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Safety Policy

A bladed sport, run like one.

We did not soften the game to make it safe. We built procedure around it. This is the whole of that procedure, published in full — because a championship that asks people to accept real risk owes them the details in advance.

Version 1.0 · 31 July 2026 Owner: Head Marshal, Kite Wars International safety@kitewars.com
Five commitments

What we hold ourselves to

These are not aspirations. If any one of them cannot be met on a given day, that day does not run.

01
No blade off the field
Blades are issued, fitted and collected by certified marshals. None is sold, shipped, or carried away.
02
Written authorization first
We run only where the host authority has authorized the format in writing, in a permitted venue.
03
Nobody unprotected
Helmet, gloves and eye protection issued with every entry and worn on the field, without exception.
04
Anyone can stop it
One whistle from any marshal, spotter or medic grounds every lane. No justification required.
05
Every incident published
Recorded, reviewed by the head marshal, and summarized publicly after each edition.
01
The blade protocol

A blade's entire life is six steps long

Every blade at the championship is accounted for individually, from the sealed case to the sealed case. A blade that cannot be accounted for stops the lane it came from.

01
Sealed on arrival
Blades arrive in numbered sealed cases held in the tech tent under the head marshal's control.
02
Signed out
A marshal signs out one blade per kite against a competitor's number for a named heat.
03
Fitted at the line
The marshal fits it into the tail at the line. Competitors never handle an unfitted blade.
04
Flown
One blade, one kite, one heat. A blade is never re-fitted to a different kite mid-heat.
05
Recovered
Cut kites are brought in by trained runners, who bring them to the tech tent, not to the owner.
06
Signed in
The blade is removed, counted back into the case, and reconciled before the next heat is called.
Three absolutes
—Bringing your own blade is immediate disqualification, and a matter for the host authority rather than for us.
—Removing an issued blade from the field is immediate disqualification and exclusion from future editions.
—An unreconciled blade stops its lane until it is found. The bracket waits; nothing else does.
Field layout

Every zone exists to keep two things apart

The field is laid out so that a blade in the air and a person not competing are never in the same place. Spectators stand upwind of every lane and outside the drop zone; the Kids Zone sits further upwind again and has no blade on it at all. Distances are set by the head marshal against the day's wind and are increased, never reduced, when conditions change.

ZoneWho may enter
Competition lanes Competitors in the current heat, lane marshals, spotters.
Drop zone Trained recovery runners and marshals only. Never the public.
Tech tent Marshals, judges, and competitors under inspection.
Spectator rope line Anyone. Upwind of every lane, outside the drop zone.
Viewing terrace VIP pass holders. Raised, roped, at the drop zone's edge.
Kids Zone Children with a wristband and their guardian. No blade enters.
Flying conditions
When we do not fly
—Wind above the day's ceiling set by the head marshal.
—Gusts exceeding a set margin over the sustained wind — the danger is the variance, not the speed.
—Any lightning within striking distance, and for thirty minutes after the last strike.
—Rain heavy enough to cost the marshals sight of the lines.
—Wind shifting so that a lane's drop zone falls over a public area.
—Fewer marshals, spotters or medics present than the layout requires.
Personal protective equipment

Issued with every entry, worn on the field, no exceptions and no substitutions from home.

·Cut-resistant gloves to the championship standard.
·Impact eye protection, worn from the moment you take a line.
·Helmet in every open-class heat.
·Closed footwear — no sandals on a field where kites land.
Stop procedure

One whistle grounds everything

Any marshal, any spotter, any medic may call it. Nobody has to justify it afterwards, and nobody is ever penalized for calling one that turned out to be unnecessary. Calling a stop late is a failure; calling one early never is.

Step one
The whistle
One long blast. Every competitor in every lane brings their kite down immediately and holds position.
Step two
The field freezes
No recovery, no crossing, no spectator movement. Marshals move; nobody else does.
Step three
Assess and treat
The nearest medic reaches the incident. The head marshal establishes what happened and what is unsafe.
Step four
Restart or abandon
Only the head marshal restarts. Affected heats are re-flown, not scored on a partial result.
Medical cover

Treatment in under two minutes, anywhere on the field

Laceration is the injury this sport produces, and it responds well to speed. Cover is scaled so that no point on the field is more than two minutes from a trained responder, with a hospital route agreed with the host authority before the first bell.

Response time target Under 2 minutes, any point on the field
Trauma-trained medics Minimum two on field whenever lanes are live
Laceration kits At every lane head and in the recovery zone
Ambulance On site, with an agreed route, all competition days
Hospital agreement Signed with the host authority before day one
Kids Zone medic Dedicated, posted whenever the zone is open
Before you reach the line
Five things, every competitor, every edition
—A signed waiver, on file, in a language you read.
—A completed medical declaration, including anything that affects clotting.
—An emergency contact we can reach during championship week.
—Attendance at the safety briefing on each day you fly.
—Valid travel and medical insurance for the host country.
Youth lanes carry no blade

Ages eight to thirteen fly blunted tails on a separate field, upwind of every competition lane and outside the drop zone. Coaches are background-checked and first-aid trained, a medic is posted whenever the zone is open, and a guardian must remain on site. This is the one part of the championship where the finder still keeps the fallen kite — the way it works at home.

Reporting and review

Every incident is written down, and every edition publishes what it learned

A sport that hides its incidents cannot improve and does not deserve to be trusted. Ours are recorded, reviewed and reported.

Every incident recorded
Any injury, near miss, equipment failure or blade discrepancy is written up the same day by the marshal involved.
Reviewed within 24 hours
The head marshal reviews each report before the next competition day and may change the layout, the ceiling or the format on the spot.
Published after each edition
An anonymized safety report goes out with the results: what happened, what we changed, what remains open.
Fed into the rulebook
Kite Wars International carries findings into the next Official Rules. The rulebook is versioned so changes are traceable.
Raise a safety concern

Email safety@kitewars.com, or speak to any marshal on the field. Concerns may be raised anonymously, are read by the head marshal directly, and never affect your standing in the championship. If you believe something on the field is unsafe right now, do not email — find a marshal and say so.

Contact the safety desk Terms of entry