stories about paddling
2025 became the first year that the iconic Devizes to Westminster canoe race finally invited stand up paddleboarders to race. This nearly 125 mile race has been running for canoes and kayaks since 1948, but the race organisers have recently recognised that it's time for the race to evolve.
After a few too many why-is-their-board-between-my-legs moments and controversial DQs during the technical racing at ICF worlds in November, a new rule may bring clarity to who has right of way at buoy turns.
In a flurry of rule changes for 2025, the new One Design mandate for SUP juniors was dropped like a lead balloon. All juniors, athletes under age 18, will be required to use a single “One Design” hard board for SUP at ICF competitions. Their stated reasoning? Accessibility. But athletes are conc
The 2025 sprint season kicked off last weekend in a pool in Dusseldorf. An indoor pool may not sound like the most exciting location for a race, but the SUP event made a splash as part of the larger Düsseldorf Boat Show. And really, in January, where could be better for the athletes than a toasty w
Forty-eight hours after the race started on a beautiful but breezy Saturday morning, the wind was picking up at Nathan Benderson Park in Sarasota, Florida. It had already been the windiest, coldest Last Paddler Standing ever: when temperature dropped to 50°F (10°C) on the first night, strong racer
What a weekend! By most measures (every measure except for DQs and beach starts, perhaps), the ICF SUP World Championships in Sarasota, Florida was a success. 2024 has been a pretty good year for world championships, and with most (not all) top names attending both the ISA and ICF events, it looks l
9 SUP and prone paddle boarders started the inaugural Thames 200 Ultra. 4 finished. Gavin Symonds set a new record for fastest SUP of the Thames: 29 hours 19 minutes. What was the race like, and could it really be the UK's answer to SUP 11 Cities?
James Fletcher aka “that prone guy" is the type of person who looks at the craziest endurance challenges for stand up paddle boarders and thinks, “I can do that prone.” And then he does. He's set records before, but 200 km down the Thames is like nothing he's ever done - will he pull it off?
"I can do anything now." Devizes to Westminster (DW) is Britain's oldest and most iconic "type 2 fun" ultra paddling race.