^Ok I decided to enter at the last minute and would love a lift to the start, I take it you mean to meet somewhere around here, Memorial Drive?
goo.gl/maps/UuJd7
That's the place TL, at the end of memorial drive where the round about is near the river carpark. Look out for the trailer.
Hi guys check the start time there were a few guys thinking it was starting at 9:45 but sounds like soon after 9:15 race brief Don't be late
Because over taking these things you are going to need a long strait section of river 
It was a great morning. 34 Paddlers crowded the start line, the biggest SuperPod of SUPs for a flat water event in WA ever! The race started in waves: 12'6 male and female; then 14' and unlimited boards 2 minutes after.
There were boards and paddlers of all sizes and fitness, including ex-NBA legend Luc Longley, who certainly was the biggest in all categories! Great vibe, friendly and relaxed guys and gals of the WA SUP community.
The race track was a 7km stretch of the beautiful Swan River from Guildford to Garret Rd Bridge - plenty of gentle curves and over hanging trees.
In2Kayaks provided some great prizes from 4th to 1st. There was a little glich in the announcements for place getters for some divisions, no one minded we simply corrected the prize allocation after. It was a big day for the organisers, with so many events to run. They did a splendid job overseeing all aspects, so a small issue with results for a new sport was totally forgivable.
The division winners were as follows:
12'6 women
1. Michelle England
2. Lorrayne Grullis
3. Marie Bowen
4. Cinde Fisher
12'6 Men
1. Cam McKay
2. Kent Wright
3. Justin O'Malley
4. Ian Nichol
14' Men
1. Marcus Tardrew
2. Darren Marshall
3. Greg Kerr
4. Roger Goodwin
Unlimited
1. Gordon Stimson - Line honors as well!
2. Mike Galvin
3. Chris Gage
4. Jackson Shaw
Thanks to CWA and their fantastic volunteers. It was a great event to be apart of and an exciting event to feature on the SUP calendar annually. Thanks for inviting us!
**Next SUPWA event is the Commonwealth Bank - Bridge the Bank SUP Team Challenge on September 12. Standby for details in the next couple of weeks.
have to agree with greg, fantastic event, the guys at the front were flying, big congrats to stimo and marcus. good racing and a fantastic turn out.
on the down side I missed the presso as I was with the police sorting out a broken into car, nappy bag, 2 wallets, gopro, nikon camera lens, plus got done on the credit card between been stolen and reporting...
got to say took the grin off my face, wish the councils would put cameras up in the car parks and put a stop to it, simple solution, privacy wise may affect a few, but the benefit would be awesome.
Thanks Brett totally bumed about the car break in mate low life pricks
Great turn out and it will only grow from there SUPWA in good hands .
Damn that sucks krankiman, it's a shame that something like that can happen and to some extent can ruin what was a great day.
Thanks to those who got this off the ground, I think I know who the main people were but not really sure so anyway to those individuals, SUPWA, and in2Kayaks, it was a great day and I hope it happens again next year.
It was pretty much a last minute decision by me to enter because I couldn't see the point of paddling unless it was onto a wave but I really did enjoy it and it just made me want to come back and try a bit harder next year.
Congrats to all the participants such a great friendly crew.
Thanks Greg, SUPWA and in2Kayaks, that was a great experience- paddling down the river with all the other craft (some big SUP's too). Good luck to all of the paddlers going over east.
Sorry to hear about the car and your gear Brett.
Looking forward to the next SUP outing.
That's crap Krankiman, sorry to hear it.
On a positive note, Great event, heaps of fun and a good field of competitors. Many thanks to in2kayaks for the prizes and to Canoeing WA for including SUP this year in such a legendary race. I hope we were sufficiently entertaining and not too much bother so as we are included again next year. I'd personally like to see the distance increased to the originally intended 15km.
Congrats to Marcus, Cam, Stimo and Michelle for their respective (and quite convincing) wins in their classes. 
Looking forward to the Classic Paddle now. Dare I say it will be an even bigger field of starters? 
DM
Hi Darren
Good to see you back intown and out on the water.
