New association is formed - Stand Up Paddle Athletes
They’re all part of the new super association that’s formed over the past few months, with intentions of taking over the universe! The universe of stand up paddling anyway, and even then they’re simply seeking to; “establish organizational standards to improve the quality of events and instruction, promote rules to ensure fair competition and endeavor to establish a standard of excellence in all aspects of stand up paddling.”
The difference between these guys and the ‘rest of the associations around the world’ is that most of the previous organizations focus on a single country. The Stand Up Paddle Athletes Association is designed to focus on the world as a whole, with influences from five continents, the SUPAA say they’re the best equipped to handle the extreme growth of stand up paddle racing. Also, the guys running the show have some serious credentials… Travis Grant, Eric Terrien, Chase Kosterlitz, Lina Augaitis, Terrene Black, Bart de Zwart and Belar Diaz. Any of those names ring a bell? This list of Stand up paddling super-stars from all over the world have broke ranks from the masses to start their own association. Starting with a comprehensive rule book to keep the stand up paddle racing game fair.
This rulebook can be found on their website here, but for those of you who aren’t interested enough to read such things, it lays out rules for both stand up paddlers and event organisers. From the nitty gritty like drafting (you can’t draft the opposite sex or a longer board), right down to how prize money should be allocated and age group brackets. It’s pretty comprehensive stuff, and worth a read if you’re into stand up paddle racing.
To join this association, it’ll cost you $49. That apparently gives you discounts and all sorts of benefits, which according to the association are already being snapped up by stand up paddlers all over the world. Will you be one of them? Stay tuned over the next few months to see what happens with this new association, will it fall like so many before it? Or will it rise to meet the demand of stand up paddling as a sport, someone has to!
Cammeray, NSW
