Professional SUP - How It Happened
While SUP is mostly a soothing and peaceful experience, it can also be a highly competitive sport that demands tremendous feats of athleticism and endurance. A rising sport that can be deconstructed into endurance challenges, surfing races, or even whitewater contests on winding rapids, it is no wonder SUP has evolved into a global athletic phenomenon.
Beginnings of Stand-Up Paddleboarding
StandUp Paddle, in its current form as we know and love it, has been around since the early 20th century. It has roots going back to ancient times. Legend has it, Andean fishermen in ancient Peru used SUP-like paddling techniques and equipment to fish. Early derivatives of SUP pop up again in Polynesian traditions, as drawn by John Webber, an artist who accompanied Captain James Cook to the Sandwich Islands in 1777.
Skip forward to the 1930s, and the first modern paddleboards were created by the pioneer, Thomas Edward Blake. These paddleboards reached California in the 1940s and 1950s and the surfing method was popularized by the Waikiki beach boys.
Beachside Paddling to Global Arenas
But competitive Stand-up Paddleboarding hit the shores in the early 2000s. The sports' competitive edge began in 2004 when a SUP category was added to the Buffalo Big Board Contest. The contest, which is held at Makaha Beach in Oahu, Hawaii, is among the biggest surfing events in the world. It was the perfect introduction to competitive SUP, and by 2008, the British National Championships began.
Nowadays, there are loads of high-octane SUP competitions, with both international events and regional contests. The Battle of the Paddle, which was launched in 2008, was another important milestone for competitive SUP. While the Battle of the Paddle was discontinued in 2015, it set the stage for other competitions and leagues around the world to take off.
Major SUP Competitions Across the World
The M20 Paddleboard World Championship is a heavyweight event in the world of competitive SUP. It takes place at Hawaii's Molokai Island and features the best SUP athletes from across the world. The ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championship, which launched in 2012, is the premier championship for SUP boarding and features a diverse range of competitions. There are technical races, long-distance, sprints, SUP surfing, and paddleboard races for both men and women.
For UK SUP enthusiasts, the biggest regional tournament is the British National Championships. The Head of the Dart SUP Challenge, an annual race that is 14km long and runs between Totnes and Dartmouth, is widely considered to be the UK's best SUP competition.
The Mentality of a SUP Champion
While a dazzling spectacle and highly addictive venture, these SUP races wouldn't be where they are without the dedication and contributions of key athletes. Anyone new to SUP, or those who can remember their first few paddles, can tell you, it is a full-on workout.
Professionals have to live by a demanding routine that continuously puts their athletic ability, core balance and mental fortitude to the test. It is not a showing of power or brute force. SUP is a delicate blend of precision and a feel for the elements. SUP champions have to be constantly vigilant and mindful of their routines, and finding the right balance can take years of practice.
Physical Preparation and Diet
Many of the top paddlers combine land-based training with their water sessions. They hit the water twice a day, under race-like conditions, and power through the water, waves and forces at work. On land, the workouts involve endurance training, power building, and many athletes will also practice yoga.
The yoga routines can improve their balance and posture, as well as give them the flexibility required to maintain stability on the waves. Nutrition is also crucial, with proper hydration and protein-based diets. These help the athletes recover quicker and maintain peak performance for years.
Attuning Mental Fortitude
Mental resilience is just as important as physical prowess. Athletes never know if the waves and the natural forces are going to play to their rhythm or whether they will have to fight an uphill battle to find their stride.
Many SUP champions have described entering a flow state, a state of mind in which mind, body and water move in unison. It is a near meditative state in which they can stay calm, retain stamina, and paddle through the water with confident strides. This becomes a necessity during high-pressure races, especially long-distance SUP races.
Icons of the Paddle
Creating a toplist of winners and champions is debatable in any sport, and SUP is no different. There have been countless legendary athletes, and many iconic figures who helped define the sport. A relatively newer sport, many of the most prolific paddlers are still at it today, and there is plenty of room for the sport to grow yet. But no list of iconic SUP figures is complete without the following entries.