We were asked by CWA what distance the event should run at as they were concerned about the difference in craft speeds - dragon boats, OC6 and SUPs and getting everyone off the water before the Avon guys came through. It was thought 7km was a good distance to logistically get all the timings right and for CWA to use the same start personel.
We also thought it was a better distance for the majority of paddlers for the first distance event of the season (after the winter hibernation), rather than the longer 15km. The fact we had such a big turn up might suggest this was the right choice.
Next year, SUPWA is looking at several long distance events through the winter season (10km, 15km and 20km) in conjunction with the CWA marathon events. So there should be a good selection of choice for our excellent flat water paddling conditions over winter.
Cheers
Greg
Hey Greg,
Wasn't stressed about the distance, it was great to see everyone out on the water. I look forward to more events from SUPWA and CWA over the year.
Winter is such a great time to do marathon length events as heat isn't an issue and weather is usually calm giving excellent flat water conditions. The conditions for the Avon were near perfect, next to no wind, cool temps, smooth water and no tide to speak of. Made it a very honest race! Also nice when the sun did make an appearance after the race.
Cheers mate,
DM
Select to expand quoteGoochi said...
Next year, SUPWA is looking at several long distance events through the winter season (10km, 15km and 20km) Cheers
Greg
20km? I'm there already....frothing after y'days event.
Thanks SUPWA & CWA for all the work...really enjoyed it & (seriously) would love to do 20km....
connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/206697290
here is my gps track and time just forgot to turn of when finished it was 40.23
well that was when my heart started to relax again thanks to marcus and galvo
on my tail , if any one else has times would be good to see board speed comparisons
mine was a DC 16 flat water board marcus DC14 flat water Galvo DC16 flat water
Here are my details from the raceon the Starboard 12'6 x 28 BOP.
connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/206762721
Not sure what happened with my HR around the 6 minute mark and I think the dips in my HR are from when I had something to drink.
Like Stimo I started it a little early and forgot to stop it straight away.
Fine now Cam
Results/times are on the WA Canoe website
www.wa.canoe.org.au/wp-content/uploads/old-files/wa/downloads/Avon%20Challenge_Results_2012_Web.pdf
and a few photo's here
www.in2kayaks.com.au/#/news-specials/4552857723
P.S. times don't tell you anything about which boards are faster, me and Cam were on the same boards. 
my garmin had a melt down with all the other heart rate monitors there. but got the course distance and top speed, the other data was a bit off as I ran it for a few minutes either side of start and finish.
my average speed was 9.0 km/hr my max was 11.4 kms (14'laird race/bark)
average speeds, can be worked out as follows (correct me if i'm wrong)
(course distance (6.82)km/time (min.sec))*60
so stimo
6.82/40.12*60 =10.2km/hr average speed.
just doing a rough conversion on the mph to kmh his top speed was a touch over 16 km/hr
so be expecting a fine for exceeding the 5kt limit, stimo
marcus was also motoring at 9.96 km/hr.
something to work towards for next year
no left the phone, as you can actually track them with an iPhone, cops reckon they have great success getting people with the phone tracker.
I'm up for a stake out at a know hot spot and some direct education.
great times by everyone, I must admit I got a bit of help from a wake or two, was pretty trick to tack onto the back of a dragon boat and the canoes threw nothing to wash ride. but all race tactics.
will have to hookup for a run on one of the 16's with you or galvo. think that may suit my power to weight ratio nicely. got the brain ticking over
hey cam we have been holding back at training...LOL.. not, it makes a huge difference having to chase someone or hearing splashing behind you
Great results Stimo and Cam.
Just for the interest of those less skilled I'll put mine up there as well.
Only my second race, over 50 and nowhere near as fit as the others, but it was great fun and I was happy with my mid field result.
connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/206696228
Do I get a prize for the highest BPM 
.
Loving the Garmin 910.
I think we all turned on early then turned off late.
We have just taken delivery of a Tanita Body Composition Scale which via the Garmin 310 or 910 transfers Weight, Hydration, Body Fat, Metabolic Age etc to Garmin Connect and does nice little graphs. So if any of you guys what to check out your stats drop in and give it a go. Either with your Garmin or hand written.
Certainly got a few targets for the future...
Ian
