RJK said...

PeterP said...

The SA team came back wide-eyed telling us JM had 3 boards to choose from...pure hearsay so may be incorrect. The other event I referred to may have been a state champs - not sure, but he posted something where he described how he'd used this board for that discipline and that board for the downwind etc....

Point is no matter how we try and level the playing field it will never happen unless we introduce one-design which I think everyone will agree is not the way.

The 12'6 really is a bastard race class which came about by accident and although you can downwind and do whatever you want on it - will always be slower and favour small guys or ladies. But why sustain a class that does that when a 14' does pretty much everything better? Seems like the various camps of opinion are firmly entrenched but I just don't get why you'd want to be on a 12'6 if you are into racing - unless you are very light and want that advantage over the heavier guys....

because that is the bop class, reason being easier to surf. i believe that it initially came about as that is the longest blank you could buy.

am i the only one that doesnt want to copy the starboard wagon and have 20 different boards for each condition??

yep, thats why 14' is way better all round. generally dw's better, faster in the flats and a wider range of size people can us them. one race in US now dictates the whole world.

12'6's fitting into shops better has a lot to do with it too

interestingly a lot of 12'6 and 14' ers are the same price. have the 12'6's prices been jacked up

From sup racer , this is the only way to see whos the best paddler , same board for all.



BIC Launches World¡¯s First ¡°One Design¡± SUP Race Series

Christopher Parker | August 28, 2012


BIC SUP have just announced plans for a ¡°One Design¡± Stand Up Paddle race series, which they¡¯re claiming is a world first.

The French outfit, best known in the SUP racing scene for sponsoring European #1 Eric Terrien, will be debuting their one design SUP race series at next week¡¯s surf trade show in Orlando, Florida.

All competitors in BIC One Design SUP races will use the exact same board: the new 12¡¯6¡å Wing. Each event will also feature the same course (roughly 800m long), with races consisting of short, knockout-style, one-lap sprints.

According to their North American head, Chris Decerbo:


¡°We¡¯ve had great success with One Design events in windsurfing, surfing, and Jr. Sailing. SUP is a perfect sport for One Design and the new 12¡¯6 WING is the ideal board. The WING is extremely durable and affordable, you shouldn¡¯t have to pay $2,500 or more for a fragile carbon-fiber race board to enjoy Stand Up Paddleboard racing¡±

The Wing SUP race board is 30 inches wide and weighs 15.5kg. Not exactly up there with the sub-10kg, ultra-narrow boards coming out of Starboard, Naish, Surftech, Fanatic and all the other top SUP race board manufacturers. But that¡¯s not the point. BIC SUP isn¡¯t going after the ¡°hardcore¡± SUP market. Even their own website claims the Wing is for ¡°recreational racers¡±.

And that seems to be whole idea of this new One Design race series. BIC isn¡¯t trying to compete with the top brands, they¡¯re going after the much larger recreational, mainstream market.

But how successful is this SUP race series going to be? Could it become anything more than a pure novelty?

While BIC SUP has only just started getting into SUP racing, the brand is part of the massive Soci¨¦t¨¦ Bic corporation, which earns roughly $2bn a year. So while they don¡¯t have the brand recognition of a Naish or Starboard, they¡¯ve certainly got some cash behind them. BIC showed they were serious about SUP racing when they signed Eric Terrien on a lucrative deal, even though at the time they didn¡¯t have a single SUP race board available for retail sale. This BIC One Design SUP race series is another step in that direction, and while it may not appeal to the hardcore paddlers, it may just grab the attention of the recreational SUP racers.

We¡¯ve also heard another major SUP brand is about to launch their own ¡°one design¡± race series, but based on inflatable SUP race boards. So it¡¯ll be interesting to see if either of these series take off. They¡¯re obviously not directed towards the hardcore paddlers, but it could be a great way of getting paddlers to try SUP racing for the first time, which is pretty important for the future growth of the sport.

A one-make inflatable race? I just vomited a little in my mouth. Only thing worse than an inflatable race would be a 15kg 12'6" x 30" one-make race. What a barge that would be.

SUP WA have an event in the pipelines that looks to compare paddlers competing on the same board at the same time. There will be a 12'6 and 14' division, it will be held on an enclosed body of water to minimise any outside influencing factors. Aim of it all is to find the best paddler on a level playing field and no there won't be an inflatable in sight.

Stay tuned for more to come.....

surf4fun said...

SUP WA have an event in the pipelines that looks to compare paddlers competing on the same board at the same time. There will be a 12'6 and 14' division, it will be held on an enclosed body of water to minimise any outside influencing factors. Aim of it all is to find the best paddler on a level playing field and no there won't be an inflatable in sight.

Stay tuned for more to come.....

This sounds very interesting.

Not indoors but on a protected rowing course (not where we have our SUP 5000). It can only happen due to a very generous supporter of SUP in Perth and across the country, but I shouldn't say too much as the finer details ate still being worked out.

It will be close for spectators to watch with shorter distance races, repecharges and knockouts and truely put paddler against paddler and eliminate the arms race.

RJK said...

hilly said...

teatrea said...

