As Starboard Battle Week officially draws to a close, it’s time for one last reflection on that crazy day of racing at Salt Creek.

On Saturday I was working with the very talented young photographer Andrew Welker (if you ever need someone to shoot your event in style, give Andrew a call) who got some great images of the two Men’s Elite Race Qualifying Heats, the Women’s Final and the Men’s Final.

However there have been thousands of photos and hundreds of videos floating around Facebook over the past few days. It’s been a non-stop barrage. So I wanted to wait until the flood stopped raging before posting these awesome shots.   → READ MORE

With a solid swell bearing down on Salt Creek as we speak, Battle of the Paddle organisers have made the call: Legropes and PFDs are MANDATORY for every event this year. Yes, even for the Elite Race…

Most people were probably going to wear leggies (or ‘leashes’ for you non-Aussies) anyway, rather than risk losing their board, plus the PFDs (personal flotation devices) were already a rule for the distance race. However last night the BOP crew made it an event-wide standard. And if you saw the waves at Salt Creek this morning you’ll understand why…   → READ MORE

As Battle of the Paddle excitement reaches fever pitch it’s hard to go on the internet without being bombarded with BOP news/pics/videos/updates. But one little piece that slipped through unnoticed was the fact organisers have dropped the drug testing element this year.

The reason is quite simple: Money. It’s super expensive to run a professional, WADA-backed testing session.   → READ MORE

Mate Against Mate, State Against State: Country-by-country predictions for the biggest race of the year

Seeing how the Battle of the Paddle is going to be so tough to predict this year, I figured we should have some fun and look at the top contenders in each of the major countries and regions, rather than just the overall front runners. I’ll still be releasing my predictions for the Top 10 on Friday morning, however with conditions looking epic (for the spectators at least) it’s going to be VERY tough to get it right.

So I guess this is my way of throwing out as many names as possible and hopefully catching every contender in the net…   → READ MORE

The countdown to the biggest race of the year is in full swing. Less than four days ’til Show Time. Four days til we find out who takes the glory and bragging rights for the next 12 months. Four days til we find out if 12’6 race boards can physically handle the waves at Salt Creek. Four days til the stand up paddling world stops for 48 hours…

There’s nothing quite like the Battle of the Paddle. And now, thanks to Starboard, SUPracer.com is the home of the BOP. All this week we’ll be previewing the big dance, leading up to our 48-hour LIVE BLOG on race weekend, which will include real-time, play-by-play commentary of the racing.   → READ MORE

Starboard Battle Week isn’t all about serious racing and painful carnage. It’s also about having fun. And right now nothing says fun like a giant, oversized, ridiculously-large inflatable stand up paddleboard.

This beast is Starboard’s new inflatable SUP board. It’s 18 and a half feet long. It’s 60 inches wide. It comfortably fits 8 paddlers at once. It even has proper fins for surfing. It’s bloody awesome. Only problem: It doesn’t have a name yet… And that’s where you come in.   → READ MORE

“Is the Battle of the Paddle gonna be streamed live this year?” “Will the BOP have a webcast?” “Where can we watch the race?” “Where’s the webcast?” “Webcast?” “Webcast?!?”

Every year I get this type of question from hundreds of fans around the world. The Battle of the Paddle is the biggest race on earth and SUP die-hards across the globe wanna see it go down as it happens. However in recent years they’ve been frustratingly cut out.    → READ MORE

Five days until the Battle of the Paddle, which means just five days until we get to see if Salt Creek lives up to the hype: Will we get the waves we’ve been hearing about for months? Will there be all-time carnage? Chaos? Flying paddles? Broken boards? We, the spectators, can only hope…

Though Salt Creek will have to really turn it on if it’s going to beat Doheny’s storied history of chaos and carnage. Each year we need to look no further than the infamous “Hammer Buoy” – the first inside turn on the Elite Race course – for an endless highlights reel of dings and destruction. And last year’s BOP gave us perhaps the most insane Hammer Buoy carnage sequence of all time…   → READ MORE

Seven days until the Battle of the Paddle. That’s one whole week, which means a good chunk of the notoriously-tardy elite paddlers probably haven’t even registered yet. But while there’s still plenty of time left to sign up, I say it’s never too early to start looking at the form guide.

So with that in mind, here’s your first look at the Battle of the Paddle Elite Race heat draws.   → READ MORE

We stirred up a lot of debate a few months ago by revealing the course maps for Battle of the Paddle Salt Creek. Well forget whatever your opinion was, because every single course (Open, Elite and Distance races) has been totally changed.

Here are the NEW Battle of the Paddle course maps. Though with some decent surf expected to hit Salt Creek on the eve of the event, we could see some additional, last minute changes to these courses, depending on the size and direction of the swell.   → READ MORE

The Battle of the Paddle. The BOP. The Super Bowl of SUP. It’s the biggest stand up paddle race on earth. And it’s only one week away…

The Battle is a unique and very special event: It almost single-handedly gave rise to professional SUP racing as we know it. The Battle of the Paddle is the one race where virtually every single elite paddler in the world shows up to throw down. It’s the one event that virtually every stand up paddling fan gets excited about.

And this year’s Battle – complete with new location at the wave crashing Salt Creek – could be the most exciting year ever.   → READ MORE