Kitesurfing, Ireland’s new favorite sport, has been dubbed the wildest water sport of this millennium. It took off in the late 1990's in the USA. Nowadays it’s popular all over the world and Ireland is no exception.

One key spot where the wind and wave conditions never seem to fail is Tramore, Co Waterford. This is where Ireland had its first kitesurfing competition. Hundreds of awe-struck onlookers gathered to watch the 20 or so extreme sport enthusiasts perform hair-raising jumps, flips and all kinds fancy footwork, both on and above the water.

Many Irish people who are interested in surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding are now trying kitesurfing - the sports have many similarities. Kitesurfing’s popularity is definitely rising steadily.

At the moment, there is still no official association for kitesurfing in Ireland. In the UK, they have the British Kitesurfing Association which was set up in 1999 to promote safe kitesurfing practices.

Kitesurfing enthusiasts are hoping to set up the same in Ireland, mainly through collaborations over the web. Kitesurfing doesn’t come cheap. It will cost about £1,000 just to get an introduction to the sport. It can also be dangerous if you are not properly trained. You can get kitesurfing lessons in more and more places all over Ireland now. Tramore is one place in particular.