The Townsville City Council is trying to ban kiteboarding from a two-kilometre stretch of Pallarenda Beach, in Australia.
A local proposal recommends that kiteboarding should be off the north of Three Mile Creek, after 27 residents submitted a petition to Mayor Vern Veitch. The group of citizens wants all kiteboarders to launch and finish their wind rides within a 120-metre wide stretch of beach, so that beachgoers are safe.
The proposed restrictions come after the latest KTA Australian Open and Australian Kiteboarding Nationals, which brought hundreds of kitesurfers to the region.
"Under these conditions we would be stuck in about a 150-metre long stretch of beach to teach our students in the same area experienced kiteboarders are using," Loop Kiteboarding owner Marvin Baumeister tells the Townsville Bulletin.
"It's going to be really dangerous for anyone wanting to take up the sport because we need that distance to separate the experienced riders from people just starting out."
Local kiteboarders don't understand why their sport should be banned from Pallarenda Beach. The ban proposal will be discussed at the council's next full meeting on the 28th August.