show changes myself. I chose to visit the schools using the incredible Hyundai IONIQ 5 Electric car, and it became a real focus point during my visits. Whilst performing the assemblies, we talked about ways in which we can travel around in a more sustainable way, like walking to school or car sharing. This leads to a discussion about where our electricity comes from and how by using green energy, such as wind, we can travel sustainably. 

My life has been shaped so much by my decision to first try kitesurfing, and I like to encourage the students to try something new - you never know where it might lead to in your life. Using my example of how I began kitesurfing and had to overcome many challenges, I like to showcase some of the places around the world where I have been lucky enough to kitesurf. Most schools have a nice big projector screen, and this makes it easy to show them the rich, exciting content that we consider normal as kiteboarders. It is not as simple as just powering through a keynote; during these 20/25 minute talks, I have learned that shifting the attention away from the screen and back to the room is key at certain times. Blowing up a kite and showing the bar, board, and harness is a great way to bring the focus away from the screen, especially if I ask a student to come up and blow it up. Depending on how young they are, it's not always possible for them to achieve the optimum PSi, so I have to finish it off; they always get a clap, though! 😉

Rewarding the children for good behaviour and taking part is something else that is very important. During the slides of where I have been travelling around the world, I like to play a game with them where I show somewhere I have kitesurfed alongside a clue. The clues can range from a kiwi, a bowl of noodles, or a camel featured in the image. Those who guess it right (I only ask the quietest of the hands raised) receive a Duotone prize. There are all sorts of great little things that I can give out, lanyards, key chains, stickers, and the personal favourite, wristbands, which are very sought after. Teachers have told me that some children wear them 24/7 for weeks!

Other engaging moments include asking the children how we can further look after our environment, which leads to answers such as turning things off we are not using, Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (the Three R's, the kids taught me that!) and using green energy such as wind energy. At the end of the presentation, I like to show them just how much power is in the wind and how I have managed to use it in the past. A 'don't try this at home' warning is followed by the video of my jump over Brighton Pier back in 2010. It's then time to hit the field. 

This is always such an incredible moment as I walk with the children to the field. There is a sense of real excitement that something different is happening at school. The teachers are great at allowing this spontaneous, unplanned atmosphere to exist. It is good for children sometimes. Out on the field, I would typically have marked out a zone with red cones where I want them to sit.

And now, the part where all of my kiteboarding experience is put to the test. It is the part where I feel like a real athlete about to face a brand new challenge - fly a kitesurfing kite in a safe manner close to hundreds of children and get airborne. In 99.9% of cases, a kitesurfing kite will never have been flown on the school field, but I like to change that. With my mindset as a BKSA advanced coach, I plan this part in detail.

Straight up the middle of the power zone usually works best and is often welcomed by a cheer from the children. When the wind is nice and clean, I can walk over to them and tell them how it feels to be directly connected to the wind. I point out the trees moving, the clouds and also the birds that are viewing my kite as another flying bird. With the right gust, I can take to the sky, which is always the magic moment where the true power of the wind is translated to a child. I love my job! 🙂

 

By Lewis Crathern

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