Lady Liberty did not disappoint. The greatest stand up paddle athletes on the planet gathered to test the waters of the Hudson River in NYC over the weekend on Day #1 of the New York SUP Open, 2nd stop of the APP World Tour. Everybody said it was a bucket list item. Every paddler has a story to tell. It was one iconic event, not to be soon forgot. Here's the recap.
The highly anticipated Columbia Gorge Paddle Challenge returned to the infamous Hood River over the weekend and the excitement from the weekend has the industry buzzing. The biggest takeaway from the event: the SUP youth is a force to be reckoned with.
The Yukon 1000 is the world’s longest canoe race and takes place every other year. The Yukon 1000 is a 1,000 mile, self-supported race from Canada into the Alaskan backcountry and finishes in the Arctic circle. This year Bart de Zwart and his teammate Ike Frans finished the race in first on their stand up paddle boards. Here, Bart recaps the race and what it was like to paddle for 18 hours a day, 8-days straight.
On December 8th & 9th, the APP World Tour finishes its racing season with the World's Largest Participatory Race in Paris. This third and final stop on the 2018 World Tour will be where the 2018 APP World Champions for SUP racing will be crowned.
In just a few weeks the 2018 Naish Gorge Paddle Challenge returns to the Hood River Waterfront Park for an action-packed weekend of course and downwind racing for SUP, foils, and small boats (new this year!).
At the start of the 22nd annual Molokaʻi-2-Oʻahu Paddleboard World Championships (M2O), presented by Kona Brewing, favorable winds appeared to be creating promising conditions for todayʻs racers, but the Kaʻiwi Channelʻs fickle personality created a puzzle board of mixed swell for athletes to navigate.
The first stop on the 2018 APP World Tour exploded out of the gates in the iconic city of London on July 7-8, 2018. This multi-tiered event, featuring Pro, Pro AM and Amateur racing for all levels of paddlers was showcased in two iconic locations around the city, including a 4km course on the historic Thames River, 200 meter sprint races and an 11km distance course held on the Royal Victoria Docks in East London.
After a frustrating week in Hossegor athletes traveled to Scharbeutz, Germany for a fresh start at the 2018 Mercedes-Benz SUP World Cup, the 7th stop of The Paddle League World Tour and week 9 of the EuroTour.
The paddle-battles raged. On Saturday, June 23rd, elite athletes and spectator crowds gathered at the Santa Monica Pier for the first day of Pier 360. The two-day ocean sports and beach festival delivered over 12 hours of events, music, and immersive activations, culminating in the crowning of this year's Overall Elite Champions in men's and women's SUP events.
Red Bull Heavy Water, arguably the most intense stand up paddling event in the world, is headed back to San Francisco, home to notoriously challenging weather and water conditions, as part of the 2018 APP World Tour circuit, with an event window from October 15th – November 2nd.
With a record field of 272 athletes across all divisions (kids, juniors, elite, amateurs) the 6th annual Iberdrola Bilbao World SUP Challenge in the Basque Country of Spain was the fifth stop of The Paddle League World Tour and week 7 of the 2018 EuroTour presented by Rogue.
A dozen of the world’s best paddlers stood on the start line alongside Japan’s finest, with grey skies and light rain greeting competitors Saturday morning after a week of blue skies and warm weather.