ICF SUP World Championships 2021: Day 4 of the World Championships in Hungary

The day of dread has arrived – it is finals day and the last day of the competition! A time for the paddlers to give it their all, then to say goodbye to new friends and the beautiful Lake Balaton that has been both their home and battleground for the last 10 days.

Gary’s Technical semi was packed with pure masculine power and a display of neatly manoeuvered buoy turns driven by adrenalin pumping from start to the finish.  Despite beating his winning time from Saturday’s race, he said later that he could not beat the other paddlers, who were, “just faster”…. Gary placed 7th to reach Final B.   

Evette’s Technical semi-final race was marked by chaos, with cutoffs at the buoy turns, people who could not paddle straight, and a leader who fell off her board, then went to the wrong buoy; yet still managed to catch up again – sheer determination and drive!  Evette maintained her cool in the midst of this and finished with a 5th place, just missing the final.

Chiara made a great statement amidst the much-favoured Spanish girls during her Technical Semi final. She maintained a good pace and was consistent throughout, finishing 4th, with a spot in the Finals!

A race hotly contested and tightly bunched, with the leaders more than a full board’s length ahead at the start. Buoy turns were done in groups, with control being the essential element needed to negotiate them safely.

From turn number 4, the men had settled into a good train, and the buoy turns became less congested at the front, but a few at the back still took some falls.

As the contestant ahead of him went down, Guy had to muster his all to keep from joining him in the water – well managed! The winner took a time of 5:46 and Guy finished in 6th place for final C.

A very fast start in the Men’s 50+ Technical Final B, with the contestants almost equally matched yet again.

Good drafting and solid paddling dominated in this race. These men are masters at their buoy turns and just work them so well.

The leader had shown consistent strength throughout all his races, and had a comfortable lead for most of the time. Gary was relentlessly paddling hard in the group, but just could not find a gap to make a break.

Once again – the pace and strength of these masters was exemplary, proving to all that age is just a number! Gary placed 8th in this Men’s 50+ Technical Final B.

In Elmari’s Technical Final for the 50+ women, the ladies stepped out to much fanfare, and the SA group doing its fair share of noisemaking to make her feel loved and supported.

The group got off to a very strong start, but a bit of lane switching got them going into a tight mix at buoy one. Elmari was down on to her knees at buoy no 3 as the mix got a bit rough. This race was a tough fight especially at the buoys.

The leader took a 2 board-length lead from buoy 6, and Elmari finished in 8th place in a hard-hitting race from the top ladies. Really a great place for her first time at Worlds.

It can’t be easy stepping out for the Junior Girls Final amidst a group of girls that are already firm favourites!

Chiara got a slightly delayed start, but kept a good steady pace among with the group’s long, strong strokes.  Her 8th position kept her safe from the melee at the first buoy, while the leader’s immaculate one-stroke turn catapulted her to an massive lead. Chiara kept up with the group, maintained her 8th place, but safe from the chaos of the fighting mid-group paddlers.

How this girl could benefit if she could train regularly with this bunch, if she is already on their tail, just from training on her own!  There is still much to come from this young paddler.

ICF SUP World Championships 2021: Day 3 of the World Championships in Hungary

Race Day 3 was a beautiful Saturday. The weather report read of a luxurious 25 degree air temperature, and the 18 degree delicate glassy waters of Lake Balaton mesmerised the commentators and public alike.

The Sprint finals were set as the first item of the morning. In the mayhem of pure speed and drive, some paddlers went a little or a lot too skew, while others went falling from their boards.  There were stressful moments all around as the adrenalin pumped over the 200 metre distance to see who would be the ultimate champions.

Our team were represented in the Men’s 50+ Final B group by Gary, earning a hard-won 6th spot in an ever-toughening lineup. These men were true masters, with paddling technique and skills honed over the years, a mental edge developed through experience, and were not short on power either. They are the proof that age is certainly no handicap in this category!

Elmari’s sprint in the 50+ Women’s Final A group was sadly marred by two ladies alongside her paddling skew and into her path, causing much consternation for the supporters. In the true spirit of sport, she wrote this one off as not being her finest sprint race, and yet still placed a very respectable 5th position in the world!

Chelsea, her paddling style ever steady, worked her way to a good time and placed 8th in the Women’s Open Final C group.

At midday, there was an inflatables race.  Our ladies Anja and Chelsea took up the challenge and paddled the 7km out-and-back course with style. Chelsea ended up surprising herself and the team by taking an incredible 6th place, and along with Anja was decorated with a medal for her part in the paddle. Well done ladies! 7km on an inflatable is no joke!

