Kiteswiss

Kiteswiss, which also trades as Supswiss, is a Zurich water sports school (KITESWISS GmbH) that has been teaching kitesurfing since 1998 and running a kite safari in Brazil since 2005. Its Zurich base is the SUPSWISS stand up paddle centre at the GZ Wollishofen community centre on the shore of Lake Zurich (Bachstrasse 7). It has a second base in Ascona on Lake Maggiore (Ticino), where most of its wing foil and e-foil lessons start.

Kitesurfing lessons take place abroad, at shallow, warm and windy spots: five-day private courses in north-eastern Brazil and small-group courses in Dakhla (Morocco) for riders who already have the basics, taught by VDWS and IKO instructors. The kite safari is a two-week downwinder along the Brazilian coast for experienced kitesurfers only, with a guide on the water, a 4x4 carrying luggage and supplies, coaching during the breaks and nights in pousadas. For wing foiling, students first learn to control the foil while towed behind a boat or on an e-foil, with radio contact to the instructor and no more than three or four participants; these lessons run as half days on Lake Zurich and mainly as full days on Lake Maggiore, between Ascona and Cannobio, with a water-ski boat. The school also offers e-foil sessions (Fliteboard) on Lake Maggiore, always with an instructor.

In Zurich the focus is stand up paddling: private lessons, school-class programmes, tours (full-moon paddle, a city tour through the Schanzengraben and past the Bellevue bridge, a Rhine trip from Eglisau to Bad Zurzach) and corporate or team-building events, led by ISA and IOSUP instructors holding the SLRG lifesaving certificate. Since refocusing on teaching, tours and events, Kiteswiss no longer runs a shop but still sells equipment from various brands on request, by email or phone. German and English are spoken.