Introducing The European SUP Racing Tour Presented By NSP

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

European SUP Racing Tour presented by NSP
It’s going to be a BIG Summer of SUP racing in Europe… Starting this weekend we’re set for six straight weeks of massive races that’ll feature an elite cast of international paddlers.

It’s an exciting time for the sport of SUP racing in this part of the world; never before have so many big names competed in Europe at the same time. The SUP Race Cup, Lost Mills, Oleron, Bilbao and more… Every week from now until the end of June, Europe will play host to several of the world’s best paddlers and several of the world’s biggest events.

There are so many big races happening in the next six weeks that we just had to give it a fun nickname, and as we mentioned a few months ago, the “European SUP Racing Tour” is what we came up with. Well now thanks to the champs at NSP (the home of Travis Grant and Rico Leroy), SUPracer.com will be on the ground in Europe covering every event live and going behind the scenes with the international stars as they travel the continent.   → READ MORE

[RESULTS] Jamie Mitchell Victorious In The Battle Of The Thames

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Battle of the ThamesSaturday’s Battle of the Thames race (aka 100+ Hungry Locals Chase Jamie Mitchell Up And Down The River) was a great event. I turned up in the UK with no idea what to expect, so to see over one hundred eager paddlers on the start line was very impressive. London isn’t exactly the first place that comes to mind when you think SUP racing, but we don’t even get those kind of numbers in Australia…

Click through for full results, race recap and video of the action…   → READ MORE

Travis Grant Wins NSW State Titles, Keeps Unbeaten Streak Alive

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Travis Grant and his new NSP SUP race board (© Alain Teurquetil)Travis Grant has taken out the Southern Cross SUP Festival (aka the NSW State Titles), claiming both the Distance and Technical Course races in Port Stephens this weekend.

Beau O’Brian, Dave Kissane and Kelly Margetts offered plenty of competition, but Trav held them off on both days to keep his 2013 unbeaten streak alive. Click through for full results…   → READ MORE

It’s Gonna Be A BIG Summer Of Racing In Europe…

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

SUP Races in Europe (© Michel Terrien)SUP racing in Europe is blowing up. From the 25th May to the end of June, we’re going to see six straight weeks of big events that boast a combined prize purse of $80,000. That’s attracted many of the world’s best paddlers to Europe, with the likes of Connor Baxter, Jamie Mitchell, Travis Grant and a tonne of other big names set to battle it out in France, Germany and Spain.

Click through for all the dates and details…   → READ MORE

Danny Ching Signs Up For Molokai; Will This Be The Most Competitive Channel Crossing Ever?

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Danny ChingDanny Ching has just signed up for the solo SUP division of the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, setting the stage for perhaps the most competitive channel crossing ever.

Danny’s confirmation means we could be in for an all-star battle royale this year, with Molokai 2013 potentially featuring Danny Ching vs. Connor Baxter vs. Dave Kalama vs. Travis Grant vs. Kai Lenny.

Add in the likelihood of gun paddlers such as Scott Gamble, Jeremy Riggs and Livio Menelau being in the race, and we should be set for an absolute cracker…   → READ MORE

OluKai 2013 In Pictures…

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

2013 OluKai SUP race photosTake a look at these great photos from OluKai 2013, which drew over 300 stand up paddlers to Maui for the famous Maliko downwind run, and which was won (yet again) by Connor Baxter and Andrea Moller.

Conditions weren’t exactly all-time on the weekend, but even on its bad days Maliko looks more fun than most spots around the world, so click through for the highlights…   → READ MORE

[RESULTS] 2013 Key West Classic

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

2013 Key West ClassicCheck out the full race results from last weekend’s big Key West Classic. The race drew close to 150 paddlers to the Florida Keys, proving once again just how popular SUP racing is on the U.S. East Coast.

As for the winners; Thomas Maximus took line honours on his Unlimited board, Charlie Howden held off a big field to claim the 14′ men’s race and Heather Baus was far too strong in the women’s 12’6 race.   → READ MORE

The Island Challenge: Queensland Set For Two Big Weeks Of SUP Racing This November

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

The Island ChallengeOne of the hottest of hot-spots for paddling talent, Queensland, is set for a big 10 days of SUP racing this November. On the heels of Surfing Australia’s recent announcement about the 2013 Aussie Titles, the Sunshine Coast SUP Club has just leaked details of the “Island Challenge” SUP race that’ll be happening the weekend prior.

