So the Aussie titles dates have been announced & the Marathon & Technical are mid-week. Although I am not an Aussie I would like to be able to do the community section of titles for my own enjoyment. Why oh Why does Surfing Aus insist on putting these races on mid week. It does not encourage participation from the Sup community and most people don't show up. You will never have your strongest team if the strongest paddlers can't get to the qualifiers (& yes I know Aussie won last year but that is beside the point!!!)
Time to move Sup away from Surfing Australia & let the Sup community have their own governing body!
Hey Themoke, the Aussie titles this year is a 4 day program starting the 15th Nov running into Saturday. I believe they are going to have swell and wind windows.
PS Personally we need to support the states and surfing Australia and continue building our relationship.
Trace when I saw the dates the first thing that came into my head is that there mustn't be any community SUP races at Nationals this year, because if you wanted to have a community race you would hold it on a weekend to ensure maximum participation, wouldn't you? Maybe my assumption is wrong however from the minimal information I can find on the Surfing Australia website about the event there is no mention of a community race. I would love to be proven wrong.
I agree Jonesy but holding the Marathon on Wednesday mid week means a lot of people just won't bother to go. You've just held a huge race on the weekend with a huge turn out. I can manage to get up there for the weekend but not mid week. Why finish the event on Saturday? Run it through to Sunday and have a wind window for the best conditions.
I agree that we need to support Surfing Australia as there is currently no National SUP body, however, there needs to be a little dialogue before some of their decisions are made..
Surfing NSW have been awesome with their event management so hopefully the organisers will do what NSW do and listen to opinion.
If you have earnt your spot in the Aussie titles its your choice to compeat or not based on the format and dates selected ..if you dont make the effort dont complain... I have been fortunate enough to make it into Qld surfing team over the last couple of years and last year Qld had an extremely poor showing in all areas of SUP which was extremely emabrrassing for our state.. say what you will about the selected location etc etc The WA team held their own and SWA and SUPWA produced the goods
Over the duration of the event
This year its in our own back yard again... in a calendar window where the surf isnt exactly known to be great... should that stop you from standing up ( literally ) and representing your state just because its mid week.. F#%k noo !!!
Pull your heads in and paddle and surf like demons to put in a good showing for your state and stop bitching
Surfing Qld do a great job as do all the other state surfing bodies
As for community events... well...that's the choice for Surfing Oz to sort out
re a new governing body....Genuinely...who has the knowledge and a good repall with the decision makers you lobby to gain funding for not for profit organisations and has a spare $100,000 to support themselves for a year or so to get a new SUP body up and going ???
The work that goes into these organisations such as SQ is not just for one person.. it will take a few people and a lot of dedication and hard work ( inc big balls ) to get it off of the ground and if you can.. well hats off to you
Ok... now I am ready to be sacrificed for my comments
Very well said Steve.
I dont think the Aussie titles really want to be a mass mass crowd like Noosa it's not what it's about.
it's about
the leading paddlers from each state battling it out in surf heats and a couple of racers.
It's essentially an event for the better paddlers of the sport in the country. There are plenty of other racers around the country for the mass crowds.
And if they open it up to community for the racers like in the past well that's great the weekend warrior like me will simply take the day off to race and be involved. I mean come on if you love sup so much taking a personal day from work life for such an event is a no brainer for locals and for people from other states if your selected in the state team it's your choice to commit take some annual leave and turn up.
Surfing aus and states do a great job there isn't anyone else who could get that sort of funding and support with out investing major money out of your own pockets.
I think the the important thing is the make the tech race 14foot boards has it been in the past??
Tech race has always been 12'6 which is a pain when you have to travel from the West with a 12'6 and 14 and surf SUP.
However having said that I would much prefer to use a 12'6 in the waves and although if it was a 14 class and I was in both Marathon and Tech I would only bring 1 14'er.
I'm sure most locals would end up digging up 2 different 14's, 1 for the Marathon (prob a dugout) and a wider more surfable (prob flat deck) for the Tech.
I agree with Andy R. Nationals does not need a community race. That's more work for Surfing Australia. Let them concentrate on the guys and girls who were selected to represent their States.
Steve m74 is correct in some respects about a National body. It would be a huge task to set something up specifically for SUP, but having said that all Surfing Australia do at present is a great Nationals and insurance cover. I'm happy to be corrected if I'm wrong but having spoken to a few knowledgeable people I'm pretty sure our position in the priority list could be a bit higher. A formal representation for SUP on each State Association would be a good start. One for racing, one for surf. At the moment opinions differ between the surf representatives and racers as to the current situation st Nationals.
