While east coast of Australia froze its butt off all weekend - the Aussies over in Hawaii for the 2011 Battle of the Paddle were sweating it out amongst 700 of the worlds best stand up paddlers. 

Conditions were awesome, with hot temperates reaching 36 degrees and almost no wind all day making stand up paddling hard going. On Sunday the swell increased too, pulsing through around 3-4 foot causing a bit of a drama during the heats. Several big names all had falls throughout the day, pushing some them waaaay back in the pack. 

In Sundays SUP racing, Aussie boy Travis won the Elite mens category - with the others scattered between 5th and 36th. Angie put on an amazing performance in the 12'6 division, coming first for her age group (she got pipped by a little squirt in the under 18's). Meanwhile Gavin and Mick scored 1st and 2nd places in the 14ft categories. 

For those interested in the gear - boy was there some eye candy! All the latest gear was on show from the worlds leading manufacturers. Check out the finish on the Bark race board below - or the full carbon Suplove Stingray Salt, these were just a couple of the standout boards on show. 

Mondays event includes a downwinder, shame there's no wind forecast - but it's sure to be an awesome race none-the-less. After that the results will be posted and someones going to be walking away with a stack of cash; there's $25,000 cash up for grabs. 

Check back later in the week for more info and results, plus a stack of pictures and video's from the aussies! For live updates, keep an eye on the stand-up-paddle forums. 

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