I agree.. 14 is the magic number.

IMO.. 14' is the best (and minimum) size in both flat water and even down-winders... Longer is nicer but shorter is nowhere near as good.

DJ

No, rubbish thread. 14' is crap. No races should be run with 14' boards. At least for the next 2 days.

I think the industry is loving this "horses for courses". Its time we all selected "one horse".

I've been training on a 12'6 for fair amount of time now and i've gotta say, i like it.

Great size for training and in's & out's. Yes it's a bit harder as a flat water race board but not by much.

I guess it makes me work harder to stay with other people on 14fters in training.

I got back on the 14ft Javline for this mornings training & i noticed a huge differance in my paddle speed, it was better.

Actually it really doesn't worry me what board i train on or race on anymore, it's fun which size i end up on.

I'm glad however that i was on a 12'6 when i got wiped out & smashed yesterday morning heading out of the alley.

x angie

Hey Angie,
You riding one of those SIC X12? How does it go?
Cheers,
Scott

PTWOOD, I am happy who ever beats me, I am not sexist.
Just don't see the point of racing 12'6".

Scotty Mac said...

I think the industry is loving this "horses for courses". Its time we all selected "one horse".

ok, lets incooperate that logic into another sport..Say cycling. Tell lance that he should do to tour on a bmx, or a mountain bike frother he needs to tackle the mountain on a speed racer...... (dont know much about bike obviously, but thought I would give it a stab)

race on whatever you want based on how much you enjoy racing on it. I race because i enjoy it, and dig the board i race on. Simple really.

If you said 14ft or nothing at races, all you would do is close the door on people who want to race and now cant because there board isn't long enough or too long. I honesty dont think racing (in nsw anyway) has the momentum to justify that call.

Let's keep it about inclusion, and not being exclusive.

I see where your coming from. Gets pretty complicated hey.

I am no race director guru , but my thought is. If is a single race, then there should be equal prize for both (M/F)divisions (whether you have 2 or 3) (12'6 and unlimited), 1,2,3.

Although if it is a series. Then something for 1,2,3 each race for winner, second and third.

But overall points are separated into the 2 divisions or 3 or whatever they choose and end of the series, the prize for the (M/F)divisions are same.

Casso said...

Races should have different divisions. Then everybody can have a dig.

An event could have:

- a 12' and under division for the crew just starting out and haven't forked out for a race board yet.
- a 12'6" division for the lightweights or keen racers who don't have really big garages.
- a 14' division for the heavier guys that are too big to be competitive on a 12'6" or the people who just like the length of a 14 footer.
- an unlimited class for the sponsored races or the people with lots of spare cash lying around.

You can all run the same course and start time if necessary and just work out the divisional placings at the end.

This means that organisers will need to cough up with more prizes and trophies for all the different winners - but with the cost of entry fees these days, that shouldn't be a problem.

You still only need one board, but nobody is excluded.

Yep

XX angie

Casso said...

Races should have different divisions. Then everybody can have a dig.

An event could have:

- a 12' and under division for the crew just starting out and haven't forked out for a race board yet.
- a 12'6" division for the lightweights or keen racers who don't have really big garages.
- a 14' division for the heavier guys that are too big to be competitive on a 12'6" or the people who just like the length of a 14 footer.
- an unlimited class for the sponsored racers or the people with lots of spare cash lying around.

You can all run the same course and start time if necessary and just work out the divisional placings at the end.

This means that organisers will need to cough up with more prizes and trophies for all the different winners - but with the cost of entry fees these days, that shouldn't be a problem.

You still only need one board, but nobody is excluded.

I agree... you can even add the age sections and everyone will be happy.
I do agree with you on the cost of entry fees too though I don't know what's involved insurance or setup wise but I find them a bit steep generally...

12'6 and unlimited 2 divisions- mens, womens and masters

pete joseph said...

12'6 and unlimited 2 divisions- mens, womens and masters

I agree, keeps it simple

husq2100 said...


IMO BOP style has the potential in this country to be much bigger than DW,

agree with that

Interesting discussion. My partner and I have been trying to work out what flatwater / DW board to get / share - she likes the 12'6" because of its size and weight...I want something bigger!!! Looks like we are no closer to a decision yet!

Has a handicap system ever been considered for SUP racing? I know the sport is in its infancy (you could say) but there have been enough races run now that a reasonable data set would exist (I am happy to run the numbers if someone wants to flick me through some) and one in which we would be able to sort out reasonable time differences in equipment. It would not be hard.

The one issue some of you will be thinking about is that different conditions affect different boards.......true......but think of the law of large numbers - as we increase the number of trails (ie: race results) the percentage differrence between the expected and actual value tends to zero. This concept pretty much undermines the maths behind the insurance industry (second oldest after you know what!!!).

Anyway in a nut shell the more data we have the better the estimate we can have. So yes sometimes board type A ie: 14ft will out perform board type B ie: 12'6" by 5 mins and other times 3 mins...........but this sport is determined by the weather and as we have no control over it - then its just pure luck of the draw on the day and you would hope that over a season of competition this would equal itself out.

This simple concept would then allow everyone to enter every race and there could be either staggered start times or a time adjustment at the end as the balancing act. This is how the sailing world has been doing things for years. Then everyone gets to compete on whatever equipment they have, in whatever conditions and against everyone else.

Yes the numbers / handicap may need adjusting year to year or as technology changes (ie: its take up by the pro boards a year early for example). The other massive advantage here is that then everyone knows how they are going relative to both their division / class and the other competitors in their class.

As this sport is still in its infancy (relatively speaking) it would not be hard to get a system like this up and running in a very short period of time one would think.

Flame suit on.

laceys lane said...


there is some thinking among the best paddlers(not all) and manufactors locally, that a 14' board is in fact the best fit for the majority of east coast dw ing. a lot of people rave about the naish 14' er in the ocean

Yes but that's only because the poor ignorant souls haven't paddled a SB Surf Race 14'.

But seriously, for a Kiwi, Ted has some damn fine ideas re handicapping.

pete joseph said...

12'6 and unlimited 2 divisions- mens, womens and masters

This is the ONLY logical answer.