SUP, Paddleboard Technical Races Plus Team Relay Finalists Decided for ISA World StandUp Paddle and Paddleboard Championship Presented by Hotel Kupuri
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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