This post will explain all you need to know about an assistant instructor course: the online module and the practical one.

This is your first entry to a professional career in kiteboarding.

We will talk about what are these courses and who it is for. We will describe what you need to have to attend each course and learn during it. We will also talk about the training duration and what you will do after you have completed it. To finish, you can find out the next dates available for the live training, how to sign up, and what you can do after you have become an assistant trainer.

Enjoy reading!

1. What is it?
2. Who is it for?
3. What to need to have , prerequisites
4. What will you learn?
5. How long will it take?
6. When are the next courses?
7. How do i sign up?
8. What are the next steps?

The AITC is the Assistant Instructor Training Course developed by the International Kitesurf Organisation, commonly called IKO.

IKO was founded in 2001 and is represented in 38 countries around the world. The IKO is the world’s leading kiteboarding organization specializing in educational programs, promoting safe kiteboarding practices, and enhancing industry standards. The IKO develops and improves kiteboarding instruction, certification methods, and standards yearly. Courses are designed for kiters from beginner to advanced levels. Professional training is constantly developed and improved from Assistant Instructor, Instructor, Assistant Trainer, Examiner, and Training Master. The latest additions include Coach and Coach Trainer Certifications.

In these videos, we will cover the first steps in the professional career in IKO as the assistant instructor.

The online course is for everybody that is kiting and is wanting to learn more about kitesurfing. For those seeking to start a professional career, it’s the minimum knowledge you must have. The live training part of the course is for those who want to teach others how to get as stoked as they are with kitesurfing. In order to teach in a safe and fun way we recommend you take the Assistant instructor course, in it you will learn and practice the basics of teaching and discover several techniques that help you to teach in an effective and fun way.

If you are looking to progress your self i recommend you take a look at our evolution classes. If you don’t have the level or if you are uncertain it’s a good way to make sure by taking one of those.

For the online training

• There is no minimum requirement. You sign up on the IKO website and pay the fee. You will get access to more than 2 hours of tutorials, a manual, and insurance for your kitesurfing practice.

For the Live training

• Have completed the online training and have passed the exam at the end of the training.
• Be at least 16 years old.
• Have a riding level equivalent to IKO Kiteboarder Level 4 – Advanced*

And this means you can ride comfortably, rescue a board, do a small jump, ride topside and respect the ROW rules.

• Have an IKO account, ‘Kiter Free,’ create an I.K.O. account on the iko website. It’s with that account that IKO will register your students and certify your level. Make sure you remember your email and password as you will need to enter them to communicate with IKO.
• Be fluent (reading, writing, speaking, and general understanding) in the language that the course is given)

The online training

It consists of 16 videos that will cover all the theory you might have missed in your beginner courses.

1. General Introduction for the course
2. Point of sail terminology
3. Kite flight Theory – Wind window.
4. Kite flight Theory – Induced wind, Apparent wind, Kite line length.
5. Kite Aerodynamic terminology
6. Basic principles of Aerodynamic
7. Equipment – Kite parts, construction, and control bar.
8. Equipment – Trainer Kite, Trainer lines, Kite and control bar maintenance
9. Equipment – Boards characteristics, Harness, floatation device, and helmet.
10. Weather, wind, and tides – Isobars, Global Weather patterns, Coriolis Effect, High and Low-Pressure Systems
11. Weather, wind, and tides – The Clouds, The fronts
12. Weather, wind, and tides – Sea Breeze, Valley thermal wind, and Wind Effects.
13. Weather, wind, and tides – Tides.
14. Right of way Rules (ROW)
15. International Kiteboarding signs
16. Thanks for following the course and next steps.

The live training

You are going to be taught the most effective techniques to teach kitesurfing to complete beginners. You will also learn and test all the technical knowledge involved in kitesurfing. For example:

• you will learn or confirm Safety skills such as
• Self-Launching
• Self-Landing
• Self-Rescue and Pack Down

You will also do riding Skills Assessment and Improvement such as

• Trim Adjustment
• Trim Possibilities
• Trim Experimentation
• ITC Riding Test Requirements
• Board Recovery in Deep Water
• Rider Recovery in Deep Water
• Pass/Take the Kite To/from someone

Also how to check and adjusts your personal and school equipment, wind, and points of sail terminology, kite flight theory, aerodynamic basic principles and terminology, equipment, weather wind and tides, the Right of way rules, maintenance and repair such as doing a 

• General Equipment Check List
• Equipment Storage and Care
• Bladder Repair
• Fixing Kite Tears
• Board
• Board Check List

Pump Maintenance, fixing lines, etc.  There will also be teaching demonstrations, teaching practice, riding skills assessment and improvement, and feedback to help you progress and achieve the desired goal of becoming a competent instructor.