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

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

Danny Ching vs Connor Baxter. Every Weekend.

Connor BaxterSUP the Mag has done a great short, sharp interview with Connor Baxter, who’s been on fire so far in 2013.

Connor chats about his return to form after battling illness all last year, as well as the state of the Stand Up World Series (which just had a great event in Brazil), but there’s also a question everyone wants to know the answer to: Why don’t guys like him and Kai Lenny race against paddlers such as Danny Ching more often?   → READ MORE

Danny Ching, Annabel Anderson Win The 2013 Carolina Cup In Style (UPDATED RESULTS)

Danny Ching Carolina Cup SUPDanny Ching has won the 2013 Carolina Cup at Wrightsville Beach, claiming his second straight title in emphatic style to cement his position as the world’s fastest stand up paddler. Danny opened up a big gap on the field and was well clear by the end of the 12.5 mile “Graveyard” Elite Race course, crossing the line exactly four minutes ahead of his nearest rival.

France’s Eric Terrien also paddled extremely well to claim 2nd ahead of an all-star cast that included Jamie Mitchell (3rd), Chase Kosterlitz (4th), Ryan Helm (5th) and Matt Becker (6th).

Meanwhile Annabel Anderson put on a dominant display to claim victory ahead of Jenny Kalmbach and Brandi Baksic. Click through for FULL RESULTS…   → READ MORE

Danny Ching Shows Off His New Hippostick Paddles

Danny Ching Hippostick PaddlesMore Danny Ching goodness today with a fresh video that shows off the champ’s new “Hippostick” Paddles. We gave you a glimpse of Danny’s 404 SUP Race boards yesterday and here are the blades, so for all you aspiring Danny Chang fans out there, you’ve now got the full set. All that’s missing is the perfect technique that’s been honed over years and years of training… minor details.

Hippostick Paddles is a new brand that Danny formed last year with his dad, legendary California outrigger canoe paddler and long-time paddle maker Al Ching. The paddles have been spotted in the wild before, with Danny having dominated the Battle of the Paddle holding one of the prototype models. But now us regular paddlers can get in on the fun as well…   → READ MORE

Zeedonk And The Monster: Danny Ching’s New 404 Race Boards

Danny Ching 404 SUP race boardsRiviera, along everyone’s favourite stand up paddler Danny Ching, have just released a bunch of videos showing off the new 404 SUP race board range. You can watch Danny give a tour of the new 12’6 Monster 2.0, the 14′ Zeedonk and its pin-tail cousin.

Let’s face it, Danny Ching could come out with a bathtub, call it a SUP race board, and he’d still sell a few (and we’d still post the video) because hey, it’s Danny Ching… but these boards do actually look pretty cool, so click through to see ‘em in all their glory.   → READ MORE

Danny Ching’s (Kinda) New Stroke Technique For 2013

Danny Ching Stand Up Paddle techniqueAnother great little Danny Ching clip from the Surf Expo via Distressed Mullet. Danny chats about the tweaks he’s made to his Stand Up Paddle stroke technique for the new year.

Danny’s going a little bit shorter and a little bit faster for 2013, with a focus on cadence (stroke rate). Click through to watch the video and hear all the details from the man himself…   → READ MORE

[RESULTS] Danny Ching, Candice Appleby Win Orange Bowl Paddle Championship (UPDATED)

2013 Orange Bowl SUP Race ResultsThe first big SUP race of 2013 has just wrapped up in Miami, Florida, with Danny Ching and Candice Appleby taking out the Orange Bowl Paddle Championship. Ryan Helm, Brennan Rose, Krisztina Zur and Bailey Rosen also made the podium in the Elite Race, while Fernando Stalla won the sprints.

Many of the world’s best were in town, thanks in large part to the big Surf Expo trade show over in Florida last week, so the starting list of competitors was very solid.   → READ MORE

[VIDEO] Danny Ching’s New Hippostick Paddles

Danny Ching HippostickThe always-on-it Distressed Mullet is currently roving the floor at the massive Surf Expo in Florida, catching up with the stars of SUP (many of whom are heading down the road to the Orange Bowl race on Sunday). Danny Ching is one of those stars, and the Mullet had a quick chat with the champ about his new line of SUP paddles: Hippostick.

