Wind & conditions
True wind
The actual wind speed and direction over the water, independent of the rider’s motion.
KITE INFO / THE LANGUAGE OF RIDING
Know the words.
Understand the ride.
Wind. Equipment. Technique.
Make sense of the terms behind every session.
- WIND
- SETUP
- TECHNIQUE
- ANALYSIS
Find a term
114 of 114 retained terms.
The recorded learning sequence
Approach Speed → Send → Edge → Load → Peak Line Tension → Release → Pop → Sheet → Redirect → Flight → Descent → Landing
Definitions describe the retained BTE vocabulary. Derived and modelled quantities are not direct sensor measurements.
Wind & conditions
Apparent wind
The wind felt by the moving rider: true wind combined with the airflow created by board speed.
Wind & conditions
Average wind
The sustained or mean wind speed over the measurement period used to describe the base power available.
Wind & conditions
Gust
A short-lived increase above the average wind. A gust can create extra boosting opportunity but also changes timing and control.
Wind & conditions
Lull
A temporary drop below the average wind that reduces line load and usable power.
Wind & conditions
Wind direction
The compass direction the wind comes from, such as SW or WNW.
Wind & conditions
Onshore
Wind blowing from sea toward land.
Wind & conditions
Offshore
Wind blowing from land toward sea. Normally unsafe for kitesurfing without specialist support.
Wind & conditions
Cross-shore
Wind travelling broadly parallel to the beach.
Wind & conditions
Cross-on
Wind angled toward the beach while still giving a useful cross-shore component.
Wind & conditions
Cross-off
Wind angled away from the beach. Often less forgiving and may be unsafe depending on the spot.
Wind & conditions
Wind band
A practical BTE range used to describe session character: waiting, foiling, mowing the lawn, normal boosting, big air or going massive.
Wind & conditions
Usable wind
The part of the wind that can actually be converted into board speed, line tension and lift for the rider’s course and tack.
Wind & conditions
Effective wind
BTE shorthand for how strong the wind effectively behaves for the rider once course geometry, beach orientation, tack and board speed are considered.
Water & surf
Flat
Relatively smooth water with little chop or wave face to disturb approach speed.
Water & surf
Chop
Short, irregular surface waves that can interrupt edge grip, board speed and take-off timing.
Water & surf
Swell
Longer-period wave energy travelling through the spot, often creating more organised ramps than wind chop.
Water & surf
Set
A group of larger waves arriving together.
Water & surf
Face
The sloping front surface of a wave.
Water & surf
Lip
The breaking top edge of a wave.
Water & surf
Shoulder
The unbroken section beside the breaking part of a wave.
Water & surf
Trough
The low point between waves.
Water & surf
Kicker
A useful piece of chop or wave face that acts as a ramp at take-off.
Water & surf
Ramp
Any water feature used to give the board a cleaner upward trajectory into release.
Water & surf
Section
A particular part of a wave or water feature that offers a specific line or take-off opportunity.
Water & surf
Carve
A controlled arcing turn created through rail/edge pressure.
Water & surf
Bottom turn
A surf-derived turn from the lower part of a wave face back toward the lip or shoulder.
Water & surf
Top turn
A directional turn near the top of a wave face.
Water & surf
Cutback
A carving turn back toward the power of the wave.
Water & surf
Re-entry
A turn off or through the lip back toward the wave face.
Rider & geometry
Regular stance
Left foot forward as the natural stance.
Rider & geometry
Goofy stance
Right foot forward as the natural stance.
Rider & geometry
Port tack
Riding with the wind coming over the rider’s port/left side.
Rider & geometry
Starboard tack
Riding with the wind coming over the rider’s starboard/right side.
Rider & geometry
Preferred tack
The tack on which the rider naturally carries speed, loads and releases most effectively.
Rider & geometry
Non-preferred tack
The tack that is less natural for the rider and may change course, speed or release timing.
Rider & geometry
Tack Compatibility
BTE variable describing how well wind direction, beach orientation, stance and travel direction combine to support a fast, clean boosting approach.
