An awesome weekend of surfing and racing. The standard of SUP surfing was insane. Young Toby Cracknell and Kai Bates assure a strong future for the sport here in NSW.
Luke Madden and the guys at Surfing NSW did an exceptional job and really make an effort to listen to the needs of the competitors. Not only do they know how to run an event but they also have a link to the wind god as we once again had awesome DW conditions.
Yes the 12'6" vs 14 foot debate was a bit confusing but in the end a long race on a 12'6" just didn't seem to appealing.
It was unreal to have the Qld crew down again and lift the level of competition. Looking at the results though you've got to be impressed with Sam Parker and Dave Kissane , who as Goaty said are at an amazing level of paddling while still juggling their businesses, families etc.
Looking forward to the Nationals in Qld.

Who's this?

Hope I have the right comp pic..

DJ

BeauOBrian said..

WINDSURFnSNOW said..

Simple fix to the board class debate would be too allocate prize money based on entry numbers.
If more people choose to race 14's in this sort of event then more money will go there. True elite paddlers get the money they tend to follow and the masses race the boards they want to race. Simple?

The reason I was on the 12'6 is that, that's the qualifying board for aus titles and the board I am racing in Europe. I still agree with everybody else that all the distance races should be on the 14' and bops 12'6. So hopefully we can get it together and make this happen. It will make the racing more interesting.

Yes Beau, I think there's an overwhelming majority of people who feel this way, and unless someone can come up with a compelling reason to stick with 12'6" in the elite category, we should impress this upon Surfing Australia to orchestrate the change at state and national level. I suggest the best avenue for everyone to communicate their feelings to Surfing Australia is to contact their state delegate on the AuSUP advisory panel.

Pleased to see that at last people are seeing the light, at the same time remove the absolutely STUPID restriction that makes women and girls race 12'6 exclusively in distance races.

We have just come back from the US and the money in races is being actively transferred to the 14ft class to increase numbers as they have simply lost way to many competitors.

Phill

Nice to see some of the elite paddlers voicing their opinions - while we're at it, why not go the whole way and do away with classes altogether in all races? There is a discussion on the Zone in the US about same topic.

If you allow paddlers to bring what they want/got (Open Class - like OC1 and surfski) then it's up to the individual to chose a board that suits their build, ability and pocket - there is evidence that this will level out the field allowing most body types to be somewhat competitive. Then its down to skill and conditioning which is ideally what it should be about. You can still split field up into shorter/longer distances and age-groups, which most events already do, to cater for the non-elite paddler.

This will open up for more development in design and we'll see race boards from 11'-19' depending on use and rider.

It's working here at all our time-trials and downwind races and its allowing older, heavier riders to still at least see some of the youngsters backsides...I can't see why it wont also work for flatwater, distance and BOP.

The 14' class is a better compromise than the 12'6 class, but its still a compromise. The sport of SUP racing is very young and this kind of decision should be made sooner rather than later.

PeterP said...
Nice to see some of the elite paddlers voicing their opinions - while we're at it, why not go the whole way and do away with classes altogether in all races? There is a discussion on the Zone in the US about same topic.

If you allow paddlers to bring what they want/got (Open Class - like OC1 and surfski) then it's up to the individual to chose a board that suits their build, ability and pocket - there is evidence that this will level out the field allowing most body types to be somewhat competitive. Then its down to skill and conditioning which is ideally what it should be about. You can still split field up into shorter/longer distances and age-groups, which most events already do, to cater for the non-elite paddler.

This will open up for more development in design and we'll see race boards from 11'-19' depending on use and rider.

It's working here at all our time-trials and downwind races and its allowing older, heavier riders to still at least see some of the youngsters backsides...I can't see why it wont also work for flatwater, distance and BOP.

The 14' class is a better compromise than the 12'6 class, but its still a compromise. The sport of SUP racing is very young and this kind of decision should be made sooner rather than later.

How does one travel to races with an unlimited board? It's hard enough to find an airline that will take a 14'. This could be why not many nternationals travel to Molokai for the unlimited races.

their is no way you can have riders on different board lengths competing in the same race. I think their has to be a stock class and an unlimited class. Like any other sport their will be those who have a body shape or an intrinsic pre disposition that suits. You dont see many 6,4 gymnists or 5 ft basketballers or 75kg rugby players. Of course you have some exceptions. So if you are a light guy with good power to weight strength SUP is your go , if your a heavy set guy you are never going to compete with these guys on the same spec board. Solution is - stock class whatever that is 12,6 , 14?. For the big guys girls that want to compete on a more equal footing unlimited As far as travel goes , why cant the race organizers have boards to hire.If your a sponsored rider shouldnt be a problem , if your a weakend warrior you should be able to hire a board

Its an interesting topic...

We train at sunny coast with a variety of craft, most ride what they need to to keep the group together. ranges from 12'6 to unlimited.

imo the best should be on the best. u dont see Cadel on a mtn bike while big heavy weights r on race bikes. My point being... we all cant be elite. id love to be... but im heavy and old. I think a 12'6 for marathon does not make sense... ok for BOP... but its about having fun which it appears the nsw comp showed with attendance for the 14's