Battle Of The Paddle: BRAZIL

UPDATE #2: The Battle of the Paddle Rio is postponed until October.

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UPDATE: Get the latest info and news about the Brazilian Battle of the Paddle with our “Battle of the Paddle Rio” mini-site.

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It’s official: The Battle of the Paddle is heading to Brazil.

The Battle of the Paddle Rio will be happening from April 5th-7th, 2013, with the world’s best SUP racers set to duke it out on the world famous beaches of Rio de Janeiro.

The Battle of the Paddle Rio will have the exact same format as the Battle of the Paddle we all know and love from Dana Point. The Elite Race and Open Race will be on Saturday 6th April 2013, with the Distance Race, Kids Race and Relays on Sunday 7th.

(…just to be clear: The Battle of the Paddle isn’t moving, it’s still going to be held at Dana Point, California in September 2013. The Battle of the Paddle Rio is a new, standalone version of the BoP).

As for the exact location of the races… The word was that the organisers were going to have to hold it away from the main surf beaches, i.e. on flat water, but it sounds like the event has been given the green light to be held on the world famous Copacabana Beach, which would mean waves for the Elite Race. Waves! Those magic little things that make SUP racing so much fun to watch.

So what’s the BoP in Brazil going to look like?

Battle of the Paddle Rio is being managed by locals in Brazil, with the strong organisational support of the Rainbow Sandals crew in California. Basically: Rainbow Sandals licenses out the name/format of the Battle of the Paddle, then the BoP Rio organisers are free to find their own title sponsor. So it probably won’t be called the “Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle”, though it will look almost identical…

Same race format, same prize money, even pretty much the same logo.

Speaking of prize money, while the total $$ amount has been finalised, the goal is to have at least the same amount as the California event ($25,000). The Brazilian Battle of the Paddle has also gotten strong backing from the government, meaning it’ll probably be used as part of the country’s big tourist push in the lead up to their two major, upcoming events (World Cup 2014 and Olympics 2016).

So the Battle of the Paddle (which apparently translates to “a batalha dos remos” in Portuguese) is on the move. This isn’t the first time of course, with the Battle of the Paddle Hawaii running in 2010 and 2011. However that event has since been cancelled (though it did morph into the Waikiki Paddle Festival). Either way, this is the first time the Battle will be held away from one of SUP racing’s traditional home venues. In fact it’ll probably be the biggest ever SUP race held outside of California or Hawaii, which is very exciting not only for the BoP, but for the sport of SUP racing in general.

So stay tuned to SUPracer.com between now and April 2013, because we’re going to give you complete coverage of the Battle of the Paddle in Brazil. Also take a look at the very slick official site, where you can even pre-register for the event.

Start brushing up on your Portuguese and booking your flights: The Battle of the Paddle Rio is on!

2013 Battle of the Paddle Rio

When: April 5th-7th 2013
Where: Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
What: Same format as the Battle of the Paddle we all know and love (Elite, Open, Distance, Kids, and Relay SUP races)
Why: There will probably be a minimum $25,000 prize money. But who cares about the cash… c’mon, it’s Rio!