Not two months since Rainbow Sandals cancelled the world famous Stand Up Paddling race , the Battle of the Paddle, a new event has sprung up to take it's place in the world stand up paddle racing calendar - The Pacific Paddle Games.

Held in the iconic birthplace of Battle of the Paddle style racing, Doheny Beach in California, the Pacific Paddle Games promises everything the Rainbow Sandals event ever did, and more. Run by the team from SUP The Mag, details are scarce on everything, bar the dates, which obviously take the place of the BOP on the 10th and 11th October. There will be prize money, there will be all the favourite events you're used to, all the pro's will be there, and of course Doheny Beach will be lined with spectators, like every year.

So what's new? The name for one, moving away from the 'Battle of the Paddle' namesake, which quickly became a more general term used in the industry to define the racing style of paddling in and out through the surf, starting and finishing up the beach. You knew what Battle of the Paddle meant though, all stand up paddlers do!

Several Australian paddlers will be heading over to California, and some had already booked tickets and reserved the dates for the original BOP event. There's mutterings around the community about the ISA selection event being held on the same weekend, meaning paddlers will be forced to choose between the ISA World Championships next year, and what is shaping up to be the biggest event of the year…

Will the Pacific Paddle Games be everything the Battle of the Paddle was in the past? Find out in October when the stand up paddling world's eyes will be sharply focused on Doheny Beach, California.

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