Whilst doing my regular trawl of kiting websites I noted that the BKFA have finally managed to put up a reference to the legislation which governs kite flying, though they have chosen to reference the CAA’s compilation document ‘CAP 393: Air Navigation: The Order and the Regulations’ which includes all the regulations relating to ‘The Air Navigation Order’ and not just ‘The Rules of the Air Regulations’ which affect kite flying. Whilst there are links and references to it, as yet there is no analysis of this 444 page tome on the website.
Also a ‘Code of Conduct’ has been added to the site, which just to confuse matters is entitled ‘Code of Best Practice’ when opened. Though it is tempting fate to do so, I am going to make the comment that the document, whatever its title, does need a little proof reading as some of the guidance does not make sense. For example take the clause in the section entitled ‘The Personal Safety of the Kite Flier’ which reads ‘You should not run with your kite and see that the ground ahead is clear and fairly level’. Not only does this not make grammatical sense, but it also negates the key sport of Rokkaku fighting and most of what goes in festival display arenas when there is little or no wind.
To a degree this goes to the heart of a key question, what is this code of conduct for and what is its standing meant to be? If it is meant to be the gold standard for all UK kite flyers and clubs then it is not up to the job. This a potential issue particularly when the BKFA makes its extravagant claims about being … ‘recognised as a body representing all codes of kiteflying and to work with regulatory bodies and organisations to ensure that the interests of all kiteflyers are represented.’ as things like this code of conduct could be picked up by insurers and local authorities with disastrous consequences for our sport in general and the many festivals held in the UK in particular.
Having worked for many years as a member of numerous BSI standards committees, I am only too aware of how important the precise use of language is when drafting key documents such as this is. As it stands the BKFA ‘Code of Conduct/Best Practice’ barely makes it as a consultation document, let alone a fully fledged standard, and why have the ‘Kite Flying and Horses’ guide as a separate document, surely this should be part of the code.