The International Surfing Association (ISA) has just announced the location for the 2014 World Stand Up Paddle and Paddleboard Championship… Nicaragua.

After the first two years were held in Peru, we’re heading back to Latin America early next year for the third instalment of this event. The announcement was made today and although dates aren’t confirmed, we can expect the event to run in late February.   → READ MORE

So the 2013 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Champs have come to a close. Seems like just yesterday we were stepping off the plane in Lima, changing our dollars into soles and arguing with the taxi driver about whether or not a 12’6 race board could fit on top of a hatchback that had no roof racks.

And then, just like that, it was over. Six days of incredible competition that went well above and beyond expectations. For us here at SUPracer.com, the racing side of this event was incredible. Sure, some of the top names were missing, but if those guys and girls were watching the webcast I bet they wished they were in Peru…   → READ MORE

Another great day in Peru with Day 5 of the ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship producing plenty of excitement on the water.

The almighty Team Australia kept their unbeaten streak alive by taking Gold in both the men’s and women’s prone paddleboarding “Technical Course” race. Both races served up a lot more excitement than was possibly expected, with Golden Girl Jordan Mercer being pushed literally right to the beach by Anna Notten, while Brad Gaul made a slight mistake and lost the title to team mate Lincoln Dews.

The Aussies also sent a paddler into each of tomorrow’s SUP surfing finals, meaning the team could possibly do 12-medal clean sweep of this event. Tomorrow is the big finale with five Golds up for grabs, but in the meantime click through to check out today’s recap, race results and photos of the action.   → READ MORE

After the virtual lay day we had yesterday (when extreme fog put the event on hold for hours) today’s action kicked off on time here in Miraflores, Peru. The SUP surfing event ran all morning and then it was over to the SUP racing, with the qualifying heats of the men’s Technical Course race hitting the water in the early afternoon.

With chunky, solid waves rolling through La Pampilla Beach, the top 12 survivors from each heat booked their spot in Saturday’s Final, while the unlucky losers were sent home. The favourites all went through unscathed, but there were also a couple of dark horses that stood up and showed they’re contenders. The heats for the women were supposed to follow the men, but with a building swell and consistent, overhead sets rolling through the course, the organisers decided to postpone until tomorrow.

That means Friday will see the women’s SUP Tech Race heats, the finals of the Prone Tech Race, as well as plenty more SUP surfing. The action kicks off at 7:40am local time Friday morning and we’ll stream the LIVE WEBCAST here on SUPracer.com, but in the meantime click through to see the results from today’s SUP races, find out who made the cut for Saturday’s big final, plus see some cool pics of the action…   → READ MORE

It’s on! The first SUP race of the 2013 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship is only hours away. At 11am local time in Peru (8am California, 5pm France, 2am Sydney) seventy-two competitors from around the world will hit the water for the start of the 22km Long Distance SUP and Prone Paddleboard races.

The field is wide open in this one; there’s probably six guys who are genuine contenders for the Gold Medal, with another half a dozen dark horses who could easily snatch one of the minor placings. So click through to see who’s competing, who are the favourites and also get a glimpse of the interactive course map… this is going to be a very interesting race.   → READ MORE

The 2013 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Champs in Peru officially got underway today with the opening ceremony, which means tomorrow is the first day of action on the water.

The event will run every day from Monday 25th to Saturday 2nd, with the SUP racing events schedule for Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. So click through to check out the full Peru schedule, as well as what time the live webcast (which we’ll be streaming here on SUPracer.com all week) will be shown in your part of the world…   → READ MORE

The 2013 ISA World Standup Paddle and Paddleboard Championship got under way here in Peru today, with the parade of Nations and Opening Ceremony marking the official start of the event. It was great to see paddlers from all over the world getting into the festivities of the parade; Peru got the biggest cheers, Mexico were the craziest, South Africa (courtesy of their vuvuzelas) were the loudest, while Canada won points for proudest rendition of a national anthem.

Though the highlight for me was the awesome “Sands of the World” feature. This is where each country pours a cup of sand (that they brought with them from their home beaches) into a glass box. After 23 countries have added their sand (or stones) you end up with a very cool looking mix of colours and shapes. This is something that seems very symbolic of this entire event, where cultures mix with each other; ”We’re different but the same” was ISA President Fernando Aguerre’s common theme.   → READ MORE

UPDATE: The webcast is finished for today. Tune into SUPracer.com tomorrow for the LIVE WEBCAST of the first day of competition in Peru…

The 2013 ISA Worlds are just a couple of days away. There are 23 different nations starting to fill up the beaches of Miraflores, Peru, and on Sunday it all kicks off. This is the second year the International Surfing Association has hosted the World Standup Paddle and Paddleboard Championship, after the inaugural event in 2012, and the driving force behind it has been ISA President Fernando Aguerre.

Fernando has worked for the ISA for almost 20 years and has been involved in the surf industry for even longer. With his brother, he established the world famous Reef sandals brand in the 80′s, before selling the company in 2004. These days he actively campaigns, with trademark enthusiasm and charisma for the development of surfing and paddleboarding around the world.