After lunch, it was time to wrap up the technical heats and quarter finals in preparation for Sunday.
These 1km technical races were a mixed display of sheer power and incredible skills at the buoys.  Some paddlers worked sheer magic with a one-stroke turn,  while others got caught in the fray and ended up either with boards between their legs or just took a fall around the turns. The ladies races proved to have more caution around the buoys, but they also showed great determination and drive towards each new section of the field. Our paddlers once again gave their all to deliver some favourable results.

Guy placed 6th in heat 1 of the 50+ Men’s race, to move into the quarter finals.

Gary won heat 2 to the great delight of all supporters – and caused great joy, especially after some of his previous races where he had just lost by small margins.

Rob took on the 5th heat of the 40+ Men’s Technical Race. He  handled his board and buoy turns with stability and consistency.

It is good to note that our paddlers did not all have the luxury of using their own familiar boards, but instead were using rented equipment, due to the exhorbitant cost and high risk of board transport overseas.

Rob did not make it to the next round, but this was truly a fantastic experience-gaining trip and race for him. What an inspiration to paddle amongst these great men!

Elmari placed 2nd in the 50+ Women’s Technical Race. She showed long, strong strokes and consistency up to each buoy, almost losing her place after going wide at buoy 3, then put in a massive effort and regained it. She maintained a solid second place for the remainder of the race to the end, granting her a spot in the final A group for Sunday.

Evette placed 5th in the Women’s 40+ Technical Race heat 2, only 50 seconds behind the winner  – a good indication of the intensity of the race.  Consistent, careful yet strong paddling in her group set a steady pace, and Evette finished comfortably in 5th place with the sounds of the vuvuzela cheering her on to the very end.

Chiara placed 3rd in the Junior Women’s Technical Race heat 2 within an ever-toughening group of girls.

The inflatable boards used by the Juniors definitely generate different paddling speeds and they require great handling skills in a technical race – but this did not deter the young ladies at all.

The live commentary at the time was very interesting as to how they were using inflatables to make the sport more financially accessible to new paddlers, but were open to comment on the matter.

While this discussion was happening, the girls had settled into a steady train around the buoys and Chiara was moving up in the ranks. A stumbling paddler at buoy number four gave Chiara the chance to move up into 3rd place, and she showed the grit and determination needed to keep it right to the end, with a clean finish in 3rd.

Gary placed 4th in his semi final 2 for the Technical race, paddling against men who were at least 10 years his juniors, and giving them a good run!

Guy placed 6th in his semi-final, earning a place in the Final group C for Sunday.

ICF SUP World Championships 2021: Day 2 of the World Championships in Hungary

(Text & images by Anja Burger & team)

An 18.5 kilometre course, a 10 kilometre course, sprints and then – even more sprints! I am sure that if support was a discipline, South Africa would certainly take gold with our team screaming their lungs out from the sidelines, echoed by our friends and family on social media.

We started day two with the long distance races. Gareth, Sinda, Robert and Evette smashed the 18.5 km; while Guy, Gary, Elmari and Chiara took on the 10 km.
A top 30 spot for Gareth and a top 20 for Gary, while both Elmari and Evette made 8th in their category, with Chiara placing 10^th in the junior women’s inflatable race.

Click below to see the distance race image gallery for the men and the women:

The long distance races were followed by some nail-biting sprints for Guy, Gary, Robert, Elmari, Evette and Chiara.

Unfortunately Guy and Robert only partook in their first heat, but what a great experience they have had in their first ever World Championship Sprints – achieving personal bests.

Gary – the legend, placed second in his first heat, second in his quarter finals and led the way in most of his semi final!  Unfortunately his competitors caught up with him at the finishing line, where the top 7 all placed within a second of each other – with Gary at 7^th position. He will be fighting it out in Final B on Saturday for the Worlds ranking.

Elmari – in her riveting green tights and pink lips – had us on tenterhooks as she was a very strong competitor in her first heat. She placed second in heat 1, taking her straight through to the finals on Saturday. She will be fighting it out at 10:04.

Despite being nudged and pushed out of her lane by another paddler, Evette competed with great grit and speed in her first heat. She placed 5^th, taking her through to the semi finals. Evette showed the same grit and strength in her semi finals but just could not get into that top 4. With a time of 1:19.99 she placed 7^th.

Chiara – our 2021 junior paddler – had tough competition from the get go. Despite this, she held great speed, pace and strength from her first stroke to her last, placing 4^th in her first heat and into the semi finals. Unfortunately she did not make the top 4 in her semi finals, but showed a consistent speed and pace, placing 7^th.

