Competition
The pinnacle of the whitewater season, the Payette River Games, coursed through the weekend. Competitors were restricted to one board no longer than 11’ (plenty of inflatables), to be used in two races: a SUP Cross (rollerball on water) and a Giant Slalom. With a US$50,000 purse on offer, the biggest of any single SUP event, the river wash awash with talent.
In the women’s comp, Rebecca Giddens’ rough water expertise shone, winning both races. Giddens has crossed to SUP from an impressive kayaking background, including a silver medal in K-1 at the 2004 Olympics. Fiona Wylde (US) and Izzi Gomez (Hawaii) rounded out the podium.
The men’s comp was also dominated by one paddler, Mo Freitas (Hawaii), triumphing in both races. Dane Jackson (another kayaker – a world champion this time – who’s seen the light) and Zane Scweitzer (Hawaii) took second and third.
The following vid shows Slater Trout (6th) in his qualifying time trial – each competitor had to make a running start. Interesting that he was on a carbon board (Infinity), as was Mo Freitas.
www.facebook.com/301593443202887/videos/vb.301593443202887/1046743625354528/?type=2&theater
The following table shows how the spoils were split (nice to see equality between boys & girls). To put the prize pool into perspective though, four rounds of golf over the weekend earned Jordan Speith US$1.8m, when he won the US Open. The River Game’s US$50k kitty was equivalent to what the 38th-place getter received in the Open, while the lowest-earning golfer (69th) took home double what a first-placed paddler did.
Paddlers got the chance to show off their best lycra at the TassieSUP Winter Classic, held over the weekend at Eaglehawk Neck. Well done to all that competed and didn’t freeze. Quick roundup of results: Open surf (male) 1.Matty Golding 2. Lewis Freeman 3. Ben Stockwin; Open female 1.Claire Vervaart 2. Cheryl Reed; U/18 Lewis Freeman; U/21 Josh Males; 0/40 1. Matty Golding 2. Ben Stockwin; 0/50 1. Andrew Bowes 2. Dave Smith; 0/70 Tony Leitch; Race 1. Matty Golding 2. Ben Stockwin 3. Dan Males.
The Euro Tour rolled on with another split round: the Adriatic Crown in Italy and the V Deep SUP Race in Spain.
A handful of Australians enjoyed their visit to the Adriatic coast, with still conditions for the first day’s long distance race, but choppy for the next day’s beach race. Angie Jackson (Australia), on a borrowed board, won the long distance and took second in the beach race to gain the overall win. Manca Notar (Slovenia) and Susak Molinero (Spain) took silver and bronze respectively. Local boy Marconi Paolo took out the men’s overall, with a long-distance win helping to secure the top spot. Jake Jensen (Australia), second overall, trailed in the long distance but thrived in the unsettled conditions to take out the beach race. Leonard Nika (Italy) took third overall.
All the contestants’ skills in Spain’s V Deep race were challenged over three legs – long distance, beach and sprint. The local favourite Roman Frejo delivered with the overall win, despite disqualification in one leg after missing a buoy turn. Paul Simmons (UK) and Tino Aja (Spain) completed the podium. In a repeat of the men’s podium placings, Spanish women were split by a Brit. Ane Zulaika took the overall, Marie Buchanan second and Laura Quetglas third.
Upcoming comps
Last chance to get your groove on. Final round of the Naish N1SCO disco descends on Mackay this weekend.
It’s also the last round of the Surf Series in Avalon, Mandurah WA this weekend, but it will also double as the first of the three-round tech series. Confused? Just bring your whole quiver. If you don’t have a race board, Action Sports is bringing a swag of inflatables.
In Europe, the action moves up a notch this weekend; as one tour finishes, another begins. The Euro Tour wraps up on a positive note with the Happy Summer SUP Race in Belgium (yeah I know, given the venue, race organisers obviously appreciate irony).
The Stand Up World Series – this is the one that will attract plenty of pros – starts in Spain with the Iberdrola Barcelona SUP World Series event. This five-series event takes us all the way to October with the finals at Turtle Bay in Hawaii. The Spanish race is also the first leg of the European Cup; a smaller three-event series for those that can't afford round-the-world tickets.
This week’s number: 17
The elephant in the room was finally released on the Breeze last Friday when Action Sports WA was brave enough to ask what the impact of some material price rises would have on peoples’ purchasing decisions. The proposed price hikes are primarily attributable to currency movements in the last 12 months: the Australian dollar has depreciated 17% against the US dollar, for example (hence, this week’s number).
First up, thanks Action Sports for asking us. 
It makes sense as a business to understand what your customers think and we appreciate being included in the discussion. Which brings me to the second point: I can’t recall such an overwhelming response to a topic in such a short period of time (even if it went tangential eventually). It obviously matters, a lot.
This is shaping up as a disruptive point in the life of SUP retailing and production in Australia. Without offering an opinion on how things will play out, I hope two things emerge from it. Firstly, that local producers will be able to handle increased production demands effectively. And secondly, that people continue to support their local SUP retailers in whatever way they can. We need both to maintain a healthy industry for the long term.
Quiver talk
Setting the price piece aside for the moment, people are still excited about what’s coming down the pipeline. This is one for those who like to be well endowed on the water. Amidst some roosters chattering and posturing about unlimited board lengths on the Breeze, someone revealed an image of a stunning Dale Chapman designed 17’ NSP board. You could feel the collective admiration. There are hopes to bring the board into production if demand is there. You could justify this on so many levels. 
Latest vids
Speaking of admiration, the following is a vid of Brazilian Jonas Letieri, a double arm amputee. He’s completing a race between Praia Vermelha and Macumba (south of Rio de Janeiro); a distance of 36 km, which saw numerous DNFs. Jonas took 6 hours without any assistance. He then travelled north to compete at the Payette River games over the weekend.
www.facebook.com/robertoramos.ramos1/videos/1064547476907114/
Wildlife sightings
Got to spend part of my Saturday paddle on Middle Harbour with a seal swimming around me. Awesome experience. Gotta love this sport. 
Happy paddling, SJKJ
