An effort to get the winter blues out of our paddlers and get SUPS onto the water, grew into a much bigger event than we ever thought possible!

The Winter Warrior challenge went countrywide, involving experienced and beginner paddlers alike, all of them churning out 5km laps around a number of buoys each week.

The points system was based on position, time AND attendance, just to level the challenge up a bit. This meant that even the usual speedsters had to actually be there each week to earn points – not just arrive once in a while to beat the pack. A valuable example of the rewarding factor of consistency was set by this process.

The Winter Warrior challenge took place across the country – the images above show the venues: Durban Canals, Dabulamanzi Canoe Club in Gauteng, Waterfront Canals in Cape Town, and East London’s Nahoon Valley venue. In the process, paddlers earned some valuable technical skills by doing multiple buoy turns and improved their SUP fitness, all while racing to beat their own times each week.

Racing and social categories were set up, which allowed paddlers with both race boards and regular SUPS to take part in a group that suited their capabilities and equipment. Some people did so well that they need to upgrade categories in the next event!

The final prizes were customised event paddling shirts for the top 5 in each category, and medals for those who had completed 3 or more out of the 7 allocated sessions. There’s no prize more valuable than one that has been earned! 

A single “Spirit of Winter Warrior” rash vest prize was awarded to our paddler in East London. Jonathan managed to motivate himself to paddle each session solo – in winter – and maintained his place in the top 3! Inspiring stuff Jonathan!  

We added a single “catch-up session” at the very end of the series for those who had missed out due to life’s inevitable curveballs, and a few took advantage of this to shave a few seconds off their PB’s.

Our two junior girls in Cape Town, were rewarded with medals and mini-merch t-shirts for their stellar efforts as absolute beginners! In the future, we hope to add a junior division so that paddlers can bring their kids along to help us grow the sport!

The results of the national challenge were tabulated and released each week, with a growing anticipation as to who would be the overall winner. Durban really rose to the challenge, with a large group of paddlers taking part each Saturday morning. Gauteng, as small as their group was, even had some late entrants who enjoyed it so much that they carried along to the very end.

Here are the results for the Racing and Social categories:

Should you wish to enquire about getting involved in this sport or joining our events, please contact us at supsasecretary@gmail.com.

At the end of the season, the participants were all in agreement that it was a worthwhile series, and we are happy to carry it over as an annual challenge.

You have been forewarned – prepare yourself now for next year’s Winter Warrior Time Trial Challenge. It will be fierce, but fabulous!   

The Berg & Vlei classic – a spectacular weekend-long SUP competition which turned into a mini-reunion!

The Berg and Vlei Classic spanned two days, showcasing Cape Town’s vibrant Stand-Up Paddle (SUP) community with a mix of surf and flatwater competitions. Day one kicked off with an exciting SUP Surf competition at Muizenberg, a popular SUP surf spot. On day two, the action moved to the flatwater venue for a series of races. The event’s name, “Berg and Vlei,” reflects these two iconic locations, both cherished by Cape Town’s SUP paddlers. This year’s Classic brought together competitors and fans for an unforgettable celebration of SUP sports across diverse settings.

In attendance were some paddlers from bygone days who came out of their self-imposed exile to churn up some serious wave riding scores, just as if they’d always been in the business. This was especially noticeable in the SURF OPEN MEN’s division, where we had some champs from previous years competing against each other: Henco Scholtz (SA SUP Team 2018), Dylan Frick (SA SUP Team from 2013-2019), Tom King (SA SUP Team 2015-2023), Gary van Rooyen (SA SUP Team 2017, 2021) and Jethro Johnson (SA SUP Team 2023). It was a real feast of SUP surf on display! The judges were lapping it all up, saying “This is what we want to see… it’s ticking all the boxes!”

Rarely does a weekend competition have predictable weather – but this time, the weather could not have been better on both competition days!

Sunday rolled in as a dazzling day on the Zandvlei canals and the paddlers warmed up with the ladies and gents’  technical races. After a short break,they undertook a variety of longer distances ranging from 5km, 10km or even the brave 15km route for those looking to qualify for the ISA World champs later in the year. 

Two local Prone athletes – also previous achievers, joined in the mix for a chance to earn some points towards ISA world champs team qualifications. As can be seen by the images to follow, it was better to not get in their way!

Our sponsors, Olympic and Race food – were more than generous with incredible gifts of apparel and edibles for every spot in the rankings.

In addition we held a late handover of the SUPSA President’s award. This floating trophy was awarded earlier in the year to our SUP athlete Jethro Johnson for his contribution towards the growth of SUP in his hometown in the Eastern Cape.

Should you wish to enquire about getting involved in this sport or joining our events, please contact us at supsasecretary@gmail.com.

An old favourite was revived this year, with the return of SUP racing to the Century City Sports Festival –  a weekend full of active and competitive fun in all sporting disciplines.

During the SUP DASH event, we also held a “learn to SUP” programme.

The race results are detailed in the table below:

Should you wish to enquire about getting involved in this sport or joining our events, please contact us at supsasecretary@gmail.com.

