by Chris Couve | Jun 19, 2015 | Stand Up Paddle, SUP Racing
The 2015 Starboard Zinkwazi 10KM SUP Race took place on Sunday, 14th June at the Zinkwazi Lagoon, just north of Ballito in Kwa-Zulu Natal. A beautiful, sunny winter’s morning had 40 contestants from all around the country gather around the Starboard Gazebo to listen to the Race Briefing around 8:30 AM.
With South Africa’s strongest Paddlers attending this Race had to once again be one of the most grueling SUPSA sanctioned, flat water races on the South African national Stand Up Paddling Circuit.
The airhorn signaled the start at 9:00am and it was International Starboard Team Rider, Dylan Frick who took the lead off the start line with Gunter Berger and Chris Couve up at the front fighting it out for his slip. Tarryn King from Cape Town, the 2014 Zinwkazi Race Winner, who had just returned from the SUP World Championships in Mexico, had a shaky start, but managed to reel in Shelley and Jackie, by the time that they got to the first turning buoy, proving that she was the Lady to beat.
The 2.2 km sprint to the first turning buoy had heart rates exploding as paddlers jostled for positions on the draft train while trying to find their rhythm. Just before the first turning buoy the chasing pack managed to close the gap to the leading bunch.
After a sharp and aggressive buoy turn, Dylan Frick managed to open up a gap from Chris Couve, Gunter Berger, Just Bing, Stephen Lawson and Brandon Read forming the following bunch. Tarryn King had also furthered her gap to Jackie de Billiot, who was unfortunately at a disadvantage, as she was suffering from flu. Shelly Bradfield in 3rd position had set a comfortable pace for herself and was on a mission to chase Jackie.
The next 2.2 km was a constant grind with everyone having settled into a steady race pace. Dylan Frick still in the lead came flying out of the next beach buoy turn near the mouth of the river with Chris and Gunter trying to close the gap that Dylan had opened on the first turn. Gunter now took charge of the draft train giving Chris some time to recover in his side wave.
Further at the back of the field, saw Shayne, Thomas, Anton, Dean and Grant taking turns at the head of the second chasing pack.
The long grind back to the far buoy had everyone now feeling the heat of KZN’s warm and humid climate. Shortly before the top turning bouy Chris found an opportunity to leap off the front of the leading draft train with a sudden interval that caught the rest of guys unaware. Coming out of the buoy tunr the positioning was such that Dylan was in the lead followed by Chris both working on their own, with Gunter, Justin, Stephen and then Brandon together in the lead pack.
Dylan Frick was the first to beach finish with a time of 1:00:11 with Chris Couve in second place a minute behind Dyl.
The positioning for third was intense, with Justin managing to sneak ahead of pack in the last 1.5km of the race to take 3rd place in a time of 1:01:36, leaving Gunter to battle it out for 4th place against Stephen and Brandon.
Tarryn King was the first Lady to cross the finish line posting a time of 1:05:47 to retain her title, followed by Jackie de Billiot and then former title holder Shelley Bradfield.
All 40 paddlers had crossed the finish line within a one and half hours.
Before the prize giving, all competitors formed teams of 5 to participate in a fun, Team Relay Race. A last beating to the heart had Team Coreban win the Team Relay Race, Team SUPDurbs took 2nd place and Team Starboard in 3rd Place.
The Prize Giving had trophies, medals and cash prizes for the Top 3 males, the Top 3 Ladies, the Top Lengedn over 45, the Top Diva over 45 and the Top Juniour.
Everyone was a winner on the day, going home with a complimentary Event T-Shirt, a Free Drink & Boereowors Roll from the local Beach Bar as well as a SUPSA Ranking and some incredible memories from the day.
