I'll be a bit provocative. If you want to keep it an old guy stuff you should also limit the width because the young guns will come with 10' 23" real longboards throw it around, do perfect hang ten and win all events. (Fisher Grant has already surfed a real mal coming 2nd to CMP).
I agree with beerssup and SRrat. The fundamental part of this debate is the judging criteria. Contest should not be too exclusive to be popular (I really understand beerssup with his 9'8).
CMP talking about his favorite SUP
Select to expand quotebeerssup said..
Contests need to be more inclusive and flexible, I have a 9'8 starby that is longboard style. So should I have to buy a new board because of 2 inches f% $@ that!!!! Some common sense should prevail and the judging format tweaked towards traditional longboard moves, that way it doesn't matter if it's over 9 or 10 if you don't surf to the criteria you don't get the points. 
Ummm, 9'8" + 2" = 9'10" 
Just sayin'
Just drawing on a bit of experience i have had making longboards for some of the worlds best ,i think that if you want to see this section of the sport move forward you would be better to have it as a 9ft plus division to fall in line with major longboard events.i found over years that quite often when gearing up for the events if were to take the specialty nose rider events as an example we would have longer 9ft10 boards ready as a preference for smaller conditions then if the swell and got bigger hollower we switch down to around 9ft4 they weren't so clunky and allowed the surfer to really dig in and hold up front.
also looking at the big picture on a world wide scale it will allow a wide variety of weights to be competitive and kids and ladies will be able to get involved.
i think we should be looking at more of a style criteria rather than a board size.
up in noosa we have been mucking around with a bunch of longboard style sups for a while now and they are all between 9 and 10ft.
It has been great to get a few of the lads that were stepping away from the sport stoked on sup again.
good to see another layer being added to the sport.
my 2 cents.
yewww tully
ok its settled, 9' is the minimum (so you can ride your 11's big boys)
well done MJ you've managed to set the wheels in motion once again,
Select to expand quoteLoz79 said..
They are like chalk and cheese to surf, the wider board feels so sluggish in comparison with the narrow board which seems to come alive...just my own observation.
Yes, a narrow board feel definitively more lively, I SUPed one one 25" wide, but do you actually surf better on it?
Also, are you sure it is the width, and not the shorter length & volume?
I made this mistake as a prone surfer, thinking the board was turning better if it felt more lively... so I spend years undergunned and crippled my surfing.
SUPing narrow boards is fun for practice: I sometime SUP my 70 liters 22" longboard in boredom in summer.
PS: No question that in hollow waves, a narrower board will allow young athletes to better manage radical moves. But for non-contestants?...
I would imagine for an effective long board class you would probably need to regulate both length and width otherwise as fmm says riders would just end up with very narrow boards that fit the length restriction and dominate to the detriment of those the class was likely created for. If you leave the dims to the rider and just have different judging criteria I would imagine the sport would end up close to what I ride, a C4 Waterman Turbo Spud which is a long board style SUP but only 8'4 x 28.8" x 4". It rides like a HP short board but still allows long board style moves, it's an absolute blast but while a lot of fun probably not what the organisers of a long board class where envisioning.
Yes i know when we are making boards for guys going to world longboard title events they have a 9ft plus requirement but also have an additional request which is 52 inchs ,eg the nose ,tail and middle must add up to past 52.
Obviously that number would have to be greater for a sup but could work.
9'+ longboard class would see great overall development and participation in this area of SUP surfing style.
Importantly, and probably what matters in this discussion, is that I don't necessarily believe that it will mean that you'll always find the four blokes in the final of a comp will always be on sub 10 footers. A guy who surfs a 10' really well will certainly go toe-to-toe with a guy who goes well on a 9 footer, no worries.
Select to expand quotecolas said..Loz79 said..
They are like chalk and cheese to surf, the wider board feels so sluggish in comparison with the narrow board which seems to come alive...just my own observation.
Yes, a narrow board feel definitively more lively, I SUPed one one 25" wide, but do you actually surf better on it?
Also, are you sure it is the width, and not the shorter length & volume?
I made this mistake as a prone surfer, thinking the board was turning better if it felt more lively... so I spend years undergunned and crippled my surfing.
SUPing narrow boards is fun for practice: I sometime SUP my 70 liters 22" longboard in boredom in summer.
PS: No question that in hollow waves, a narrower board will allow young athletes to better manage radical moves. But for non-contestants?...