The Vic guys are even suggesting a wave Nationals at a suitable location for Surfing and a racing Nationals at a location better suited to racing. The suggestion has merits and considering the funding available would be easy to do.
But seriously, Wednesday for the marathon when the event finishes on Saturday? That can only limit participation by people who have qualified.
Select to expand quotetightlines said..
Tech race has always been 12'6 which is a pain when you have to travel from the West with a 12'6 and 14 and surf SUP.
However having said that I would much prefer to use a 12'6 in the waves and although if it was a 14 class and I was in both Marathon and Tech I would only bring 1 14'er.
I'm sure most locals would end up digging up 2 different 14's, 1 for the Marathon (prob a dugout) and a wider more surfable (prob flat deck) for the Tech.
Are the States running with 14's in the BOPs then too??...Last years conditions in QLD titles would have been a handful with a 14 footers with turns in a beach break and a small tight course with lots of chop and swell wheras the Aussies in WA was 90% a flat water paddle way more suited to 14's. I guess it depends on the conditions and the course the organizers choose to setup??
Select to expand quoteLoz79 said..tightlines said..
Tech race has always been 12'6 which is a pain when you have to travel from the West with a 12'6 and 14 and surf SUP.
However having said that I would much prefer to use a 12'6 in the waves and although if it was a 14 class and I was in both Marathon and Tech I would only bring 1 14'er.
I'm sure most locals would end up digging up 2 different 14's, 1 for the Marathon (prob a dugout) and a wider more surfable (prob flat deck) for the Tech.
Are the States running with 14's in the BOPs then too??...Last years conditions in QLD titles would have been a handful with a 14 footers with turns in a beach break and a small tight course with lots of chop and swell wheras the Aussies in WA was 90% a flat water paddle way more suited to 14's. I guess it depends on the conditions and the course the organizers choose to setup??
I believe its 12'6 for the BOP this year...... a very good chance 14' in 2018
Same story we read every year. If everybody is not willing to sit in a room and agree things need changing and put up their hand and help it change it never will and next year you can all copy and paste your same comments...
Maybe time for people who know the sport and have been around and have the knowledge to get together and make a change.
This is a great sport and as we have seen by the last two races in QLD (no involvement by surfing QLD) the numbers are their so maybe somebody needs to grab this sport and shake it up
Why do we have the best paddlers in world,and a tour APP TOUR do not run a leg here in this country.. has to be a reason as nobody is guiding our sport here maybe!!!!!!!
well my 2 bob worth. Start throwing the knives....
Select to expand quotesupsurfers said..
Same story we read every year. If everybody is not willing to sit in a room and agree things need changing and put up their hand and help it change it never will and next year you can all copy and paste your same comments...
Maybe time for people who know the sport and have been around and have the knowledge to get together and make a change.
This is a great sport and as we have seen by the last two races in QLD (no involvement by surfing QLD) the numbers are their so maybe somebody needs to grab this sport and shake it up
Why do we have the best paddlers in world,and a tour APP TOUR do not run a leg here in this country.. has to be a reason as nobody is guiding our sport here maybe!!!!!!!
well my 2 bob worth. Start throwing the knives....
I wish it was that simple. I'd love to see a stand alone SUP organisation and I've given it alot of thought. At the moment I'm fairly involved with our local club and various other groups so I know the amount of effort that's going to be needed to get something up and running. While I'd love to be involved, I certainly don't have the time available. I think he various SUP clubs need to get together and discuss things. Unfortunately NSW doesn't even have a state association.
After much thought I think the most effective way to get things organised is for AuSUP to really step up. AuSUP is a National organisation with State delegates and there is a solid link with Surfing Australia. I think AuSUP needs to be more vocal and I believe Surfing Australia needs to seek involvement from the paddlers via AuSUP on a greater level. If we're going to stay with Surfing Australia, who certainly have the best infrastructure of any the organisations we could link with, they need to involve us more in decision making. There needs to be a SUP committee as part of every surfing state association where recommendations can be made to Surfing Australia.
There is certainly a wide range of opinions out there. The guys who surf SUP are much happier than the guys who race so we need to provide recommendations to our state bodies to pass on to Surfing Australia. Surfing NSW have been fantastic as far as listening to the surfers and racers alike so I will certainly be bringing the issue of a Wednesday marathon up with Surfing NSW.
14 Foot vs 12'6 issue is progressing well with Surfing NSW. As always, they're good to deal with.
