Ever wonder what makes up Starboard’s carbon sandwich? Here, Starboard plays off the popular TV show Iron Chef to demonstrate how their Carbon Sandwich construction is uniquely designed and created with more high quality materials compared to other boards on the market.

Travis Grant is one of the powerhouses of stand up paddle (SUP) racing. Hailing from Australia but now calling the island of Oahu home, Travis is an avid waterman who simply loves being in the water. Get to know this champion paddler just a bit better in a great video presented by Surftech titled “Conversations With Travis Grant.”

The 6th Annual Golden Games is scheduled to take place May 20th-22nd, 2016 in Golden, Colorado. The Golden Games was recognized by Elevation Outdoors as the “Best Paddling Event in the Rockies” – 2016! Learn more about the sixth edition of this awesome event!

When anyone hears KTA (Kiteboard Tour Asia), they think kiteboarding, which is fair enough as that is what they have been spearheading in the Asia region and sometimes further since they were founded back in 2009. But, you could never accuse the KTA of becoming routine or following the norm and it seems they have done it again with their inclusion of stand up paddle racing.

The MR340, a 340 mile paddling race on the Missouri River will take place on July 19th, 2016 and no female has ever crossed the finish line. This year, Lauren Rodriguez will attempt at being one of the first, if not the first, female to finish this race and all alongside her team of eight including Shane Perrin, who once held the World Record for longest paddle in 24 hours. As only one of two females entering the race this year Lauren is determined to not only cross the finish line but to also raise funds and awareness for GoRedforWomen.

The seventh annual Mickey Munoz Mongoose Cup to benefit the Sport of Kings Foundation will be held Saturday April 9, 2016 at Dana Cove Park (Baby Beach), Dana Point Harbor. Mickey and his friends will join many of the world’s best paddlers for a special fundraiser and a great day of paddling fun and competition.

At only 14 years of age, Dave de Armas has a lot to be proud of. Not only is Dave an excellent student but he is bilingual and a world traveler. Oh, and did we mention a two-time National SUP Surf and Race champion in his home country of Puerto Rico? Dave has also been honored with a nomination by the FSPR (Surfing Federation of Puerto Rico) to represent Puerto Rico as a SUP Surf and Race Athlete to compete in the ISA SUP Worlds in Fiji in November, 2016. With aspirations to be SUP World Champ and to have a career as a chiropractor, this kid has a big and bright future.

Earlier this year we introduced you to an incredible man from Brazil, Jonas Letieri. Jonas holds one of the most inspirational stories of overcoming obstacles and tragedies that are thrown at you in life and overcoming these obstacles against all odds. This short film from Quickblades about Jonas Letieri and his inspirational story is a must watch.

Michael Booth is sneaking up the world rankings list and after joining Starboard SUP’s Dream Team roster he’s gained a huge support system which will likely help to transform this dark horse into a full blown threat at each and every event he enters. We caught up with Boothy (as he’s known to his friends) and asked him a few questions to learn more about his roots and where he plans on taking his SUP career. Have a look:

The 30th annual Santa Cruz Paddlefest was one for the books. The weather was perfect, waves consistent, and company incredible. Big thanks to Matt Hoff for all his hard work organizing and all the athletes who absolutely tore it up! The Werner Paddles team showed up in full force and paddled their hearts out at this year’s event. Werner released a nice recap of the event.

When I first picked up a paddle and stood on a board in 2010 I felt scared, shaky and out of my element. But after an hour on the water I returned my board feeling confident; if I could go from falling every five seconds to walking on water in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico than I could do anything! I knew immediately I wanted to get more women on the water. I wanted to empower other women through stand up paddling and SUP fitness classes.

22-year-old Zane Schweitzer has been crowned the 2016 Ultimate Waterman. Schweitzer, a late call up for 2016, was the most consistent surfer of the multi discipline event winning three of the seven disciplines contested. Today Schweitzer placed third in the 16km Stand Up Paddleboard Race which was enough to clinch the title over runner up Danny Ching (USA).