I was watching some suppers down the coast and since people are going to wide short thicker boards 8'6 ish the tendency for most is to do pretty flat ugly turns. Yes it does throw water but frankly it looks bloody awe full.
One of these guys used to shred on a 9.0 hard on the rail all the time, but by going so short has lost all the style and explosive power he once had.
When watching the ISA event it even looked like the judges were scoring the flat turns in a similar range to the rail turns.
Has the critera shifted to make up for the change in style?
I hope not!
Phill
I don't that it is so much the board as what "everyone" is doing and what the judges are scoring
Look at pro surfing to see where SUP surfing will end in up in a few years, those flat turns will go out of fashion
OG Sup, Yeah I do agree with you. I still have an interest in the small sups because they are fun in the right conditions. But the guys around where I live have gone back up in length. My main sup partner Scott Downing has gone back up to 10 ft sup's which suits he's style and approach. He's tried going smaller but he found the dish panning disease hit him. The critera has changed with comps which is why guys are now riding 7ft sup/s. The 10 foot section of the Noosa Festival will be highlight.
Comp supping, having fun, reliving our youth, having fun, everything I do on a wave looks bloody ugly compared to Keahi, Kelly, Jason Polakow etc. (for that matter just about anybody!) I'm 50 plus, most on this forum are at least 40 plus. I'm going to go out supping and have fun whenever I get the chance, and I'm not going to tell anybody what they are doing is ugly, because today's ugly is tommorow's cutting edge. I vaguely remember 'Airs' being considered a skateboard trick 25 years ago. This is just an observation on my part, not an indictment of others opinions
Nothing wrong with yours Hilly!
I have got a 9'2 Allwave, and whilst the 31.5 inch width and big rail volume is your friend a lot of the time, it definitely makes those turns on the rail difficult to pull off with any style. For me anyway...
Scott.
I think maybee 10 is a bit to big , better limiting boards to 9 and over. But i agree the ultra short sups look sillyExcept of course when guys like Keahi , Zane amd the wonder kid ride them. Just amateur comps should restrict board size not the pro,s , they need to push the limits.
teatrea- ten foot is the go for sups. did you checkout the dogman's latest vid. noseriding, tricks and some good old fashioned hacks.
i can see numbers having a go at that.
i can see sponsors being interested in that
Really most of the top guys are riding production, I would say at the ISA over 50% were on production boards and ripping on them. Sean won the comp on production and beau Nixon was a stand out with full rail to rail surfing. Limiting boards will kill the progression of the sport IMO. If love riding bigger boards that is cool and it's great fun but for the top comps no way.
2 cents worth to add- I have a 10'2 laguna & a 8'10" starboard as part of the quiver for the very reason of different boards for different conditions + I love to surf both styles- short & long, I'm only hoping the local club- SUPSA eventually breaks the surfing comp into 2 divisions re 10 foot over or under as I think both will have great support.
maybe to be fair to all,short or tall the size of the board for a sup comp should be relative to the size of the surfer. i e say 3 ft greater than the surfer. a 5'6ft person can surf 8'6ft a 6'2 person a 9'2 board. food for thought
5 out of 8 boards in Semis at ISA where production - 3 out of 4 in ISA final where production. The production boards are up to scratch now, customs will be for the absolute minority looking for something that the brands don't have as yet.
Wrt competition SUP surfing I think a reasonable way to control the underwater brigade is is too put a limit on how many paddle-strokes you are allowed to take kneeling or proning. This way you force the guys to have a minimum amount of flotation and keep it SUP.
Having said that, looking at Mo Freitas and Kai paddle boards with water tickling their knee-caps when standing still is still out of the realm for anyone with average fitness.
Hi PeterP,
I dont know about ISA I wasn't there but I have seen a lot of team riders at Nationals in Australia on so called production boards and really what they are is a production prototype hmmm me thinks thats a CUSTOM. Even if its likely to go into production next year it still is a CUSTOM this year. Then next year yup you guessed it there will be another prototype also a Custom.
Exactly the same happens with race boards.
Then there is the infamous situation with Connor riding various SICs and surfing JLs stickered up as Starbys and that isn't an isolated situation by any means many others do the same but its just not publicised.
If your a kid mostly you only have one choice and thats you guessed it a CUSTOM.
If you have gone to a custom and then go back to a production board there is little comparison on weight and performance and depending on how you have them glassed longevity can be comparable.
It would be great to say it dosen't work that way but thats the reality.
Phill
yeah it's a task phil. however those lahui kai's 9'6 will do everything a kid needs to do.
but points taken aboard