My personal New Years resolution for 2017!
From now on we will be including a 10'6 funboard race division in every event we run.
The time has come. If we want to grow SUP racing we need to make it easy for people to start out on a board that they own. Every shop, every school has a minimum of 6 x 10'6s to hand and 80% of all boards sold are around 10'-10'6.
One design racing is a proven winning formula. It doesn't matter what you are on - you are racing at an equal level with everyone around you. The sensation of racing is exactly the same if you are all on the same type of board.
The key though is to make it accessible and affordible.
So lets open up racing to everyone and include a short course (1-3k) 10'6 (max) Funboard division in EVERY RACE IN AUSTRALIA, AND recognise the participants exactly the same way as we do the elite guys and girls.
Lets see where it takes us!
My personal New Years resolution for 2017!
From now on we will be including a 10'6 funboard race division in every event we run.
The time has come. If we want to grow SUP racing we need to make it easy for people to start out on a board that they own. Every shop, every school has a minimum of 6 x 10'6s to hand and 80% of all boards sold are around 10'-10'6.
One design racing is a proven winning formula. It doesn't matter what you are on - you are racing at an equal level with everyone around you. The sensation of racing is exactly the same if you are all on the same type of board.
The key though is to make it accessible and affordible.
So lets open up racing to everyone and include a short course (1-3k) 10'6 (max) Funboard division in EVERY RACE IN AUSTRALIA, AND recognise the participants exactly the same way as we do the elite guys and girls.
Lets see where it takes us!
"Sport Class" has been a feature of numerous of our races/events down here over the last few years - on a shortened 1-3k course. We have set a loose rule at 12' max length for any 'allround' type of board, with sometimes a bit of latitude allowed depending on who turns up and with what, or for juniors on mum/dad's raceboard etc
Don't make board size too prescriptive - IMO 10'6 is too small a cut-off, as it would exclude larger paddlers (me included, as an OFB I have enjoyed many spirited sport-class battles on a Starby Atlas).