Thanks go to the following:
Race Sponsor/ Organizer: Gunter Berger
Words: Gunter Berger
Pictures: Beverly Height
Timer Keeping: Ingrid Dippenaar
Race Director: Robbie Couve
Safety Boats: Grantly Read
by Chris Couve | Jun 17, 2015 | Stand Up Paddle, SUP Racing, SUP Surfing
Save the SUP Durbs Pro entry form, complete with you details and race info and send back to SUP Durbs before 3rd July. Completed forms can be emailed to info@supdurbs.co.za or faxeded to 0866848785. You can grab the entry form PDF version here…
by Chris Couve | May 18, 2015 | Prone, Sayulita World Champs, Stand Up Paddle, SUP Racing
Australia 4-Peats ISA Team Relay; Jordan Mercer (AUS), Jack Bark (USA) Win Paddleboard Technical; Candice Appleby (USA), Conner Baxter (HAW) Win SUP Technical
For daily photos, video highlights and video news releases – http://isawsuppc.com/media/
Team USA celebrating on the podium after winning the World Team Champion Trophy and Gold Medal. USA’s six individual Gold Medals were enough to dethrone the reigning champions Australia. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
Team USA celebrating on the podium after winning the World Team Champion Trophy and Gold Medal. USA’s six individual Gold Medals were enough to dethrone the reigning champions Australia. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
The 2015 ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddleboard Championship Presented by Hotel Kupuri culminated with 27 National Delegations erupting in celebration on the beautiful beach of Sayulita, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico.
Racers head towards the beach transition portion of the course. Negotiating the shore break was crucial for success. Photo: ISA/ Ben Reed
Kicking off the final day of competition was the ISA Team Relay Race. Four members from each team united in the name of their country to take to the technical course alternating between SUP and Paddleboard Racing.
The first team to complete the course was the dynamic Australians that earned their fourth repeat victory. Rounding out the rest of the team relay results were New Zealand in second, USA in third and Hawaii in fourth, respectively.
The first individual event of the day was the Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race, and it was with little surprise that Australian Jordan Mercer earned the Gold Medal. Mercer is the most decorated athlete in the history of the ISA and took home Gold Medals in every discipline she competed in.
Jordan Mercer, the most decorated ISA athlete in history, added to her Medal collection this week winning every discipline she competed in. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“You are out there paddleboarding and all you have is your hands and your heart,” said the experienced Mercer. “That’s all you have to work with. So, to know the support and spirit that I have being an Australian — I go out there racing for my country… Australia is a country of pride, a country of privilege, and one that I am so honored to represent.”
Completing the lineup of women paddleboard medalists was Carter Graves (USA) earning Silver, Itziar Abascal (ESP) getting the Bronze and Jasmine Smith (NZL) taking home the Copper.
In the Men’s Paddleboard Technical Race, American Jack Bark was the first to finish nearly 20 seconds ahead of his competition with a time of 23:24. Australian Lachie Lansdown was the next to cross the finish but only three seconds behind him was Kiwi Cory Taylor and Hawaiian Kai Hall another seven seconds later.
Part of USA’s week of dominance included Sunday’s Gold Medal performance by Jack Bark in the Men’s Paddleboard Technical Race. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“It’s an honor to be here for the United States. To be able to help them out and win a gold was awesome!” exclaimed Bark after his result had set in and his team surrounded him.
The fourth final of the day was the Women’s SUP Technical Race where a second American claimed Gold further distancing themselves from the Australians in the overall team points. Candice Appleby was that American and took home her second Gold after winning the SUP Distance Race earlier in the week. Terrene Black (AUS), Penelope Strickland (NZL) and Lina Augaitis (CAN) made up the rest of that podium.
Candice Appleby leading the pack in today’s Women’s Technical Race, winning her second individual Gold Medal at the ISA World Championship. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“Our team unity is second to none and I think it’s going to end up that way at the end of the day,” expressed Appleby with national pride. “Everybody is so excited and so motivated. The Individual Gold, Silver, Bronze and all the different places are awesome, but they are just stepping stones towards our final goal.”