The Hippostick paddles have been shaped based on Danny’s outrigger and SUP experiences. In case you weren’t aware; Danny isn’t just the best SUP racer in the world, he’s also a champion outrigger canoe paddler. He got that bug from his father, who’s had a long association with outrigger canoeing and has crafted OC paddles for years as well. The two have combined their SUP and OC knowledge to produce the new Danny Ching Hippostick SUP paddles (a nice ironic name for a guy as fast as Danny).   → READ MORE

Ching, Appleby Set To Defend “Orange Bowl” Titles As Solid Field Heads To Miami

Orange Bowl Paddle ChampionshipThe 2013 Orange Bowl Paddle Championship is only a few days away, and it looks like a pretty stacked field will be kicing off the 2013 SUP racing season down Miami way. 2012 event champions Candice Appleby and Danny Ching will be there, chasing the $3,500 first place prize (for both men and women) and the chance to kick-start their 2013 racing campaigns.

Miami’s Orange Bowl SUP race is timed to coincide with the massive Surf Expo in Orlando. The annual trade show attracts every major SUP brand, with team riders often joining in to help promote their sponsors, meaning that a good portion of the world’s best paddlers are in town this week.   → READ MORE

The Top 12 Of 2012


It’s that time of year again, when we look back at twelve whole months of Stand Up Paddle races and decide who the top performers were.

The Top 12 of 2012 attempts to rank the world’s elite Stand Up Paddlers based on their performances over the past twelve months. That’s no easy feat: There are a LOT of good SUP athletes out there. In fact we had a short-list of 35 guys when we were trying to calculate our Top 12, and honestly, almost all of them could have been squeezed onto the final list if we slightly moved the criteria one way of the other.

But who made the final list? And who scored the #1 spot? Click through to find out…   → READ MORE

Riviera’s End Of Year Wrap: Watch 12 Months Of SUP In Less Than 4 Minutes

Check out this great “2012 Year End Wrap” from the crew at Riviera Paddlesurf. Twelve months of Stand Up Paddle action has been packed into a neat little four minute clip, featuring highlights from Tahoe to the Battle and everywhere in between.

My personal favourite is watching Danny Ching fly out of the gates in the SUP cross race (skip to the 0:40 mark for that part).    → READ MORE

VIDEO: Paddle Royal Recap

Here’s a great video recap of the 2012 Paddle Royal SUP Race, which was held last week in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

You might struggle with the commentary if you don’t understand Spanish, but either way there’s plenty to enjoy: The video shows off what an awesome location this is, plus there’s loads of SUP racing action (the Paddle Royal was won by Danny Ching and Candice Appleby, in case you’ve been under a rock the past couple of weeks). Click through to watch the full clip…   → READ MORE

Fun Times In Puerto Rico: Paddle Royal Race Video

In case you somehow haven’t heard, the $20,000 Paddle Royal was held on the weekend in San Juan, Puerto Rico, with Danny Ching and Candice Appleby taking home the cash and bragging rights (check out the finalised Paddle Royal race results).

From all reports it was an awesome weekend: a very well organised event with great racing and in a kickass location. You can get a taste of what the paddlers were enjoying in this clip from Saturday’s Distance Race. This shows the massive line of paddlers heading around the first turning buoy, not long after the start of the 8.5 mile race. Click through to watch…   → READ MORE

Candice Appleby, Danny Ching Victorious At The Paddle Royal (UPDATED With Final Results)

UPDATE 3rd December: Full results are now in (from all divisions) so click through to check them out.

Danny Ching and Candice Appleby have just taken out the 2012 Paddle Royal. Saturday saw the 8 mile distance race, while Sunday was the sprint races. Results were combined to produce the overall event champions.

