
“What did you get on Halloween?”
– “15 gummy bears, three chocolate bars and a couple of SUP world titles.”
“Ooh, I’ll trade you half a pack of M&Ms for your world titles!”
– “Nah, you can have ’em. I’m sick of world titles anyway.”
And just like to kids on Halloween, it appears the world titles of SUP have been handed out like candy this year.
By my count, there were 44 individual “world titles” awarded this season — 22 for men and 22 for women.
Even if ignore the confusing number of junior, master and surfing world titles (which would be generous), we’re still left with at least 18 top-level titles — six from each of the “Three Acronyms” (ISA, ICF, APP). Several athletes won multiple, which means we “only” have 12 different world champions.
12 world champions…
How the hell do we promote a sport that has 12 world champions in a single year? How do we market a sport that has no clear winner, no clear leadership and no clear direction. How do we explain the “sport” of stand up paddleboarding to the wider sporting world? How do we even explain it to ourselves? → READ MORE