The Men’s SUP Technical Race saw intense action as the best athletes in the world stayed neck-and-neck for the first two and a half laps with only board lengths separating their positions. Into the third lap Conner Baxter and Hawaiian teammate Mo Freitas began to break away from the pack, but with the two-time, ISA Gold Medalist Casper Steinfath of Denmark and Titouan Puyo of France only a few board lengths away, the race was anything but decided until the very end.
Ultimately, the Hawaiian teammates would scratch their way into a wave on the last lap that allowed them to cruise into back-to-back finishes. Baxter took the first Gold Medal of the event for his team and Freitas earned Silver. Steinfath barely missed the wave his opponents rode to victory and would end up in an all out sprint for a photo finish against Puyo. In the end, Puyo was awarded the Bronze and Steinfath the Copper.
Conner Baxter propelling Team Hawaii to the Team Bronze Medal with his individual Gold Medal in the Men’s SUP Technical Race. Photo: ISA/Brian Bielmann
“It’s definitely a different vibe,” said the first-time ISA Gold Medalist Baxter. “The Maui boys, we represent Aloha and always cheer each other on, but having the whole team spirit and all the other 27 different countries, it’s so amazing. Normally you are going into it with a mindset for yourself, but this week we are going for Team Hawaii. We definitely tried our best.”
The remaining Gold Medal to be determined was that of the overall ISA World Team Champion — the most coveted medal of the entire ISA World Championship.
The revealing of the ISA World Team Champion took place at the end of the Closing Ceremony once every other medal had been awarded.
Coming into the week of competition it was known that Team Australia had their work cut out for them as the defending champions for the past three years running. The debut of the Hawaiians at the ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship was certainly thought to be a threat, but it turned out to be the Americans with the most dominant showing and eventually taking the title.
The whole town of Sayulita joined the international crowd to witness the ISA World Championship and support the athletes. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“It has been the most phenomenal week in the history of the sport, and I want to thank each and every athlete in this competition for helping us, for coming, for arriving in Sayulita, Mexico and making this a part of your life,” declared ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “This World Championship will be the best in history with the most incredible SUP Surfing, StandUp and Paddleboard Racing competition. The best competitors were here.”
“I hope that when the athletes go home they leave with friendships in the rest of the world and have good memories of Sayulita and Riviera Nayarit in Mexico,” Aguerre proceeded. “I know that some will bring home medals, some will not, but you have to remember, all are winners. These athletes came to Sayulita, represented their country, were members of their National SUP and Paddleboard Team, and did all of this in Olympic Spirit.”
2015 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship Team Standings:
- USA
- Australia
- Hawaii
- New Zealand
- Brazil
- Mexico
- South Africa
- Spain
- Tahiti
- Peru
- France
- Argentina
- Japan
- Canada
- Great Britain
- Italy
- Denmark
- Sweden
- Costa Rica
- Ireland
- Chile
- Venezuela
- Holland
- Barbados
- Switzerland
- US Virgin Islands
- El Salvador
by Chris Couve | May 17, 2015 | Sayulita World Champs, Stand Up Paddle, SUP Racing
SUP, Paddleboard Technical Races Plus Team Relay Finalists Decided for ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship Presented by Hotel Kupuri
For daily photos, video highlights and video news releases, click here – http://isawsuppc.com/media/
All-star SUP paddleboarder, Connor Baxter racing for Team Hawaii in the Men’s SUP Technical Race, where he finished second to qualify for the Final. Photo: ISA/Brian Bielmann
The Technical Races and Team Relays began in Sayulita, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico on Day 6 of the 2015 ISA World StandUp Paddle (SUP) and Paddeboard Championship Presented by Hotel Kupuri.
The Final Day will include the ISA Team Relay Race Final, the Men’s and Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race Finals and Men’s and Women’s SUP Technical Race Finals. The stage is set for a grand finale on Sunday.
First in the water were the Men’s Paddleboard Racers, broken up into two heats where the top 8 advanced. The top Men’s Paddleboard racer was Kai Hall from Hawaii, completing the course in 27:43.