Race report by Faz Perin, 10km SUP paddler….

This year’s entry to the event was seamless!

The West Coast Canoe Club kept us up to date via their Facebook page with all the relevant info and routes, and the registration on the morning was quick and efficient.

The weather was  great for the event – sunny with a cool breeze.  It ensured a good workout, paddling against the wind and tide simultaneously, and the breeze was a great relief.

The new course for the 10km race this year was the best one so far, and the wind conditions allowed us the opportunity to explore the river on both sides of the bridge.

As always, the “West Coast Gees” that comes with this race is phenomenal! Paddling with so many contestants all enjoying the water and the sport, is a sweet satisfaction that brings happiness. The support from fellow paddlers on the water, as well as residents in the bay, is heart warming and much appreciated.

The prize giving is always good fun with loads of incredible prizes with Appliance City as the main sponsor for the lucky draw.

This year I was the lucky winner of a beaut of a steam iron. Now, I just need to teach my my kids how to use it!

The results for all paddlers are in the images below:

Thanks to the SUPSA organisers, Etienne Laubscher from WCCC, Oscar Chalupsky for an inspirational talk, as well as all the organisers and sponsors to make this event a fabulous start to a new year of paddling. Thank you!

Paddling is for all ages and stages of life. Don’t be afraid to join the local SUP events. It’s not about winning. 

Stand-up paddling is about leisure and fun, connecting with other water-loving folk, and spending time out in nature, which is rejuvenating every time! 

This year SUPSA plans to focus on social paddling, so get ready to come and join us. No matter what board, no matter what your age. If you can swim, you can paddle with us. Bring your friends and family too!

Keep an eye on our calendar link below for the social events. 

SUPSA 2024 calendar

For more Velddrif 2024 race images, click to view our Facebook race album:

http://StandUpPaddlingSA on FB race images

While we were sleeping…. The SA SUP Team tackled the ICF WORLD SUP Championships in Pattaya, Thailand!

On the other side of the world (generally at around 3am our time) our little team from South Africa was taking on some of the biggest names in the ICF World SUP Championships! In average daily temperatures of 33º Celsius, a humidity level of 80%, and the water temperature being 22º C, they were often drained by the tropical heat before their races had even started! They said it was like living in a sauna, so post-race recovery took place daily at the hotel pool.

Junior athlete, Chiara Vorster, achieved a 1st place in the B Final sprints against girls her age who get to compete regularly on the international circuit, and have access to the latest equipment.  She also achieved a 5th place in the final A of the Junior Women’s technical race and an admirable 11th place in the 10km Long Distance Junior Women’s race! We can see her success story is just beginning!

Our well-known SUPer star, Tarryn King, decided to join as a last-minute entry, and heads home with a 3rd place bronze medal in the Open Women’s sprint section, where she is a well-esteemed competitor. After a great progression through all the heats of the Open Women’s technical series, Tarryn sadly suffered a bad fall at the start of the B final. Never one to give up, she fought her way back to finish with an 11th place.

Gareth, our men’s 40+ long distance athlete, also did extremely well in gruelling windy conditions, and finished with an 18th place out of 67, when a good chunk of the athletes who registered did not even start the race. He commented that his South African coastal downwind training stood him in good stead for the less-than-perfect side wind conditions they experienced on the day.

Our SUPSA president, Anja, who is also the SA team manager, decided to test the racing waters herself this year. She gained a 5th place in her first Open sprint heat, and a 21st placing in the inflatables section. Well done for tackling the racing from both sides of the story! Now she truly understands how tough the racing field is, and what her athletes go through.

Chris Couve is a former SA team paddler who now resides in Bangkok as he works for Starboard. He completed the sup inflatable race, ending 21st in a strong Open Men’s contingent.

One of the joys of racing are the friendships and connections formed with other paddlers. This year, our team found two former South Africans paddling under other nationalities as they have been living abroad for many years.

Holger Hassenpflug now resides in Austria and paddles in the 50+ men’s category. His results were as follows:
– 9th in inflatable race
– 9th overall in Sprint 50+ men
– 6th overall in Technical 50+ men

Marlene Bergh, who now resides in New Zealand, paddles with the 50+ women, and she placed as follows:
– 2nd overall in Technical 50+ women
– 6th overall in Long Distance 50+ women
– 3rd overall in Sprint 50+ women

It’s wonderful to see South Africans able to flourish wherever they may go! We will keep our eyes on these folk and support them too!

We salute our local group – a small team, but they made massive efforts that were certainly not unnoticed. Despite the always-looming obstacles of a very high exchange rate, difficulty finding new boards locally, and limited exposure to large SUP events of this stature, they placed more than respectably in their events.   Those that do travel as often as they can, know that it comes at a huge financial cost, massive travel overlay times, and personal sacrifice in order to train sufficiently, and yet, they successfully triumphed over all of these hurdles. We wish them safe travels home and all the best as they prepare for their future SUP events.

All images courtesy of the Planet Canoe Facebook page.