Sinda put up his best efforts when he raced against some of the world’s best in his semi-final, and despite an incredible time of 1:02:39, did not make it to the next round. The open men’s section set some unbelievable times (48 seconds for a sprint!) and new records, relentlessly raising the bar for this already high-powered category.

Day two was incredible and we are sooo ready for day three.

The Sprint finals take place on Saturday morning: Gary at 9am, Elmari at 10 and Chelsea at 11. The inflatable race will follow with Chelsea and Anja doing a 7km course. The technical races will then take place from 14:30-19:20 with Guy, Gary, Rob, Elmari, Evette and Chiara fighting it out.

ICF SUP World Championships 2021: Day 1 of the World Championships in Hungary 

(text by Anja Burger, images by team)

What a day it has been! Our open athletes woke up this morning, knowing that there would be serious game time today. A gruelling 1000m course was set for the technical race – with 7 turns, a full-on sprint pace and an extra 200m sprint or two, as if the race pace was not enough!

Chelsea started with the technical course, and pushed herself into the next round by securing the 5^th position in her first heat. She ended the technical quarter finals with a 7^th position, fighting it out against some of the top female paddlers. In the open men’s race, both our guys competed in the first heat – a gruelling one – where only the first 4 paddlers get selected to compete in the quarter final.

The technical races were followed by sprints for the open men and women. Chelsea took off  in the second heat, placing herself magnificently in 4^th position, causing the team to jump up and down in absolute bliss. She had her quarter final sprint at 16:00, where she paddled an incredible 1:11.42, landing her in 5^th position. Unfortunately only the top 4 make it to the semi-finals but she will still be competing in Final C on Saturday.

Gareth had a gruelling sprint against incredibly strong paddlers. Even with a show-stopping time, he did not qualify for the next round. Well done, Gareth! A time of 1:06.34 should’ve gotten you into that next round!

Sinda had us on the edge of our seats! He started his first heat with power and speed, then to our great distress fell in the water after just 50m. We have never seen anyone get back on his board so quickly, then he went on from last to 3^rd position – securing his place in the quarter final! This race was against the well-known Hungarian paddler, Bruno Hasulyo; the Greek Phaedon Doukas and a Russian paddler, Dmirty Petrov. Sinda paddled his heart out to secure himself in 4^th position. He will be sprinting it out again in the semi finals on Friday, 10 September at 17:20.

The races were followed with an opening ceremony held by the Host’s Organising Committee, with the flags of 31 countries being waved and celebrated. There are 500 participants representing these countries on 5 continents – an amazing feat after the impact of lockdown on the sport in the last 2 years. 

As from tomorrow, the races will be televised on Planet Canoe’s Youtube station: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvSjQnnetuc

Tomorrow, our athletes Gareth, Sinda, Robert, Evette, Gary, Guy, Elmari and Chiara will take off on their long distance courses in the morning. This will be followed by the sprint heats and quarter finals for Guy, Gary, Robert, Elmari, Evette and Chiara as well as Sinda’s semi final for sprints in the afternoon.

Our athletes are so grateful for the incredible support they have been receiving from the members of the whatsapp group. Please keep it going strong!

ICF SUP World Championships 2021: The last day before the start of the World Championships in Hungary

Boards measured, water packs are cold and feet up.

Our athletes spent the day preparing the last details before the start of tomorrow’s races. We could, however, not start the day without handing over Gareth’s blazer, as he could not make the handover in Muizenberg. With a big smile, proud photo – we are ready to take this on as the SA SUP National Team. We then visited the board scrutineer team who measured the boards, and made sure that all the correct stickers were where they should be.

With a paddle and last test of the boards and the water – our athletes are ready to take on the ICF World SUP Championships for 2021!

Chelsea, Gareth and Sinda will compete in the Open Category with the Technical Heats on Thursday morning and the Sprint Heats on Thursday afternoon. The race organisers hosted a Day 1 briefing on zoom where they discussed the last details of the technical and sprint course. Find more information here: https://balaton2021.com 

ICF SUP World Championships 2021: Tuesday, two days until Worlds 

The team is accredited and the boards are booked in for the World Championships.

The event is creeping closer and closer and the streets and water are definitely filling up with paddlers from around the world. A hand shake with Michael Booth, short chat with Connor Baxter, the Grecian and Austrian paddlers cruising alongside our masters women and the juniors testing out their inflatables – it is all becoming real. 

We have received all our boards – a massive thank you to Jorg from the Netherlands who is renting boards to us and transported the boards to Hungary, as well as Chris Taucher, who transported the Fanatic boards to us from Austria. Thank you!! Gareth also arrived today and we are ecstatic to be a full team.