TRAMPA NEWS

LET’S go fly a kite, or so the song goes, that is, unless you’re in Sheffield. At Lodge Moor, it’s more a case of letting the kite fly you! Star reporter Rachael Clegg takes a peep at Sheffield Kite Fliers’ session on Lodge Moor hill.

THE front of the Sportsman pub at Lodge Moor looks like any other pub.

But go round the back on a Thursday evening and be prepared for a view that no other drinking venue in Sheffield can compete with.

It’s not the panoramic view of the city that makes this scene special - it’s the dozens of enormous kites flying before the eyes.

Here, on the Sportsman’s fields, the Sheffield Kite Fliers congregate for their weekly flying session.

 The club has been going for eleven years and attracts around 20 kite fliers each week, with members ranging in age from 22 to almost 60, though anyone above the age of six can join in.

And the kites flying around Lodge Moor this evening are not the ordinary, diamond-shaped kites you see in a toy shop - these are tremendous flying devices, some of which stretch to two and a half metres in diameter and are capable of towing three-wheeled buggies and boards. Indeed, some of the kites at Lodge Moor are so elaborate and powerful they could set you back a whopping £1,500.

Club treasurer Sarah Herrett, 30, from Halfway, who started kite-flying eleven years ago, says: “It’s a really relaxing extreme sport, which sounds daft but when you’re bombing down a beach being towed by the wind it’s lovely. And if I can do it, anyone can.”

Being an inclusive club is important to Sheffield Kite Fliers. Sessions are free as long as people make sure they have public liability insurance first, which can be obtained through the British Kite Surfing Association (BKSA).

The insurance costs £38 for the whole year but the lessons are free and most clubs will charge you £50 for a lesson alone,” said Sarah.

“Kites can cost anything from £100 to £500,”

Sarah points to a huge kite lying on the ground. “That kite there was made by my husband’s grandma, she made it out of rip-stop nylon in the local church hall as a project when she retired.”

Kite boarding is, after all, an extreme sport. Kites pull the riders swiftly and sharply. The rider is constantly ducking and diving from left to right, ‘tacking’ the wind.

Kite buggying, on the other hand, is perhaps more sedate. With buggying, as the name suggests, the person sits in what looks like a go-kart, pulled by the force of the wind.

“We like to encourage people to try buggying before boarding as you can develop a feel for the wind and learn the basics that way, before letting loose on a board. We measure whether someone is ready to progress to boarding by their ability to hold a conversation while buggying. If they can do it and talk at the same time then they’re good enough to board.”

“We’re all volunteers who run it, we don’t make any money from doing it but we have a great time. We come here on a Thursday night and end up having a lovely meal at the pub. The landlady is great because she lets us use her field. It’s a really friendly thing to be involved with and we go on regular trips to the beach. Sheffield’s equidistant from the coast in North Wales and the east coast so within a couple of hours we can be kite surfing on a beach.”

The club is affiliated with the British Kite Surfing Association, which co-ordinates and sanctions the British Kite surfing Championships.

Sarah became a kite-boarding convert through her husband, Paul, who has been involved with the sport for more than 11 years.