The Coreban Summer Series 2015, is one of the only Stand up Paddleboarding (SUP) events of it’s kind, it is not only South Africa’s oldest running SUP contest but is also the largest.

The Coreban Summer Series started in 2009 and has grown from strength to strength over the years, from the organization to the level of the participants, across all the disciplines. The contest attracts riders from across the country as well as abroad, and marks the start of the SUPSA 2016 Racing and Wave Tour. The highest ranked participants at the end of the Tour are eligible for South African Team Selection.

What makes the Coreban Summer Series so popular is that it is a multidisciplinary SUP event that comprises of SUP Surfing and SUP Racing, so there is not only individual category placing’s, but overall pacing’s as well, in order to determine the best all rounded Paddler’s, and bragging rights for the winners.

This year is the first year the event will not take place in Big Bay, and we will run it in False Bay with the Wave Riding taking place at Muizenberg, and is generally the most competitive division. Participants are divided up into heats of 3-5 SUP’ers where they surf against each other for points, more points are given to the SUP’ers who perform the most radical maneuver’s on a wave within the specified time limit, the two riders in each heat with the highest points move onto the next round, until only 4 remain in the final. Some standouts in the past years and guys and girls that are sure to turn heads in this years competition are, Justin Bing, Tom King, Greg Bertish, Brandon Ribbink, Kimon Dos Santos, Nick Walker, and Grantley Read. While In the Ladies division our eyes will be on Tarryn King, Penny Stement and Tammy Robarts. Our biggest division in the Wave Riding event is the Social Davison, which is for those paddler’s new to Competition and that have not been SUP’ing for too long.

For the racing we will move to Fish Hoek, the first race is the Technical race which is modeled on the BOP (Battle of the Paddle) and now PPG (Paddle Pacific Games), this is a highly exciting spectator race as there is lots of action close to shore, the race can be anywhere from 2-6km in length and involves the paddlers to paddle in and out through the surf and around a series of buoys, and it aloso usually involves a short beach run. Having the race run through the surf opens exterior forces to change the outcomes as the paddlers can use waves to their advantage, but in turn can also be taken advantage of.

The Second Race is a long distance and for this time of year with the South East wind in Cape Town we are expecting to have a Downwind race, from Millers Point to Fish Hoek, roughly 11km. here the riders will use wind generated waves or bumps to “fly” across the finish line first. This is fast becoming one of the more popular elements of SUP, and by many is regarded as the most fun, but be cautious the correct safety precautions should be followed at all times (see http://xpressiononthebeach.com/downwind-safety/ )

At the end of the three days, after hours of sunburn, smiles and hi fives, the results are tallied and the overall and individual winners are announced, tears are spilled along with beers as we close down another event. We cant wait for this one, and hope you are just as excited, for more info please check out the FB event or give us a ring on 021 709 0596.