Rider & geometry
Course geometry
The rider’s path across the water relative to wind direction and beach orientation.
Rider & geometry
Bear away
Turn slightly downwind to free the board, accelerate and reduce excessive edge drag.
Rider & geometry
Head up
Turn more upwind, increasing resistance and usually increasing edge load.
Rider & geometry
Powered
Riding with enough kite power and line tension to accelerate, load and boost without struggling to keep the kite moving.
Rider & geometry
Overpowered
Riding with more power than can be comfortably controlled without significant edging, depower or speed management.
Rider & geometry
Underpowered
Riding with insufficient pull to create normal board speed, line tension or boost.
Take-off chain
Approach Speed
Board speed carried into the take-off sequence. BTE treats it as a key input to load, Pop Velocity and height.
Take-off chain
Send
Steering the kite upward for the jump. The timing and speed of the send must work with the rider’s edge and release.
Take-off chain
Edge
The board angle and pressure used to resist the kite, control course and build line load before release.
Take-off chain
Progressive edge
Building edge pressure smoothly as the kite climbs instead of locking into maximum edge too early.
Take-off chain
Load
Tension built through kite, lines, harness, body and board before take-off.
Take-off chain
Peak Line Tension
The point of maximum useful line load immediately before release. BTE aims to coordinate release around this peak rather than simply hold the edge longer.
Take-off chain
Release
The moment the board stops resisting the kite and leaves the water, converting loaded energy into upward acceleration.
Take-off chain
Pop
The board-and-rider contribution to take-off as the loaded edge releases.
Take-off chain
Pop Velocity
WOO take-off metric describing the speed of the pop/release event. BTE treats it as evidence about conversion through the final take-off phase.
Take-off chain
Sheet
Bar movement that changes kite angle of attack. In BTE coaching, sheet timing is considered after load and release rather than as an isolated action.
Take-off chain
Sheet in
Pull the bar toward the rider to increase kite angle of attack and power, subject to kite design and trim.
Take-off chain
Sheet out
Push the bar away to reduce angle of attack and power.
Take-off chain
Line tension
Load carried through the flying lines. Clean line tension is essential for an effective send and release.
Take-off chain
Speed scrub
Loss of board speed caused by excessive or early edging, rough water, poor course or other resistance.
Take-off chain
Conversion
How effectively available wind, approach speed and load become Pop Velocity, height and airtime.
Flight & landing
Boost
A powered jump created by combining approach speed, kite send, edge, load and release.
Flight & landing
Height
Maximum vertical jump height recorded by WOO or another sensor.
Flight & landing
Airtime
Time spent airborne during a jump.
Flight & landing
Apex
The highest point of the jump.
Flight & landing
Redirect
Steering the kite forward again after the apex to control travel, descent and landing.
Flight & landing
Downloop
Looping the kite during descent or landing to create forward pull and support.
Flight & landing
Heliloop
A controlled kite loop used near the apex/descent phase to generate lift and stabilise a high jump.
Flight & landing
Flight
The airborne phase from release through apex to descent.
Flight & landing
Descent
The phase from apex toward touchdown.
Flight & landing
Landing
The touchdown and ride-away phase after descent.
Flight & landing
Landing G
WOO impact metric. Lower G generally indicates a smoother touchdown; BTE interprets it in context rather than treating a lower number as worse.
Flight & landing
Stomp
A clean, controlled landing with a stable ride-away.
Flight & landing
Heavy landing
A high-impact landing that is ridden away but shows reduced control or support.
Flight & landing
Crash
A landing where control is lost or impact is severe enough that the ride-away fails.
Flight & landing
Kite support
Lift and stability maintained by the kite during flight and descent.
Equipment
Kite size
Nominal kite area in square metres. Size affects power, turning speed and usable wind range but does not determine performance alone.
Equipment
Kite model
The specific kite design. Aspect ratio, profile, bridle and turning behaviour change how power, send and hangtime are delivered.
Equipment
Board
The board used for the session. Length, width, rocker, flex, fins and outline influence speed, grip and release.
