Freedom is a status we take for granted in so many instances.Today’s blissful paddle was a drop in the ocean of what freedom means in our nation.
Freedom Day, 27th of April, is a uniquely South African public holiday and reminder of many who went before us, dedicating their entire lives to giving their nation the freedom they had never experienced.
The City Of Cape Town representative so aptly mentioned in his speech on the day that people choose to celebrate this day in various ways, but he was glad we had chosen to celebrate it close to the heart of the holiday – Robben Island, where many had suffered for the freedom of others.
While paddling we were on an almost indigo blue sea, with dusky dolphins diving gracefully nearby. We could look over at the Island on one side, and the Seapoint promenade on the other, and be truly grateful for the opportunity to be outside, healthy and doing a sport we love! Those who went around the island commented on the beauty of the silence as they circumnavigated it. It was a truly significant day to be grateful for our many life blessings!
The Prescient Freedom Paddle is a combined test of fitness, navigational and watercraft skills. Paddling around an island can be treacherous in many instances, let alone if the weather is not in its best-dressed mood for that day.
The race is well-known in the surfski community, and in the last few years our SUP paddlers have been allowed to participate. This year we had two watermen taking on the full course of 27km around the island on their SUPs.
Thomas King and Rory Smythe, both well-known and experienced paddlers from the Cape Town SUP community, set out with the rest of the eager water-warriors. They both completed the full course – with some energy left over to spare at the end of the race. Thomas was happy to have improved on his time from last year and hit a 3:22 time – a massive achievement on a SUP! Rory came in just behind that at 3:35 – also a great time!
27km course
15km course
8km course map
The rest of the SUP Squad took a choice of coastal ways, with an 8km short route to Seapoint and a 15km medium route to Clifton on offer.
The calm weather here was a huge help, as on rougher days, the extra backwash created by the structures along the coastal route can cause the waters to be bumpy and unpleasant to navigate.
The men’s team in the 15km race worked on their drafting strategy to help one another along the way, with Sinda Thakathani taking line honours, followed by Rob Fowler and Gary Van Rooyen.
Not to be deterred by the distance, our two strong female athletes, Evette Terblanche and Elmari Renecle, came in not too long after them. Terry Allan held his own admirably, and we look forward to seeing him in many more races to come.
Our junior paddler, Migael Terblanche, sadly had to turn back to the start due to a pre-race injury, despite setting out so well with the other men.
On the 8km route, we saw Lynne Beachy-Head take the win after being challenged by a fellow paddler to enter the race.
Caroline Gill and Fazlin Perin, were second and third respectively, shortly behind Lynne.
The culmination of the day was a jubilant prize-giving with ample food and beverages for all to enjoy, lucky draw prizes, and the honouring of those who put their all into the sport they cherish. The sponsors had already ensured that all who entered felt like winners, as the goodie bags received at registration the day before were top class gifts, worthy of the entry fees and then some!
We would love to encourage more folk to join this race next year. There is sufficient time to train and we would love to grow the SUP participation and competition to the levels of provincial and bigger national teams. You will thoroughly enjoy the Prescient Freedom Paddle – the most beautiful, scenic and memorable race in Cape Town, with so much meaning behind its name!
Some interesting growth for SUP in the international arena coming up. All the best to Anthony Vela on such a prestigious appointment!
International Surfing Association appoints Anthony Vela as StandUp Paddle Strategic Advisor
La Jolla, California, USA – March 31 2022
The International Surfing Association (ISA) has today announced the appointment of industry veteran Anthony Vela as the organization’s new Strategic Advisor on StandUp Paddle (SUP).
Vela brings a wealth of international SUP experience to the ISA having been an elite athlete, coach, commentator and organizer. More recently he has been the ISA Race Director for the 2018 and 2019 ISA World Stand Up Paddle and Paddleboard Championships as well as the same role for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru where SUP was under the responsibility of the ISA.
SUP continues to be a priority sport for the ISA as the organization is responsible for governance of SUP globally at an Olympic level. Vela will now work closely with ISA Vice-President and multiple SUP World Champion,Casper Steinfath, and the broader ISA leadership to further enhance the investment in SUP and ensure its continued worldwide development and promotion.
Commencing with immediate effect, Vela will support to drive forward the ISA’s SUP strategy, which includes competition formats, course designs and event scheduling. This involves maximizing the global profile of the 2022 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship (ISA WSUPPC) and ensuring the successful delivery of the event. The 2022 ISA WSUPPC host destination and dates will also be announced soon.
Working alongside ISA Executive Director, Robert Fasulo, and other ISA staff, Vela will additionally help in the technical management of SUP competitions when they are a part of a multi-sport event, for example at the forthcoming 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. He will also help the ISA explore new SUP events and formats to further accelerate the growth of SUP and increase its global appeal.
