As of Noon today the SUP events at the Australian Longboard Open are confirmed and have a SUP committee of Scotty P and Myself (Lyn Tunbridge). This will take a plot of the pressure from Sean in a SUP specific part of this great event ...

NEWS
Firstly The Women's Pro at this stage is still in transition until a sponsor is confirmed ... More news on Tuesday

The reason for the Amateur Division is to make sure as many paddlers as possible have the opportunity of competing at different levels .. Anyone can enter the Pro division ( and by doing this may result in having no realistic possibility of getting through the first heat ) The Amateur Division was set up to give a lot more people the opportunity of Paddling Away with a Trophy.

The Entry Bags are the same as every year with heaps of sponsors stuff, T shirts, wax and spot prizes in every bag ( last year Scotty got a leggie ) and all Paddlers with an "early entry" get a chance at further Spot prizes of Quiver Caddy's, Surfboards, Leggies, Towels etc :

Please be aware that Every Division is up for Trophy's ... and All that comes with winning a National Event :

THE SUP SURFING SCHEDULE (NSW TIME)

PRO : March 22/ 24 / 25
Thursday 8am (4 heats )/ Saturday 2:40 Semis /Sunday 8:30am FINAL

WOMEN : MArch 24 / 25
Saturday 2pm ( 2 heats ) Sunday 8am FINAL

AMATEUR : March 22/24/25
Thursday 9:20 am (4 Heats ) Saturday 3:20 Semis Sunday 7:30 FINAL

SUP RACE AND BOP
SUNDAY 25 : Starts Between 12 noon and 12:30 at the Boat Ramp

The SUP races are on Two (maybe three ) Courses
Course 1: Men and Women 5k River return start and finish at the Boat ramp (2) The BOP course ( 8.5 k +- ) which is the river course then out through the breakwater, around an ocean Buoy then an in and out BOP course of three offshore buoys and a finish In front of the TV cameras near the Surf Club ...
**** A possible third third division which will be a is a short 2.5k course to the bridge and back on under 10'6" SUPS ... So get in and enter to assure we have at least three starters ..

Sean and the guys at the Open have given the SUPs a lot of latitude, with early starts (so you can get off to work on the week days) and a Prime Time for the FINALS to give Paddlers the opportunity to paddle both Surf and Race events. So get in early the places are filling fast.

More Info Daily :

So do you need to qualify through the regionals/states etc or is it straight entry in the SUPs?

Thanks, Shane.

In the SUP Surfing first in best dressed with the 3 divisions of Open Pro (16 spots)
amateur (24 spots) and women (12 spots)

Race divisions are as follows
Open Pro unlimited length
Amateur 14ft fixed fin

The Race board classes are for 12'6" and 14' Male and Female on the 5k river course

and a special short river course for sub 10'6" boards ..

The BOP race is for 12'6" and under ....

For the Surf classes surf anything you like ....

Trying to get sponsorship sorted for women BOP .. Sorry about the late reply

And just a short note on qualification .. and a few other things!

No need to qualify for Surf Pro Division.

If your after the fame and Big Bucks enter this division (their is already one Female Entered as a Pro) If your only after a trophy and getting through the first heat ... then your a true Amateur.

The BOP Race : Their will be a prize pool for Open, Women and Over 45.

Their are 13 sleeps till the Finals and the Races .. all will be confirmed with 12 sleeps to go .. But basically this is a very interesting SUP division in a Pro Event with Cash, Trophies and SUP WORLD fame for everyone .. The Guys at "The Open" have given SUPs a lot of latitude to appeal to a broad level of Paddlers .. Its time to support the event and get the entries rolling in ...

Check out this site for a daily update ..

Cash Prize Pool For Australian Longboard Open SUP

Minimum Cash at this time ..

Pro Surfing
1st-$400
2nd-$300
3rd-$200
4th-$100

Trophies for All Divisions in the Surf Classes

Pro Racing BOP
1st-$400
2nd-$300
3rd-$100
First Woman -$100
First Over 45 -$100

Trophies for all Constituted Race Classes ( minimum 3 paddlers to constitute a class) ..

Apart from the magnificent Contest Bag with a heap of sponsors stuff and a collectors T-Shirt etc .. their will be spot prizes for Pre race entrants. Quiver Caddies .. Wax ... Leggies ... Towels ....

But Wait !!!! theirs more ... and we will post it tomorrow ..

Hope your entering ... and as someone famous once said " get in the water .. its good for ya !"

Attn Mr Woodie .. I asked Scottie about this one and he said it was OK ... as long as you had the BOP strapped to your car .. so the deal here is to get out just before the channel marker ("The Get Out Area") run to the carpark ... (make sure you turn up nice and early so you can get a park near the "get out area") .. anyhow run to the car .. unstrap the BOP .. replace the Fanatic on top of the car (making sure those straps are nice and tight) run back to the "get out" .. which is now the "get in area" ... Launch .. then do the BOP race ...

Yes that sounds OK ! So the answer is .. yes !

One strap or two? I'm sure DJ could rig me up some sort of quick release system.

Mr Woodie in relation to the "strap issue" please re read the original ruling where the item read STRAPSSSSS ....

Now get in fast cause all Surf and Race divisions are filling fast ...

Mr Teatrea ... You can enter The race events on the day ... If you do their are a few less things in the "goodies in the bag" department .... BUT you can enter on the day .. Cut off entry times on the Sunday will be confirmed after the Press Meeting on Tuesday ....

But please remember that the guys at the Australian Open have let SUPs into their contest .... they have given the Surf Pros a great contest format and added an Amateur division; which is not the case with most other other contests ..

Its half the entry price (its only 21.4285 coffee's) of other Pro contests .. and has twice the Bag Contents of Other Events (making the entry fee a realistic 4.456 cups of coffee entry fee)

The BOP course was added to "The Open" after discussion with a lot of paddlers .... (But you can still blame Jacko because its his map )

It will be a proper course on the river ... a well laid out course for the BOP and even a short course for the first timers or the second timers who want a trophy.

Get in early for the surf event !! And support The Race day as well ...

BUT YOU CAN ENTER EARLY ON THE RACE DAY ..

Wasn,t the surf heats on today?

Lol i think your right.

LynT said...

Simon thanks for posting the Heat Surf and Race times ..

Seems to be some confusion with this years Malfuction .. I have heard that their will not be any SUPs competing at this years Malfucntion (I do hope this isn't the case)
And hopefully Next years Australian Open will still have a SUP component .. So get those entries in now !!

Still a lot of spots for the Ladies Surf ..

Any spots left in the pro surf men's?

Daily Update Friday March 16

Have just heard the results of every Heat, Semi and Final will be uploaded to the web as results come in .. this will be uploaded to Facebook as well as the Longboard Open Site..

By tomorrow morning we will confirm sign on times for the Sunday Race but at this stage it looks like an 11:15 briefing with a 12:00 noon start for Race and a 12:20 Start for BOP race Hopefully this may allow the faster paddlers to see the Finish of the BOP ..

Still Places left in All SUP Divisions ..

Not too many "just a few" don't be disappointed ..

Do you "really" want to know how fast your board goes? or how well it surfs ?

Only one way to find out ..

Contest List for Surf and Race events Posted on Tuesday ..