Industry

For the past year, the Editorial team at Supconnect has been working long and hard on the second edition of their biggest launch to-date: the Supconnect Reviews. The Supconnect Reviews are an in-depth collection of highly detailed reviews of products in the stand up paddle (SUP) market.

Could waterman Kai Lenny be joining team SIC? On April 10, 2018, the APP World Tour posted photos to social media of Red Bull athletes Kai Lenny and Infinity's Izzi Gomez, filming a promo reel for the upcoming Red Bull Heavy Water later this year. In the photos, Lenny is spotted riding and perusing around San Francisco with the all new SIC Maui RS.

As Surfing approaches two years until its Olympic debut at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games, the International Surfing Association (ISA) has ramped up the development of its coaching and instructing initiatives to help promote the worldwide growth of Surfing and Stand Up Paddling (SUP), particularly in non-traditional surfing nations.

The Paddle League has revealed “stage two” of its plan to help unify the sport, bringing together 41 regional events across 24 nations in a bid to provide a more stable foundation for the future of stand up paddling.

In the midst of national conversations surrounding gun control legislation and the NRA following the tragic school shooting in Parkland, Florida in February, several large retailers have cut ties with the NRA or partners that are associated with the NRA in response to consumer boycotts.

Annabel Anderson of New Zealand, the fastest and world’s top-ranked standup paddle board woman each year since 2012, will take a break in early 2018 for surgery to address a “long-term and horrifically painful ailment” and to fully recover from a serious concussion sustained earlier in the year.

his year, 1,798 Americans will have the opportunity to get outside and enjoy ongoing outdoor experiences, thanks to prAna Explorer Grants. As part of these nationwide grants, Environmental Charter Schools received $5,000 to support its work to engage 120 students from Environmental Charter Middle School in SUPKids Camp that teaches kids water safety and environmental education outdoors with stand up paddle boarding.

Kokua Trading Co is excited to officially welcome World Champion and the Queen of Sup/Candice Appleby to the Kokua team. With countless accomplishments, and a genuine spirit of aloha that precedes her, it’s easy to see why many refer to Candice as the “GOAT” (greatest of all time). Here at Kokua Trading Co. we are humbled and honored to partner with such a talented and well-respected athlete.

Adventures continue for Great Lakes surfer Daniel Schetter, the cold water endurance athlete whose story went viral last month as the “Ice Beard Surfer” who brought -30 F Big Lake surfing to the world.

Stand up paddle environmentalist Bob Purdy has sadly passed away after a battle with cancer. Purdy lived in Ucluelet, British Columbia and had a deep connection to the natural world and its waters. He dedicated several years of his life to stand up paddling and was the founder of Paddle for the Planet and World Paddle for the Planet Day, a global initiative to send a “Wave of Change” around the world.

SIC Maui announces the release of their all new competitive downwind race board, the Bayonet. Developed through ongoing collaboration between SIC Shaper Mark Raaphorst and the SIC team athletes, the Bayonet offers experienced paddlers a high performance downwind board like none other before.

SIC Maui announces their fastest and most versatile all-water race board yet, the RS Series. In 2017, countless hours of R&D culminated into final prototypes that would be put to the test in technical, long distance, sprint, and downwind races in order to validate the RS as one of the fastest, most well-rounded, all-water race boards in the world.