Last winter when the forums were a buzz with overseas events and photo's full of warm beaches and sunny weather, there was one lonely little thread on the home page. The Kawana time trial series was on no matter the conditions: rain, hail or shine, through the depths of winter when nobody else bothered to organise events: these lot battled on and gave Australia something to read about. 

Well, summer is well and truly over and once again the Kawana stand up paddling series is on for the winter. This year it's a similar format as last year, with long races taking around 30minutes for the front runners to complete. Board restrictions are minimal, with the emphasis being on participation rather than equipment. There's even a few home made boards popping up this year which are proving to be very competitive! The Kawana lake is a relatively new complex which is primarily designed for racing paddle craft. No matter the weather it's always calm, always accessible and there's plenty of room - which makes for a perfect winter location for some stand up paddle racing. 

This week round one took place, with great conditions to start off the series. To make it all a little fairer, after 6 weeks a handicap system will be put in place to hopefully level the playing field a little (and make the finishes more interesting). So by the time next summer comes around, everyone's still going to be in prime condition for the barrage of events planned for the 2012/2013 season. The results are below, and if you want to read the full reports, as well as check out all the pictures of the stand up paddling action. Visit the Seabreeze.com.au thread here


Results
Lincoln Dews12'6” Starboard28:29
John Townsend14' Timber home-made.30:35
Alan Heald12'6” Fanatic Fly (Red)30:37
Anthony Swan12'6” Naish Jav30:40
Trevor Darlington12'6” Fanatic (White)31:20
Nathan Day14' Naish Glide 31:40
Guy Davis11'6” Home-made “Hairy Goat” SUP32:50
Bruce Exton12'6” Coreban35:59
Jennie Mitchell11'6” NSP36:26

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