In a backroll transition you throw the backroll while the kite is sent the other way, so you land riding in the new direction.
Also called: back loop transition · back roll transition
Prerequisites
Schools teach this differently
Schools teach the entry differently. One method drifts the kite up to 11:30 and then sends it back, so you take off from a proper sent jump; the other pops off the back leg with the kite already parked at 12 and holds it there through the whole rotation.
How to do it
1. Setup
- Before you try the full trick, practice the jump on its own: edge real hard, send the kite to 12 and sheet in, aiming for a vertical jump without travelling far downwind.
- Keep your hands close together on the bar — it gives you better kite control.
- Ride in at a comfortable speed, move the kite slowly up to 11:30 and edge harder to drop speed, turning more upwind — shed plenty of speed before take-off, but not so much that you stop.
- Carve upwind pivoting around your back foot, shoulders leaning toward the tail of the board, front leg almost straight to keep the board on its edge and your back leg coiled, ready to pop.
2. Take-off and rotation
- Send the kite back and don't wait too long for it to pull — go early, popping off your back leg. Going early helps keep the kite above you.
- As you pop off the water the kite should already be at 12; sheet in slightly as you release from the water.
- Initiate the rotation with your head and shoulders, and keep looking over your front shoulder.
- Go for a slow, controlled rotation: don't throw the backloop with your head — pivot up and around off the back leg so the board takes off wheelie-style, and pull your front knee up through the wind to help the rotation.
- Pull down on the bar with both hands to level it out — this stops the kite going any further behind you.
3. Redirect the kite
- Concentrate on two things: completing the backroll rotation and keeping the kite balanced at 12 through the rotation.
- At the apex, look down and spot your landing — once you can see it, your body will follow to face it.
- As you feel your body come around, slowly direct the kite down from 12 in the direction you want to go: transitioning to the right, pull down on the right side of the bar; transitioning to the left, pull on the left side.
- Dive the kite hard with the same hand you used to take off — that hand becomes your new front hand.
4. Land and ride away
- Land tail first with the board pointing towards the kite, front leg extending while your weight stays back to resist and balance against the kite's pull.
- Land riding downwind — it makes landings softer and lets you transition easily.
- Scissor your legs to turn the board off downwind toward the kite, then carve around on your heelside edge, push your shoulders back and power away upwind in the new direction.
Common mistakes and fixes
Mistake
Throwing the backloop with your head — you just spin close to the water and don't have time to extend the back leg.
Fix
Go for a slow, controlled rotation: shoulders leaning toward the tail at take-off, pivoting around your back foot instead of whipping your head.
Mistake
Waiting too long for the kite to pull after sending it back.
Fix
Once you've sent the kite back don't wait — go early, using your back leg for pop; this helps keep the kite above you.
Mistake
Letting the kite drift behind you mid-rotation.
Fix
Pull down on the bar with both hands to level it out — that stops the kite going any further behind you.
Mistake
Edging too hard on the landing — the biggest mistake on landings.
Fix
Land riding downwind: it makes landings softer and allows you to transition easily.
If it goes wrong
- If you under-rotate, just take the splash: even if you only get halfway round, you'll only get wet.
- If you mess up the timing on the redirect, landing downwind still saves the move — it lets you send the kite the other way after you've landed.
Learn this with a coach, not from a page
This guide explains what the move is and what riders get wrong, so you arrive at the session knowing what you are trying to do. It cannot watch your kite, read the gust coming, or stop you committing to something you are not ready for — a coach or instructor can.
Find a certified schoolEducational reference, not instruction. Kitesurfing is a risk sport: the steps here describe what named schools, instructors and technique libraries teach, and the page lists exactly which ones, but real conditions involve wind, gusts, water state, traffic and equipment behaviour that no written guide accounts for. Schools also teach justified variations — where our sources disagree, the page says so instead of picking one. Judge your own readiness, use the safety systems on your kite, and do not attempt a move because a page made it sound achievable. KitesurfingOfficial accepts no liability for the use of this information on the water.
Questions riders ask
What should I be able to do before trying a backroll transition?+
The school's listed prerequisites are two skills: jump transitions and backrolls. Have both down first — and if your vertical jump isn't solid yet, practice that before the jump transition.
Which hand do I dive the kite with for the new direction?+
The same hand you used to take off — after the rotation it becomes your new front hand, and you dive the kite hard with it to set off in the new direction.
Landing pointing downwind feels awkward on one side — what can I do?+
That's normal: if you like riding with your left foot forward, landing moving to the right may feel slightly alien. In that case try landing with your left foot still forward — the result is a back loop to toeside.
Keep reading
Sources
Every step on this page traces to the sources below. Where they disagree or stay silent, the page says so instead of guessing.