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In South Africa we are now virtually always (except for downwinders) offering a 1.5-2km shortcourse for kids and novices. We also made the mistake of only offering 6-10km races - and it kept the newbies away.
We have also shunned the 12'6 to keep classes simple (there is only one class here - 14') although we have some roof-top shouters claiming we'll never be competitive at Worlds etc. That may be, but we did manage a 3rd this year for young Dylan Frick on his only 3rd ever outing on a 12'6.
To the majority in charge here it made more sense to have one big competitive class rather than multiple classes with few entrants.
Time may prove us wrong but numbers are growing steadily and recent results seem to indicate we are digging out some talent.
What that all has to do with a flat vs hard turn on the rail is a mystery to me....
Not sure how this got into participation levels from dishpan turnsBut my two cents worth anyway , i think you will attract more punters to the sport with shorter races , longer down wind races are great but not for everyone. Also many people expecially those that havent spent a lot of time in the ocean , would be put off by off shore racing , very scary for your average punter who has never been a few k,s offshore before. Short and sweet is the goAny ways you need to cater for all interests and abilities. I think short sup racing ie , true sprints 200 400 1000m would be a big hit , and 4 to 5 k is exciting also.20 k downwinders not so exciting
But my two cents worth anyway , i think you will attract more punters to the sport with shorter races , longer down wind races are great but not for everyone. Also many people expecially those that havent spent a lot of time in the ocean , would be put off by off shore racing , very scary for your average punter who has never been a few k,s offshore before. Short and sweet is the goAny ways you need to cater for all interests and abilities. I think short sup racing ie , true sprints 200 400 1000m would be a big hit , and 4 to 5 k is exciting also.20 k downwinders not so exciting
But my two cents worth anyway , i think you will attract more punters to the sport with shorter races , longer down wind races are great but not for everyone. Also many people expecially those that havent spent a lot of time in the ocean , would be put off by off shore racing , very scary for your average punter who has never been a few k,s offshore before. Short and sweet is the goAny ways you need to cater for all interests and abilities. I think short sup racing ie , true sprints 200 400 1000m would be a big hit , and 4 to 5 k is exciting also.20 k downwinders not so exciting
Phil have you got your answer ?, all we have seen is pages of Pissing on trees.
Personally dislike the dishpan/flat lowspeed turn , luv the rail buried/ high speed carv.
I have been riding 6'-something SUPs for some time now. They can definitevely turn on the rail, it depends more on their shape than their length, but the issue is the insane acceleration and tight turn radius of these boards. You have to be in top form to keep up with the accelerated rhythm, otherwise you are "dominated" by the board and "chicken out" and turn flat.
Basically these short boards amplify the wave power. With them you can turn on the rail in 1' slop, which would be impossible with a longer board. I guess we must let time to riders to learn to adapt to them in bigger waves...
Personally I dropped nearly 8 inches in 12 months, down to 8 foot but have stayed pretty narrow at 28" and gone for a touch more rocker and deeper concave. The thing flies and rail carves better than any SUP I've ever had so don't assume short = dispan.
Anyone seen Noel Graham surf? He rides around 31" (short sups) and carves as good as anyone so it depends on how good the person surfing is. Dispaning or flat turns are either by necessity in gutless comp waves or bad technique IMO.
Regarding 10 foot boards for comps - WTF? There wouldn't be a single person in our club on a 10/10+ foot board, what are you guys on about? How does this make it more accessible? Go join a longboard club
Re the popout v custom debate, as long as the shape is good and the weight not too heavy it shouldn't matter - just ask Beau Nixon.
As for cost, ha. I just got back into Mtn Bikes where guys will spend $1000 + on a wheelset to drop 300 grams.....SUP is cheap.
Re development of the sport, unless your in the industry do you really want to see 100s of SUPs in the lineup? Yes racing will be more popular as anyone can do it. I'm in a Mtn Bike race this weekend with 1200 people in it.
turning to long boards, to custom Vs pop out, to state of competitons, to running Vs MTB.....just slow down guys, my pea brain cant keep up 
I find tail area and shape more of the factor for me. I feel like I can turn my 10.6 Laguna and my 8.4 naish ok, but ive had other boards 9.4, 8.8 that I found hard and slide way more in bottom turns. Fins definitely change things...but mostly my ability. Im just not one of those shorter stocky powerful guys....never will be 
I love my 10.6 and ride it WAY more than my 8.4, mostly due to conditions...I would absolutely SUCK on the 8.4 as I havent ridden it in ages.
Custom or pop-out, both can be good or horrible
Comps are comps, hard to get everyone to agree with the judges and I often like a style of surfing other than what wins.
Running is much cheaper than MTB or supping.
Comps, no good at surfing and have very little fitness unless you count eating hungry jacks.. (I hold 3 state titles in that) If there was a novice class in bop I hope they would not rule out 12.6 race board. I probably could have done Noosa (didnt really know much about it till now) but would have been well outside those times.....how long do the organisers want the coarse open for?
I'm sure as an extra category it would have plenty of interest. I was actually having a crack at AA and Lacey suggesting that comps should be limited 10 foot boards
On that point, I'm not sure how customs would be the death of SUP surf comps either, they are generally cheaper than pop outs anyways.
Making Surf comps more fun by including repercharges and BOP events like our club comps and the Surfing NSW titles is a step in the right direction (along with more age categories).
Well it was one way to get everyone to come out to play!
Good to hear your on the MTBike again Goatman! We could get a pretty good Masters SB team together I reckon!
BTW, I am backing it up! Happy to sponsor a 10' or a Masters division in the SPSC!
Another post for that one too.
Actually I wonder whether Goatman hasn't hit a pretty important nail on the head where he said earlier on:
"Re development of the sport, unless your in the industry do you really want to see 100s of SUPs in the lineup?"
We all know SUP has the potential to really explode, and yet there are already issues with SUPs being seen to be taking over breaks and being greedy etc - no matter how much I mind my manners or well I surf, there is often tension in the water simply because some kook has paddled out on a SUP and either nearly killed someone or been a complete hog, or both.
I reckon the biggest issue for development of SUP as a "sport" is the way SUPpers, as the relatively new kids on the block, deal with the inevitable overcrowding of breaks and safety issues in the water. Now there's a can of worms.....
By the way, is SUPing really a sport? To me, it's just another way to get in the ocean and ride waves - just because it's physical doesn't necessarily mean its "sport" does it?
cheers
Tang
Oh, and of course there are few things as good to do or watch as a full-rail turn at speed, whether you;re on a SUp, a shorty or a mal. I never managed to do a full rail turn bodysurfing though.
Fark how good are they Hilly!! Gotten me right back into it again.
GoatFarm looks good.
You discovered Strava yet?....lol.