With the World Paddleboard Champs coming up, I sat down with Fernando in La Jolla last week for a chat. Apart from being suitably impressed with his massive surfboard collection (everything from Kelly Slater shortboards to Tom Blake paddleboards, even a few pieces from the 1800s…) the main thing I walked away with is that Fernando Aguerre is passionate about this sport. Anyone that’s spent five minutes with the flamboyant ISA President will know what I mean. “Enthusiastic” is an understatement… so click through to read Part I of our interview and hear why the ISA got involved with SUP, what role it has to play in the world of paddleboarding, and what makes this event so unique.   → READ MORE

The 2013 ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Champs are about to kick off in Peru, with the opening ceremony on Sunday before the action hits the water on Monday. There are officially 23 nations entered into the Championship, up from the 17 that were at the inaugural event last year.

This year’s team line up consists of: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Denmark, El Salvador, France, Germany, Great Britain, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Tahiti, USA and Venezuela. Team Australia will no doubt start as favourites, but there will be plenty of dark horses and probably a good couple of upsets, so click through to meet all the teams…   → READ MORE

Nine hours and we’re there. Keep following SUPracer.com and you won’t miss a beat of the 2013 ISA SUP Champs in Peru.

Five days and counting til the ISA Paddleboard World Champs in Peru, which means teams are rocking up at airports all around the world (and probably arguing about whether or not a 12’6 can fit on a plane…) as we speak. One of those teams is France, who, led by international SUP racer Eric Terrien, will be looking to fly home with more than their fair share of medals.

But one of their secret weapons isn’t Terrien, it’s their “other” competitor in the men’s SUP racing events, Yoann Cornelis, who will be a definite contender in Miraflores next week. Yoann has sprung up out of seemingly nowhere over the past 12 months to become a permanent fixture on the podiums of French SUP races, and the Fanatic team rider will be looking to extend that form into the ISA Worlds. GetUpSUP.com caught up with Yoann before he boarded his plane for a chat about what to expect in Peru, so click through to read it and learn more about this genuine dark horse…   → READ MORE

Six days and counting until the 2013 ISA World Champs kicks off in Peru and the list of nations that’ll be competing is just about finalised. We’ve already met a dozen teams – USA, Denmark, Japan, Ireland, South Africa, Canada, Great Britain, Sweden, Mexico, Spain, France, and Australia – and they’ll be joined by New Zealand, Peru, Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Brazil, Tahiti, El Salvador, Puerto Rico and a few more in Miraflores, Lima from the 24th Feb to 2nd March.

Today one more paddling nation joins the list: Team Germany. The country has a proud history in paddle sports, but also has the unfortunate luck of being stuck in the middle of a cold winter, so click through to say hello to the team and also see some pics of their extreme SUP training sessions…   → READ MORE

So it looks like the United States will have a team at next week’s ISA World Paddleboard Champs after all. News came through the other day thatTeam USA had pulled out of Peru, but now it seems they’ll still be sending a squad, albeit a fair bit smaller than anticipated.

Unfortunately for us racing fans, there’s no representatives in the SUP or prone race events, only in the SUP surfing. But either way, a Team USA presence in Miraflores is good news for the Championship as a whole.   → READ MORE

We’re just seven days away from the ISA’s World Standup Paddle and Paddleboard Championship in Miraflores. The event is set to attract two dozen paddling nations from around the world for a week of SUP racing, SUP surfing and Prone Paddleboarding, and so far we’ve met teams from as far away as Japan and Germany. Today it’s Team Denmark in the spotlight.

Led by up and coming star of the sport Casper Steinfath (aka the Danish Viking!), Denmark has a small but solid team of paddlers that will be looking to punch above their weight in Peru…   → READ MORE

So the ISA’s Paddleboard World Championship is only a week away. From the 24th of Feb to 2nd of March, paddlers from all around the world – as far away as Sweden and South Africa – will descend on Miraflores, Peru for the week-long competition. This event will be one of the highlights of the 2013 SUP racing calendar and will have more diversity & team spirit than any other paddleboarding race.

One other thing the ISA Worlds will have is an expert webcast commentary team: Nikki Gregg and Dan Gavere, two of the best-known figures in our sport, have accepted an invitation to jump in the announcers booth and entertain SUP fans around the world.   → READ MORE

One of the most important events of the year, the ISA World Paddle Champs in Peru are almost here. In 10 days, paddlers from two dozen different countries will line up on the beaches of Miraflores, Lima, for a week of SUP racing, SUP surfing and prone paddleboarding.

While defending-champs Australia are the big guns, they’ll be joined by an international cast of competitors. From South Africa to Sweden, Chile to Canada and another 20 odd countries in between, there’s going to be one big international mix at this year’s event. We’ll keep you covered once the action starts, but until then here’s a taste of what’s to come with “10 Things You Need To Know” about the 2013 ISA Worlds.   → READ MORE

Yet another country has confirmed for the ISA World Champs next month, with Team Japan announcing they’re sending a squad to Peru. With less than two weeks until the event, it’s now looking like there will be two dozen plus nations competing in Miraflores, Lima from the 24th Feb to 2nd March.

While Japan might not be the first place that comes to mind when you think SUP racing, the country has a long history in sports such as surfing and outrigger canoeing, so it kinda makes sense. Plus you always spot a few Japanese paddlers at the Hawaiian SUP races, so they’ve definitely got some talent.   → READ MORE

Well this isn’t good: News came through this afternoon that Team USA was pulling out of the 2013 ISA World Standup Paddle and Paddleboard Championships, citing a lack of money as the main reason.

An email was sent to the tentative team members and supporters outlining the decision. It was also announced on Candice Appleby’s Facebook page, where there’s currently a spirited debate going on. The decision has basically come down to a matter of funding: The trip was going to cost Team USA $50,000 and they simply couldn’t raise that sort of money.   → READ MORE