Through his new role, Vela will also look to enhance the competitive rules for SUP and assist in the process to select event judging panels and race officials.
Anthony Vela, ISA SUP Strategic Advisor, said:
“I am stoked to support the ISA team and to continue to contribute to the global development of SUP as a surfing discipline. The potential for SUP on a global stage is huge and I have been thrilled to be a part of the ISA’s efforts to promote the sport at the World Championships and Pan Am Games. I am excited for what the future holds and look forward to getting to work.”
Fernando Aguerre, ISA President, said:
“SUP is hugely important for the ISA as we continue our program of investment and promotion to develop the sport globally. I am really happy to have someone of Anthony’s caliber and experience on our team and have no doubt he will make a big impact on our efforts.
“The global SUP community can look forward to great events in 2022 and, following surfing’s successful Olympic debut in Tokyo, the ISA is investing in our long-term plan to now see SUP included in the Olympic Program. Anthony’s extensive expertise and experience will help us along this journey and ensure we deliver the best SUP events for all athletes and fans.
“The global SUP board market is now estimated at USD 1.5 Billion and is forecast to surpass USD 3.8 Billion by 2032. This means we are in a prime position to help take SUP to the next level of mass appeal as we see interest in the sport surge – especially amongst young people in many new and different markets.”
The WEST COAST CANOE CHALLENGE set a lofty standard to start the year, delivering a blister of a day with the flat Berg River waters testing our inconsistent fitness levels after the usual December lull!
A spectacularly well-attended event of over 250 paddlers in craft ranging from the giant “opblaas pop” of kayaks, through to state of the art race boards and prones. Every paddler and their dog or favourite family fandom were in attendance.
The heat was thoroughly exhausting, and with there being no wind or waves to help the paddlers along – the race was a pure head and muscle grind from start to finish. Did we mention we had hardly recovered from December’s holiday lag? Quite a few paddlers were heard bewailing their fitness levels at the end. Despite this minor setback, all participants made it through their chosen 10, 16 or 20km route with bravado!
The prize-giving was a wonderful display of Velddrif humour and hospitality as the West Coast Canoe Club teamed up with the local farmers and retailers who sponsored prizes in abundance, ranging from fresh local produce, to eye-catching and useful appliances. The crowd support was exhilarating, and the Riveira Hotel grounds were able to absorb and cater for the large group supporting the efforts of their loved ones. Some of the racers even took the opportunity to stay over for a weekend away – good planning!
What a wonderful way to start the year – we look forward to ticking off more boxes on our calendar and to benefit from the growing fitness and happiness levels that paddling always brings.
The International Canoe Federation has reinforced its reputation as the major event organiser for stand up paddling with confirmation it will host three World Cup races in addition to its world championships in 2022.
The ICF provided the only world-class competition for SUP athletes in 2020 and 2021, including the record-breaking world championships in Balatonfured, Hungary, earlier this year. Athletes voted with their feet and are already preparing for next year’s ICF world titles in Gdynia, Poland.
The world cups will be held in Thun, Switzerland, in early May, in Budapest, Hungary, in mid-June, and at a soon-to-be-announced third destination in August. The second world cup in Hungary will be organised by the same team who hosted this year’s successful world titles.
The overall winners of each world cup will gain automatic qualification for the September world championships, including full travel, accommodation and entry fees.
The ICF has also announced that due to the anticipated high number of entries for the world titles in Poland, a series of world ranking events will help ease the qualification path.
The ICF is in discussion with potential hosts in Spain, Czech Republic, Austria, Greece, Ukraine and Turkey. Athletes will earn world ranking points at these events, which will help determine the start list at the world championships.
The world championships will remain open to all competitors, but world ranking points will allow top athletes to progress straight to the main draw.
Newly elected ICF President, Thomas Konietzko, said the ICF will continue to work to provide opportunities for the world’s best SUP athletes to compete.
“Already we have shown our commitment to the continued growth of stand up paddling, and these announcements today further builds on our strong relationship with the SUP community,” Konietzko said.
“As the only organiser of world-class competition in the past two years we have further cemented our partnership with SUP athletes, and it is important we continue to provide competition opportunities.
“Our role is much more than just the organiser of a once-a-year world championships. This sport is practiced around the globe for 12 months of the year, and by providing more world-class events we are opening the door for more opportunities for athletes to compete at the highest level.”
The ICF will offer board transport and rental services to all the events to make logistics easier for athletes, allowing access to top-of-the-line hard racing boards.
The International Canoe Federation is also excited to announce it will officially sanction the 2022 SUP 11 City Tour, one of the most gruelling but most popular annual stand up paddle races.
“We are thrilled the organisers of the 11 City Tour have decided to partner with us next year, and are confident this will be the start of a long and fruitful relationship,” ICF SUP co-ordinator, Hoichan Kwon, said.