The Paddle Royal is a $20,000 SUP race in San Juan, Puerto Rico, which has attracted many of the world’s best paddlers. Other standout performances came from Eric Terrien, Ryan Helm, Paul Jackson and Chase Kosterlitz in the men’s division, while Angie Jackson and Gail Vento podium’d on the women’s side. Click through for the full results + pics   → READ MORE

Danny Ching Leads All-Star Cast Heading To Puerto Rico For $20,000 “Paddle Royal”

Danny Ching has just been announced for the Paddle Royal SUP Race in Puerto Rico. This will be Ching’s first serious race since his domination of the 2012 Battle of the Paddle (where he took out both the Elite and Distance Races). However the champ won’t have it all his own in San Juan on the 1st & 2nd December, with a host of SUP racing’s finest lining up for the challenge.

Some of the big names Ching will be up against include defending-champ Chase Kosterlitz, Eric Terrien, Ryan Helm, Paul Jackson, Anthony Vela, Belar Diaz and local boy Nick Leeson, just to name a few. That’s some serious paddling talent, though of course Ching will start favourite, as he does at every race.

Meanwhile in the women’s draw, defending champ Heather Baus will face strong opposition from Candice Appleby and Angie Jackson. They’ll all be in town chasing the $20,000 cash bounty that’s on offer, which makes the Paddle Royal one of the single most lucrative SUP races of 2012.   → READ MORE

[RESULTS] Battle Of The Paddle 2012

What a crazy weekend.. the 2012 Battle of the Paddle has come to a close, but competitors, spectators and fans will be talking about this event for months and years to come.

There were so many highlights and memorable moments. From Danny Ching reclaiming his crown, to Annabel Anderson announcing herself as the new women’s champion, to a bunch of stoked young groms charging like crazy. They call the Battle of the Paddle ”Super Bowl of SUP” for a reason…

We’ll have a full weekend recap soon, but in the meantime relive the action with the complete results from the 2012 Battle of the Paddle…   → READ MORE

Battle Of The Paddle 2012: Eight Days To Doheny…

How’s this classic shot from the 2011 Battle of the Paddle? Connor Baxter, Jamie Mitchell and Danny Ching all surfing the same wave in. These guys made an early break from the rest of the field and were virtually in a race of their own. Interestingly enough, this pic shows the exact finishing order (Connor was 1st, Jamie 2nd, Danny 3rd).

It’s almost time to do it all again. The world’s best are starting to arrive in Southern California and the 2012 Battle of the Paddle @ Dana Point is only eight days away…   → READ MORE

[VIDEOS] H2O Overdrive Summer Series

Take a look at some of the action from last weekend’s H2O Overdrive Summer Series Elite Race in Park City, Utah.

Danny Ching defeated Jamie Mitchell and a star-studded field to win the men’s elite race, while Brandi Baksic narrowly beat Candice Appleby in the women’s. Click through to see all the action…   → READ MORE

[RESULTS] Danny Ching Defeats Star-Studded Field @ H2O Overdrive Summer Series

Danny Ching has defeated 10x World Champion Jamie Mitchell and as a host of other world class paddlers to win the “SUP Cup” Elite Race @ the 2012 H2O Overdrive Summer Series in Park City, Utah.

Ching finished 40 seconds ahead of Mitchell over the 5 mile course, while the rest of the Top 15 was a virtual who’s who of Stand Up Paddle racing (and this is despite the event being held the same weekend as Molokai…). Other top performers included Ryan Helm, who finished just seconds behind Mitchell, Jay Wild, Chase Kosterlitz, Rob Rojas, Byron Kurt, Thomas Maximus, Jim Terrell, and several other elite SUP racers.   → READ MORE

[VIDEO] Battle of the Paddle California 2010 (Carnage!)

Here’s a good one from the archives…

The 2010 Battle of the Paddle Elite Race at Dana Point became an instant classic; Danny Ching cemented his place as a star of the sport by stealing the crown from defending champ Jamie Mitchell, Candice Appleby continued her winning streak on the women’s side, there were enough waves to ensure plenty of chaos, and the whole thing was caught on tape. CLICK THROUGH to watch…   → READ MORE

The Best SUP Racers Of 2012 (…So Far)


2012 has already seen a massive amount of Stand Up Paddle racing action. Everywhere from California to Carolina, Germany to the Gold Coast, Hawaii to … well, you get the point. Lots of SUP races.

But who have been the stand out performers? Who’s been paddling like crazy and consistently making the podium? Click through for all the juicy details…   → READ MORE