During COVID all events and gatherings were halted in their tracks. Any whiff of get togethers and events had the kybosh put upon them with many sporting disciplines calling half time for their competitions. Everything from pro level to grassroots participation was affected.
During this time stand up paddle boarding has flourished as a recreational activity. LOTS (and we mean lots) of people have discovered SUP. As much as this has been very much chilled out, fun paddling it stands to reason that a % of those riders will go on to more progressive areas of SUP.
Combine this with those already bug bitten and it would seem there’s been a resurgence of interest around paddle board racing this summer. With races very much back on the agenda competitors have been in abundance. And those high level SUP comps have been given a boost – both in terms of exposure and numbers of entrants.
The UK’s Team GBSUP has just returned from the ICF World Championships in Gdynia, Poland, where there was a great showing. Team GB’s Marie Buchanan convincingly won the technical distance masters over 40 category, in testing conditions that saw DNFs for many competitors. Team GB came home with third overall in the Nations Cup. That’s a huge achievement and one that should be saluted.
At time of writing the APP World Tour is readying itself for stop two of the global race series in London’s Canary Wharf. Athletes from 24 countries will be taking part. And whilst the usual party atmosphere will be absent (in respect for Her Majesty the Queen’s passing) there’ll still be tangible buzz from the competitors and spectators alike.
NCW’s long standing team rider Sam Gill recently got hold of his own race SUP with the idea to start competing in a few paddle board races. Sam’s no stranger to endurance style events and will no doubt do great.
The interesting point about all this is SUP racing very much occupies the flat water end of paddle boarding’s spectrum. When stand up first came massively into the public eye – at least SUP as we know it these days – surfing was thought to be the focus discipline. Yet this has never been the case. For various reasons more paddlers err towards non-bumpy water states, but still maybe want to test the mettle. And SUP racing therefore is the most logical pathway to head down.
Whether this trend continues into 2023 remains to be seen. We will be watching with interest. For more SUP article hit the link here.