This week the SUPAA have set out to standardize the distance we paddle in our race format. Much the same as other racing based sports, most notably running.

“Running and stand up paddle boarding have a lot in common. The similarities start when you leave behind the fact that one is done on terra firma and the other on water. Both sports can be considered the most accessible sports in their respective environments, their ease of participation is simple yet can still create a challenge, both require only a friend to race against for competition and both maintain a great sense of community. We could go on but you get the point. Despite the obvious differences, running and paddling are pretty similar!”

The above quoted text came to all SUPAA members in an email this week, making what would seem a pretty obvious comparison between stand up paddling and running a heated talking point amongst stand up paddlers. Should the sport of Stand Up Paddling run to a strict standard of 100m, 400m, 800m and 1500m long tracks?

Stand Up Paddling events currently enjoy the freedom to vary course distances. While the exact length of a course is rarely discussed, it does make comparing times a little difficult from year to year, or event to event. For instance paddlers can look at last years Molokai to Oahu event and say right, to come around 10th in the pack I need a time of (whatever the case may be). Paddlers who competed in previous years can also say whether they improved or fell behind from year to year due to the course length being fixed. Try comparing that to a sprint event where course length varies from place to place, or day to day.

The SUPAA say they’re not out to change the way local events are run, events like the ‘Round Green Island” Race will obviously continue to be around said island no matter what the SUPAA say, but their argument for the rest of the events is quite valid.

So what will this change (if it actually happens) bring to Stand Up Paddling?

We’ll see paddlers become known for set distances. Much the same as we know runners for being a gold medalist in the 100m sprints. In a few years we might be talking about Paul Jackson winning gold for Australia in the 500m event.

Athletes will become world record holders. Set distances allow world records to be kept. Fancy being the fastest stand up paddler in the world for the 500m Sprint event? Hope for a 30 knot wind from behind!

Some fancy measuring equipment. Exact course lengths require exact measurements. Your average GPS won’t cut it when it comes to positioning marker buoys, how long is your tape measure?

Interesting times ahead for Stand Up Paddle racing, will the SUPAA achieve their goal of revolutionizing the sport of SUP? Get involved on their website and give our opinion on whether course distances should be standardized in Stand Up Paddling.

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