The Women’s SUP Technical Race followed. The top six of the two, 12-women heats advanced to compete again on Sunday. Candice Appleby showed her superior strength above the rest of the competition with a comfortable lead and finished in first place.
South Africa’s Dylan Frick hydrates around one of the beach sprints during the Men’s SUP Technical Race in Heat 2. Dyl finished in 4th position to take him through to finals on Sunday. Photo Credits: ISA/ Reed.
The Mexican crowd made their presence known in the SUP Technical Race as Felipe Rodriguez showed his superb local knowledge of the break and utilized uncanny angles as he approached the beach to catch waves that others could not. Felipe Rodriguez finished first before highly touted athletes such as Hawaii’s Connor Baxter, who finished second. The 12 qualifiers from each heat will merge to make for a 24-man SUP Technical Race Final of epic proportions on Sunday.
The world’s best technical paddleboard racers going full speed ahead while competing in the qualifier for a chance to advance to Sunday’s Final. Photo: ISA/Brian Bielmann
The day closed with exciting ISA Team Relay Race Qualifying Rounds. In the ISA Team Relay Race each team selects a SUP and Paddleboard racer of each gender to form their roster.
The relay was lead by a dominant performance from Team Australia, including Jordan Mercer, Lachie Lansdown, Terrene Black and Toby Cracknell. The Australian team finished ahead of the New Zealand Team with a time of 15:54. The 10 remaining teams that will contend for the Overall Team Gold Medal including Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Spain, France, South Africa, USA, Brazil, Mexico and Canada.
Team Australia outperformed the competition in the ISA Team Relay Race and will look to carry that momentum unto the Final on Sunday. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“Today was all about team effort and support, as the 2015 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship nears the end. The points are now more important than ever. This is the most competitive SUP World Championship ever,” stated ISA President Fernando Aguerre.
Aguerre continued, “Following all the excitement from the competition, we will hold the Closing Ceremony. As each Gold Medal is distributed, National Anthems will be played, country flags will be flown and cheers around the world will be heard. There is no greater pleasure than to have your hard work pay off and no higher honor than to represent your country with pride.”
The Final Day will include the Men’s and Women’s Paddleboard Technical Race Finals, Men’s and Women’s SUP Technical Race Finals and the ISA Team Relay Race Final. The stage is set for a grand finale on Sunday.
Tomorrow’s live webcast will begin with the Morning Show at 8:30am local time hosted by Beau Hodge, and will feature the host athletes from Team Mexico.
Sunday, 8:30am Mexico City, Mexico
Sunday, 4:30am Los Angeles, USA
Sunday, 1:30pm Paris, France
Sunday, 9:30pm Sydney, Australia
by Chris Couve | May 16, 2015 | Sayulita World Champs, Stand Up Paddle, SUP Surfing
15-Year-Old Izzi Gomez, 25-Year-Old Sean Poynter Showcase Youth Strength for Team USA at ISA World SUP Championships
For daily photos, video highlights and video news releases, click here – http://isawsuppc.com/media/
Team USA’s 15-year-old Izzi Gomez claimed the first ISA SUP Surfing Gold Medal of the day as well as valuable points for Team USA. Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
The right-hand break of Sayulita, Riviera Nayarit, Mexico offered consistent surf for the final day of SUP Surfing as part of the 2015 ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship presented by Hotel Kupuri.
As the women’s Repechage Rounds came to a close, the Final was set and included athletes from four different Nations. Joining the ISA newcomer, Izzi Gomez of Team USA and, 2013 Gold Medalist, Nicole Pacelli of Team Brazil were Spain’s Iballa Ruano and France’s Caroline Angibaud.
The experienced Pacelli looked incredibly strong coming into the Final Round, but it was Gomez that was the favorite regardless of this being her first-ever ISA World Championship.