Equipment
Rocker
The longitudinal curve of the board. More rocker can improve control in chop but usually creates more drag.
Equipment
Rail
The board edge profile interacting with the water during edging and carving.
Equipment
Fin
Board fin that contributes directional grip and resistance.
Equipment
Bar pressure
The steering/load feedback felt at the control bar.
Equipment
Trim
Adjustment of the kite’s baseline power and steering relationship before or during a session.
Equipment
Depower
Reducing kite power through bar position and/or trim system.
Equipment
Line length
Length of the flying lines. It affects kite window size, timing, power delivery and loop radius.
Equipment
High aspect
A kite planform with relatively long span and narrow chord, commonly associated with efficiency, glide and hangtime.
Equipment
Low aspect
A kite planform with relatively shorter span and deeper chord, commonly associated with quicker turning and more compact handling.
WOO & evidence
Best jump
The highest recorded jump in a session.
WOO & evidence
Session median
The middle jump result when all valid jumps are ordered. BTE uses it as a stronger measure of normal performance than a single peak.
WOO & evidence
Top-5 average
Average of the five strongest valid jumps for the selected metric.
WOO & evidence
Top-10 average
Average of the ten strongest valid jumps for the selected metric.
WOO & evidence
Distribution
The shape and spread of all valid jump results across a session.
WOO & evidence
Outlier
A measurement far outside the normal pattern that requires checking before it influences coaching conclusions.
WOO & evidence
PB
Personal best: the highest verified result achieved by the rider for the selected metric.
WOO & evidence
Repeatable
A result or technique pattern that appears consistently enough to be treated as more than a one-off.
WOO & evidence
Reconstructed Potential
A clearly labelled estimate rebuilt from historical evidence when a pre-ride prediction was not recorded. It is not treated as a genuine forecast.
WOO & evidence
Predicted vs Actual
Comparison between the pre-ride performance prediction and the result actually achieved.
WOO & evidence
Immutable evidence
The original uploaded WOO file retained unchanged so later analysis can always be traced back to source data.
WOO & evidence
BeachStats mapping
Matching session timing to stored BeachStats observations so wind and jump evidence can be viewed on the same timeline.
Coaching language
Coach Read
BTE’s concise interpretation of what the session evidence actually supports.
Coaching language
Strong Evidence
A pattern supported by adequate data, material effect and agreement between relevant checks.
Coaching language
Useful Clue
A credible signal worth acting on carefully, while some uncertainty remains.
Coaching language
Working Hypothesis
A possible explanation worth testing, but not strong enough to treat as established.
Coaching language
Insufficient Evidence
Not enough reliable information to make the coaching claim.
Coaching language
One Cue
The single rider-facing technical thought to take onto the water.
Coaching language
Next-Ride Test
A controlled session experiment designed to test one coaching hypothesis without changing several variables at once.
Coaching language
Session Opportunity
The quality of the conditions and setup available for performance before technique is judged.
Coaching language
Current Performance
The level shown by recent evidence, which can be lower than the rider’s highest historically attained level.
Coaching language
Highest Attained Level
The highest performance level the rider has demonstrated repeatedly enough to qualify historically.
Coaching language
Stoke
The rider’s subjective “how did it feel?” score and context for the session.
Coaching language
Gotcha
A practical warning about an interpretation trap, data limitation or repeat mistake that can distort the coaching read.
Derived
Rider Apparent Wind Proxy
The effective airflow estimate created by true wind and rider/board velocity. Full vector calculation requires travel direction.
Derived
Load-to-Weight Potential
qA/(mg): dynamic pressure times nominal kite area, divided by rider weight. It is not actual lift or line tension.
Modelled
Opportunity Height
The evidence-backed height BTE expected to be available from the session. Saved pre-ride predictions are preferred over fallbacks.
Modelled
Execution Delta
Actual height minus Opportunity Height. Positive = outperformed the opportunity estimate; negative = under-converted the available opportunity.
Derived
Flight Support Ratio
Recorded airtime divided by the equivalent same-height ballistic airtime. Values above 1 show flight duration beyond a simple unsupported arc.