Click through for more info…   → READ MORE

Lunch With Jimmy: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds …And Funky Gym Moves

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Lunch with Jimmy - Candice Appleby & Anthony VelaGo behind the scenes at Team Quickblade HQ with the Candice Appleby, Anthony Vela, Riggs Napoleon and the Mad Scientist himself, Jim Terrell.

There’s not a single scene where they’re actually paddling, but it’s always interesting to see what the stars of SUP racing get up to behind the scenes. This was actually supposed to be a technical chat with Candice and Anthony about the sport, but it quickly turned into a random discussion of healthy bodies, minds, and funky gym moves…   → READ MORE

Epic Photo: The Key West Classic In Super Wide Angle

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Key West Classic panorama photoI love wide angled photos of Stand Up Paddle racing, but this is kinda ridiculous…

Check out this panorama shot from the Key West Classic SUP race on the weekend.  It shows the start of the race and somehow manages to get pretty much every single paddler in the frame. Awesome. The photo is 11326×480 pixels, or in other words has an aspect ratio of 24 (by comparison, most normal photos have a 1.5 ratio…).   → READ MORE

Larry Cain’s Carolina Recap: Training, Tactics And Why You Should Be Racing With A GPS…

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Larry Cain. Not at the Carolina Cup.While yesterday saw many of us pouring over the OluKai results and the US East Coast already move onto its next big race in the Keys, it seems the Carolina Cup from a couple of weeks back isn’t quite done hogging the spotlight.

Here’s a great, detailed recap of the race from a very fine paddler (and pretty handy writer) – Olympic Gold Medallist Larry Cain. So click through and have a read to get Larry’s insights into one of the biggest races of the year. There are some gems in there, including race strategies, tactics, sparring with his old C1 rival Jimmy Terrell, and racing with a GPS…   → READ MORE

Jamie Mitchell Returns To The Motherland, UK Racing And Clinics Set For This Weekend

posted by Steve West, Author of "Stand Up Paddle: A Paddler's Guide"

Jamie Mitchell UK Tour 2013All along it was my mate Travis (Grant) who was to visit me up here in this antipodean northern outpost, the father-country from where many Aussies can track their heritages, either on account of free-will or on account Her Majesty’s pleasure. I’m not entirely sure which category Grant falls into, but when we both finally concluded that a better offer of racing in the Pyrenees contested a possible visit to the UK and the logistics involved were proving testing, he dumped me. I was inconsolable for a minute or two, but then within a few hours another equally dodgey Aussie character PMs me on FB and casually tells me the time is right for him to visit and what’s this Battle of the Thames London race all about?   → READ MORE

First Look At The Looong-Awaited Naish Javelin LE-17′ Race Board

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Kody Kerbox Naish LE 17 race boardTime for some new-race-board-spy-photo fun…

One of the most eagerly anticipated (and slightly overdue) new SUP race boards is the unlimited Naish Javelin, which would replace the old 17′ Glide and extend Naish’s latest range of Javelin boards from 12’6 and 14′ all the way up to the unlimited class.

Well we finally got to see the Naish Javelin LE-17 in action, as Kody Kerbox and Kai Lenny paddled the board in yesterday’s big OluKai race. Click through to see it close up…   → READ MORE

Connor Baxter In His Own Words: Winning OluKai Back-To-Back

posted by Christopher Parker, Boss Man

Connor Baxter's OluKai recap
Boss Man’s note: Connor Baxter won yesterday’s massive OluKai SUP Race on Maui in impressive style, finishing clear of Downwind King Dave Kalama, arch rival Kai Lenny and a stack of other elite paddlers.  The win gives Connor back-to-back OluKai titles and continues his stellar form in the first half of 2013, where he’s been virtually unbeatable.

Connor was kind enough to share his thoughts after the win, so click through to hear from the champ himself…   → READ MORE