Gomez wasted no time, and immediately earned wave scores of 7.27 and 5.93 for a total of 13.20. With more than 15 minutes left to go, the American had breathing room and reason to relax. For the rest of the heat the field was chasing her score, but in the end she would not be caught. Gomez won her first-ever ISA Gold Medal and valuable points for Team USA.
American Izzi Gomez came into the final as the favorite to win despite this being her first-ever ISA World Championship. Photo: ISA/Brian Bielmann
“I honestly cannot even believe it right now. I had a lot of nerves this week and was even sick, but with the help of my team I was able to pull through,” said the humble 15-year-old Gomez. “I couldn’t have done it without them. Just knowing that I was here competing for the USA, it gave me more drive and desire to win so I could have the best result for the team.”
On the Men’s side, local SUP surfer Felipe Hernandez of Team Mexico put on a show for the crowd during every heat throughout the day. During the last Repechage Round, with less than a minute to go, Hernandez nailed back-to-back aerials in a single wave. The crowd erupted into cheers as he solidified his place in the final.
Felipe Hernandez of Team Mexico had his local community erupt into cheers following two aerials on a single wave that earned him a spot in the Final Round. Photo: ISA/Brian Bielmann
In addition to Hernandez, the final was set with American Sean Poynter, the Tahitian Poenaiki Raioha and Frenchman Antoine Delpero.
Poynter opened the Final Round with two waves earning an 8.50 and 7.33, which put his competition into a combination situation. Being in a combination situation means that no single wave score would be enough to take the lead.
Sean Poynter put his competition into a combination situation early in the Final Round and ultimately earned the second Gold Medal for Team USA in SUP Surfing. Photo: ISA/Bielmann
It was not until the final minutes that a single score would drop high enough to have any affect on the situation. Poynter had won, and became the first two-time, male ISA SUP Surfing Gold Medalist.
“This smile says it all. I’m at a loss of words,” said an exhilarated Poynter. “I did the same thing as last year, dropping into the Repechage and doing five heats on the Final Day. My trainers had me fit and ready and I was able to withstand the amount of time and finish strong. I’m just so excited, so happy and thankful to the ISA, the Mexican Surfing Federation and the support of my team. It’s been such an awesome event.”
The beach had exploded with cheers. From chants of U-S-A, to the traditional Mexican chants, the spirit on the beach was that of true international comradery.
“Today’s ISA SUP Surfing World Championship was an event that will be remembered for years to come. The world-class level of competition made for a gripping final, keeping everyone excited until the very end,” remarked ISA President Fernando Aguerre. “We knew what the best days for waves were going to be, so we planned the surf competition accordingly.”
After being carried up the beach on the shoulders of their teammates, Mexico’s Felipe Hernandez (right) and USA’s Sean Poynter gave thanks to everyone in attendance and especially the host country. Viva la Mexico! Photo: ISA/Ben Reed
“What a final! Congratulations to Izzi Gomez and Sean Poynter from Team USA on winning the Gold Medals and making your country proud. That is what an ISA World Championship is all about — honoring the sport, honoring your country,” said Aguerre.
Men’s ISA Worlds SUP Surfing Results:
Gold Medal- Sean Poynter (USA)
Siliver Medal- Poenaiki Raioha (TAH)
Bronze Medal- Felipe Hernandez (MEX)
Copper Medal- Antoine Delpero (FRA)
Women’s ISA Worlds SUP Surfing Results:
Gold Medal- Izzi Gomez (USA)
Silver Medal- Nicole Pacelli (BRA)
Bronze Medal- Iballa Ruano (SPA)
Copper Medal- Caroline Angibaud (FRA)
Tomorrow’s live webcast will begin with the Morning Show at 8:10am local time hosted by Beau Hodge, and will feature the newest ISA Gold Medalists Gomez and Poynter.
Saturday, 8:10am Mexico City, Mexico
Saturday, 6:10am Los Angeles, USA
Saturday, 3:10pm Paris, France
Saturday, 11:10pm Sydney, Australia