Duke Kahanamoku
Kahanamoku is widely considered the founder of modern surfing, and it was at the event dedicated to him where the first SUP competition was introduced. He was one of the Waikiki beach boys in the 1950s to 1960s who popularized surfing and SUP. Even though he was, by then, in his late 60s and then 70s, he was a prominent figure in the history of SUP.
Candice Appleby
She is called the Queen of SUP, and for good reason. Appleby is one of the most accomplished paddlers, and she was the first woman to beat men at a major SUP event. She was there right from the beginning and was often the only female at early events. She brought great exposure to the sport and popularized it for women, ending her career with 5 ISA SUP World Championship gold medals.
Kai Lenny
A prodigy from Maui, Lenny was introduced to watersports from a young age. Dabbling in Kitesurfing, surfing, and windsurfing, he started competitive SUP in 2012 at the age of 20. He claimed the SUP Racing World Title in that year, winning the season's finals of the Standup World Series championships. A natural on the water, he went on to win 8 SUP world titles, setting the world record.
Casper Steinfath
Steinfath is named the Viking in SUP circles, and he is a true adventurer in every sense of the word. He hails from Denmark, and is an accomplished champion in his own right, with multiple world championships, European championships and other accolades. But he has also pushed the boundaries with daring SUP feats, such as in 2018 when he became the first person to cross the fierce Skagerrak waters between Denmark and Sweden on a SUP.
Fiona Wylde
Wylde has won multiple World Championships as well, overcoming her type 1 diabetes. She is the physical embodiment of mental fortitude and perseverance. Wylde also founded the Wylde Wind & Water community, made to inspire youth and adults, as well as raise important issues surrounding water quality and environmental vitality.
Community, Sustainability, and the Future of SUP
Wylde is the perfect segue into the sustainability and environmentally mindful forces driving the SUP community. It is more than a network of sports athletes, fans and admirers. The community is unified through its love of watersports, travel and discovery. An integral part of that is protecting and conserving the very vessel through which SUP is made possible. The environment and quality of the water.
Building a Connected Global Community
SUP has taken on a world of its own where community is concerned. It is so easily accessible and widely practiced. You only need a board and a paddle handy to hit the waves at a local river or lake.
There are SUP communities all across the world, from local clubs to online networks. Education and training are important within the greater the community, and the environment is always beginner-friendly. Beyond the practice of paddling and fun water activities, there are many socially and environmentally efforts that the SUP community has taken on full throttle.
Sustainability and Eco-Responsibility
Many of the key figures and influential athletes within the world of SUP have called for greater environmental protection. Brands have also taken on a corporate social responsibility, with many exploring eco-friendly materials and sustainable technologies to ensure the sport does not harm the environment. Even at a local level, SUP communities do their part in raising awareness about ocean pollution and climate change. They can even organize river cleanups and sessions to involve local communities in their good work.
Innovation and the Next Wave
The technology is another formidable part of the eco-friendly practices. Suppliers are continuously looking for ways to make the SUP gear more environmentally conscious, from biodegradable paddles to sustainable resin technologies. The equipment itself is also constantly improving. Boards are lighter, faster and more efficient. Athletes are also utilising GPS tracking and smart sensors to get real-time insights into their routines, helping to perfect training rituals and endurance building.
Mastery of SUP
Returning to the essentials and what is needed to become a champion of the paddle, it is really a multifaceted discipline. On the one hand, physical balance and core strength are integral to powering through the elements at their harshest. However, without the mental aptitude, feel for the water flow, and meditative focus, it is impossible to connect to nature and harmonise your rhythm to the rhythm of the water.
The world's greatest paddleboard masters have taught us this. True mastery is not an isolated show of strength. It is being able to respect nature and become one with the natural forces. This tight-knit relationship with the elements is also replicated off the board, with many masters calling for environmental consciousness and for communities to be mindful of the environment. Balance isn't only required when you are on the board, paddle in hand, but it should also be an integral part of your life and your relationship with nature.