Fairfax County Park Authority aims to cut down on 'kite fighting'

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. — The Fairfax County Park Authority is reminding residents that "kite fighting" is still banned after getting several complaints from residents. 

The game that gained popularity in Virginia last year first made a splash in the wake of the 2003 New York Times Bestseller, "The Kite Runner." The novel tells the story of kite fighting while growing up in Afghanistan.

The premise of the game is two opponents fly kites with the goal of taking the others down. The objective is to cut the opponent's line, so people will often switch out the common thread with a super-sharp string. 

The Fairfax County Park Authority banned it more than a year ago because of pieces of string, metal wires or even the entire kite itself being left behind, according to Ben Boxer with the Park Authority.

"The kite is blown by the end, trailing hundreds of yards of this material that had been cut and it ends up in trees," he explained.

He says they've gotten calls recently about the wires and strings, which are difficult to see because how thin they are. 

"We’ve had residents call with this material getting caught in their bike spokes and gears." he said, "which as you can imagine, if your bike gears lock up, that could be potential for a serious injury."

It's not just human beings that are being impacted either.

"We’ve responded with animal control to free birds." he said, "when they become entangled, other wildlife."

Boxer says they haven't had any reports of injuries, but they want to get this warning out to people before anything more serious happens. 

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