From sup racer , this is the only way to see whos the best paddler ,

Lets rephrase that 'best light paddler'. Would be power to weight so the lighter you are the better. Good if you are Jacko's build

I think your forgetting the other half of the equation "power". Yes being lighter ups your ratio, but the heavier u are the more muscle/power u can output. Its all relative!


In the end it is a race, do they have bigger horses for bigger jockeys?

and thats why they have handicaps


dk is powerful but he reckons he's no chance on a 12'6, well one thats competitive

Why is weight/size of the paddler not an issue in events such as Canoe/Kayak sprint where all craft are the same length?

Surely a 12'6' with more volume compensates for extra rider weight. If they are 'overweight' then tuff, lose some kegs.

They do have weight classes in rowing i think , anyway different body types will be suited to different distances and styles of racing. If flat water or ocean sprints become an option the heavier set guys wilth more strength , power will have an advantage over the little guys. You dont see to many 90kg plus marathon runners.Even bop which is called a sprint is not a sprint its an endurance event , endurance events will always favour the lighter rider.

angie pangi said...

Sorry but it has nothing to do with how heavy your body weight is.
It's all power to strength ratio! Always has been and always will be.
If u feel under strength well go do some weight training or strength training simple.
The whole I can't paddle a 12'6 as good as lighter people is a farse.
I can then say at 65kg paddling a 14ft isn't fair for me as I have push more board.
Nope not true.
Power to strength ratio is what it's all about.
X Angie

Its not a simple as that Angie. I agree its not that heavier riders cant paddle a 12,6 as well as lighter riders , its a bout the distance they paddle it. Their are always exceptions though.
.
In sprint races (ie. races of less than one minute) where anaerobic capacity is the limiting factor, the advantage to the larger athlete is more pronounced. This occurs because potential anaerobic power is directly proportioned to bodyweight (all other things being equal). Therefore a 100kg paddler can potentially produce 33.3% more anaerobic power than a 75kg athlete (100/75 = 1.333) but incurs say only 17.8% more drag in a 15kg OCI ([115/90] ^(2/3) = 1.178) which gives the larger athlete a 4.2% time advantage (3ã 1.333/1.178 = 1.042).

There is one mitigating factor that was recently brought to my attention, which is that height is actually an issue in terms of stability on a shorter or narrower board particularly with a power stroke as the taller paddler leverages more weight forward. This is not a factor in rowing, canoes or kayaks.

Being a short-arse feather-weight, none of this stuff bothers me personally. I'd be happy to race 12'6" but as a race organiser, I worry that half the field wouldn't turn up.

PTWoody said...

There is one mitigating factor that was recently brought to my attention, which is that height is actually an issue in terms of stability on a shorter or narrower board particularly with a power stroke as the taller paddler leverages more weight forward. This is not a factor in rowing, canoes or kayaks.

Being a short-arse feather-weight, none of this stuff bothers me personally. I'd be happy to race 12'6" but as a race organiser, I worry that half the field wouldn't turn up.

for events i think you need to distinguish between the elite class and the recreational class. 12'6 for elite recognition, and those reacreational paddlers can paddle what they want, that way they could still get line honors (making it more appealing for them) and the elite classes know exactly were each competitor stands comparitivly

RJK said...

teatrea said...

angie pangi said...

Sorry but it has nothing to do with how heavy your body weight is.
It's all power to strength ratio! Always has been and always will be.
If u feel under strength well go do some weight training or strength training simple.
The whole I can't paddle a 12'6 as good as lighter people is a farse.
I can then say at 65kg paddling a 14ft isn't fair for me as I have push more board.
Nope not true.
Power to strength ratio is what it's all about.
X Angie

Its not a simple as that Angie. I agree its not that heavier riders cant paddle a 12,6 as well as lighter riders , its a bout the distance they paddle it. Their are always exceptions though.
.
In sprint races (ie. races of less than one minute) where anaerobic capacity is the limiting factor, the advantage to the larger athlete is more pronounced. This occurs because potential anaerobic power is directly proportioned to bodyweight (all other things being equal). Therefore a 100kg paddler can potentially produce 33.3% more anaerobic power than a 75kg athlete (100/75 = 1.333) but incurs say only 17.8% more drag in a 15kg OCI ([115/90] ^(2/3) = 1.178) which gives the larger athlete a 4.2% time advantage (3?ã 1.333/1.178 = 1.042).

nice analysis teatrea, can you post the equations you used??

Equations what are they , I just cut and paste dude!! Pt woody hit the nail on the head enter a class and race type that suits you, simple.I'm sure we will see sprint type events introduced for the muscle men and women!

My 2 cents'

lots of sports or activities are weight size specific and Lance armstrong is looking for a new sport

Phill

PTWoody said...

OG SUP said...

My 2 cents'

lots of sports or activities are weight size specific and Lance armstrong is looking for a new sport

Phill

So you're saying to all the midgets who complain about pushing around a bigger board that they should get on the juice? Allegedly.

is apple or orange juice better


12'6 is best of bop style. imo there is no doubt about it.

all things being equal a one board quiver do all is best served by a 14' er

amen