“In the longer term we are looking at the possibility of hosting a SUP ultra-marathon world championships, and the 11 City Tour is a fantastic platform for a race like this.”
Full details of the ICF SUP world cup races and world ranking events will be revealed soon.
Following two years of radio silence, the ISA (International Surfing Association) has finally confirmed it will be holding its first Stand Up Paddle World Championship since 2019.
The ‘ISA Worlds’ are headed to the island nation of Puerto Rico in 2022.
The confirmation came this week almost two years to the day since the last ISA Worlds were held as a last-minute event in El Salvador (November 2019). Since then, the ISA has been criticised for its lack of engagement with the sport it claims to govern. The Puerto Rico news will open up an interesting new chapter in the whole ISA/ICF political saga, especially after the ICF gained a lot of momentum from its own World Championship in Hungary two months ago, but on a basic level this announcement from the ISA can only be seen a positive for the sport.
Puerto Rico may not be the most obvious SUP destination but look beneath the surface and it’s a pretty good choice. For one, it’s a bit of a surfing mecca, having hosted several ISA surfing championships and even a short-lived stop on the World Surf League (back in the ASP days). The island “nation” (it’s technically an unincorporated territory of the United States) also has a rich history of stand up paddling: The Rincon Beachboy is a beloved race that was once a global top-five event in terms of participation. Puerto Rico was also home to the infamous “Paddle Royal” that briefly held the title of the richest SUP race in the world before imploding in 2013.
Logistically, Puerto Rico should be a lot easier than the byzantine ISA missions to China (2018) and El Salvador (2019) that saw many athletes compete without their boards. Puerto Rico is an island (meaning everyone will still be playing “check-in roulette” with the airlines) but one that’s well serviced by flights from Miami and other hubs (U.S. citizens don’t even need a passport to enter). And the fact it has an established SUP community means proper race boards might actually be available locally.
While the event has supposedly been confirmed, not much else is known about the 2022 “ISA SUP & Paddleboard World Championship” (yes, they’re still doing that whole prone thing). Dates, locations and other details should be released in the next 24-48 hours — the event was only confirmed at the ISA’s Annual General Meeting this week.
So this means we’re in for an interesting year in 2022 after the ICF (International Canoe Federation) recently confirmed its own SUP World Championship to be hosted in Poland. Yes, two world championships.
Indeed, the ICF has seemingly gained a lot of positive momentum following its highly-rated championship event in Hungary two months ago. That follows their inaugural championship back in 2019 (neither federation was able to do much in the lost year of 2020). The Hungary event was so well-rated by athletes, and the ISA was so quiet that many were starting to question who was actually the “governing body” of the sport. Athletes were starting to joke about the ISA Worlds being renamed to the ICF Worlds.
This whole political saga was supposed to have been resolved by a decision at the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in August 2020, but while the Court gave the ISA tentative blessing to hypothetically take the sport to the Olympics one day, CAS also made it clear that both federations could freely host world championships (the ISA famously cockblocked the ICF’s inaugural World Championships in 2018, supposedly in retaliation for the ICF supposedly cockblocking the ISA at the Youth Olympics that same year). In short, it was a bit of a non-decision.
Despite the CAS ruling last year, I would have said the ICF was more likely to take the sport to the Olympics if you’d asked me before today’s news. The ISA Worlds in Puerto Rico 2022 probably does little more than to re-balance the equation, meaning the sport will continue in limbo on the Olympic level.
Personally I view this whole debate as an almost-philosophical discussion. It’s not even a question of which federation would do a better job (most old-school paddlers are suspicious of all federations), it’s more a question of what the future of our sport would/could/should look like. We’ve seen a massive shift away from ocean racing to flat water over the past few years, which would theoretically make the sport far better-suited to the ICF. Combine that with the fact the ICF was relatively active in engaging the SUP community during the pandemic and even managed to pull off a World Championship this year, as well as the ISA being totally sidetracked with its Olympic surfing debut (do they have the resources for two sports was the question) and until today it seemed more and more likely that we’d eventually become affiliated with canoeing.
The obvious counter-argument to the ICF is that the ISA will keep the sport in the waves, which is supposedly more exciting. But as someone who thinks a 200km race around the canals of Holland is as good as it gets, I’m not convinced by that either. (The ISA would also like to remind you that “they were here first,” which is indeed correct but does little to help the future of our sport).
Time will tell, but at least in 2022 we’ll have two proper World Championships announced well in advance to compare side-by-side. We’ve never had that before.
And hey, paddletics aside, surely it’s better to have two international federations fighting over our sport than none…
We’ll update this post as soon as the International Surfing Association confirms dates for the 2022 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Puerto Rico.
