American Kitefliers Association

Hi Wickedrev, what a fantastic idea. I like bringing in the community .  I'm the first to post but I know there will be a ton of additional suggestions.   I'll just offer a couple of things to consider.  One of the biggest Festivals that invite the community to get involved with kite making competition is the Wash. D.C. Snithsonian Festival every April.  They have a theme for kite graphics, they have divisions for youth and adults and they have awards for a variety of acomplishments, e.g. best use of materials, best representation of the theme, oldes/youngest competitor, smallest/biggest kite, awards are only limited by creativity.  We have AKA kite making rules at the AKA convention but way too complex to follow for your plan. Read thru our rules and extract what you think will work for you. Basic things like Bueaty in the sky, best construction, best flight, best use of materials are a good start.  Certainly there will be seasoned kite makers at your festival that will volunteer to be judges . Not to get off topic, think about kids games with kite stuff .

CLIFF

I've always liked how they run the kitemaking comp at the Great Delaware Kite Fest every spring. First, there's a "competition" for kids using any kind of kite, even store-bought. The local kite shop is there selling kites, so they make a lot of sales, and every kid gets a ribbon just for walking onto the field and flying their kite for 60 seconds in front of the judges. Lots of parents helping kids. For a community event, this is definitely the way to go. Second, they have a handmade kite competition, with divisions for kids and adults. They clearly don't use AKA judging rules, since the judges are all local community volunteers (not kiters), they don't look at the kites up close, and they just judge the kites based on how they fly and how they look in the air. But everyone seems to have a good time, you can't beat the $3 registration fee, and they give out medals for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place. They keep it simple and stress-free, and it's always fun.

@Cliff - unfortunately the Smithsonian backed out of the festival last year.  It is now simply part of the National Cherry Blossom Festival - the Blossom Kite Festival.  As I understand it, the competition part has been significantly reduced.

Phil's right that the Great Delaware Kite Festival is a well run competition that's a lot of fun for the kids.  Keeping it simple and kid focused - even with store bought kites - does let any kid get involved.  Mine really enjoyed the altitude sprint contest.