Hmmm, I feel I am surfing better on the shorter board... it think??...I guess some of it comes down to rider weight too, im assuming heavier riders would get more out of wider boards than smaller guys. My 7.10 x 27.5 is small by comparison to boards I see locally in the surf but at my weight (just over 70kg), I still have plenty of volume up my sleeve. I do admit though that it is a heap of fun getting some of my bigger boards out now and again 
Select to expand quotebeerssup said..
Contests need to be more inclusive and flexible, I have a 9'8 starby that is longboard style. So should I have to buy a new board because of 2 inches f% $@ that!!!! Some common sense should prevail and the judging format tweaked towards traditional longboard moves, that way it doesn't matter if it's over 9 or 10 if you don't surf to the criteria you don't get the points.
totally agree..it's the criteria used to judge and score points that is important.
Select to expand quoteLoz79 said...
I disagree with the comments on 10 footers not able to be thrown around with flow.. I'm 70 kg and I can throw my 10.1 around much more than my 9 foot mal... One must remember that in SUP we must use the paddle, once used properly to act as a force multiplier and stabiliser you will see how easy a 10 foot board can be thrown around..I would expect top riders to be pulling aerial manoeuvres on high performance 9 foot Sups.... Not so much with 10'.... Hence 10 foot will almost force guys to have to surf more like "traditional" longboarding which in turn will result in what I think we are looking for.....
Someone feel free to lend me a 12' and I will do the best to prove the point.
In prones I have an 11' Laguna Bay longboard shaped by the elder of the Perrows'. It has more flow than you can point a stick at and noserides beautifully. Add another 1' or so and you have the equivalent in.a SUP.
Noting I am totally over competition and have no thoughts of getting involved. Just making these posts on a subject I have been following for a long time now for the benefit of others. Nothing better than seeing a graceful SUP surfer manipulating their paddle to surf with style. Then again for me, nothing worse than the stress of competition!!!
Yes, as longboard comps developed in the 90's they had to enforce these rules to temper some of the ridiculous shapes competitors where expecting to ride as "longboards". At least then there was space for high performance surfing in the 8' division.
Regardless, having a 9' and 10' division in SUP is unnecessary. Better just to stay with the 10' and appreciate the traditional vibe.
Yeh that Jackson Bloke is surf'n the 10ft er just fine thankyou, that's what I'm talkn about.....
Looks alot like the Dogman having a cameo appearance at the 1.42 mark?
Select to expand quotesurfershaneA said..
Yes, as longboard comps developed in the 90's they had to enforce these rules to temper some of the ridiculous shapes competitors where expecting to ride as "longboards". At least then there was space for high performance surfing in the 8' division.
Regardless, having a 9' and 10' division in SUP is unnecessary. Better just to stay with the 10' and appreciate the traditional vibe.
Yeah good point but it's all going to come down to the judging. If they fly the traditional style flag it will be a logger event and stay 10-0+ but there are so many good production Sups in the 9-0 + range that would be perfect , for a mix of traditional and progressive surfing. If it is going to be 10-0+ the production range is so limited most are boats and serious riders like Jackson , Casso & Dogman will all be on customs. The main reason I like 9-0+ is there are so many 9-2 to 9-10 production Sup boards on the market and stop you from getting a custom.
Lets get the judging criteria sorted first and the boards will reflect that because you will never stop custom boards , it's just natural progression. By just saying 10-0+ IMHO you are hamstringing the sport.
Yes, about time some of the better manufacturers start knocking out some refined 10' noseriders. The fact they don't is probably still why I am riding my dinosaur Ron House Surftech Laird 10' x 27". If the thing was a noserider it would rival anything current including customs.
I am sure having a 10' division would help convince them this is viable??
Then again, why not encourage riders to go Australian made customs like the Deep? I have seen one that was made for someone other than Casso and it was as good as you could get. They are no dearer than boards like the Australian model Naish (Made in Asia?) marketed at this niche.
Hey, maybe I should start saving for one of those Deeps. Sure too others like a Laguna Bay custom would be worth considering?
Select to expand quotesurfershaneA said...
Yes, about time some of the better manufacturers start knocking out some refined 10' noseriders. The fact they don't is probably still why I am riding my dinosaur Ron House Surftech Laird 10' x 27". If the thing was a noserider it would rival anything current including customs.
I am sure having a 10' division would help convince them this is viable??
Then again, why not encourage riders to go Australian made customs like the Deep. I have seen one that was made for someone other than Casso and it was as good as you could get. They are no dearer than boards like the Australian model Naish (Made in Asia?) marketed at this niche.
Hey, maybe I should start saving for one of those Deeps. Sure too others like a Laguna Bay custom would be worth considering?
Well said, I agree....
