Stand Up
Paddle Board Racing
Paddleboard racing, as a niche sport, has been
around for decades – that is the kind of paddle
boarding where contestants are on their knees, bent
chest over the board in a sort of fetal position,
and paddling with both hands (without a paddle).
This is the type of paddling you’ll typically
see lifeguards doing. It was likely a niche sport
because most participants were somehow associated
with lifeguards. With the rapid rise of stand up
paddle boarding in the waves and on flat water around
the globe, paddle board racing is taking on the
new identity of stand up paddle board racing. Not
that there aren’t still strictly “paddle
board” races, just that the masses are likely
to confuse the two and assume you’re talking
about SUP.
While you can use any SUP to race (and some “fun”
races only allow non-racing boards), the design
of dedicated stand up paddle boards are completely
different then the typical standup surfing board.
The dedicated race SUPs are longer (from 14 to 17
feet), and have distinct V hulls for tracking. They’re
really more like kayaks than surfboards, and they’re
also a lot more expensive than standard SUPs.
The number of stand up paddle board races is growing
and will continue to grow. It’s something
that can be localized very easily as SUP catches
on in areas around the world, and local shops put
on events to bring the local stand up community
together for fun and socializing. If you're a fan
of SUP, talk to your local shop about putting together
a small local event, or organize one yourself with
the help of FaceBook or MeetUp!
We’ve listed some of the major stand up paddle
board racing events below. If you know of an SUP
racing event not listed here, email us a brief on
it and we’ll gladly add it to our list. Email
us at:
Maui
International Paddleboard Championships
Molokai
to Oahu Paddleboard Race
Hennessey’s
Paddle Boarding Race Series
Battle
of the Paddle Hawaii
|