An illumination system for a kiteboarding kite that senses the position and orientation of the kite with respect to a rider and directs a beam of light at the rider's path. The illumination system is battery powered and mounted to a kiteboarding kite with an inflated leading edge. A processor executed program analyzes data from several sensors, such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers, in order to quickly adjust the direction of a spotlight and avoid shining light into the rider's eyes. In addition, the illumination system may also illuminate the rider directly or areas of the kite.

A kite includes a frame including a leading edge support and a plurality of struts extending rearward from the leading edge support, a flexible main canopy attached to the frame and at least one flexible kite sizing section adjustably attached to the flexible main canopy. The at least one flexible kite sizing section is adjustable to change an area of the kite, including an area of at least a first wing tip section of the kite.