
FourTwentySix: Who are the most consistent paddlers?
(aka the āB-Team World Rankingsā)
Welcome back to the āFourTwentySix,ā the oddly-named new column on SUP Racer that aims to find the āstories behind the statsā by performing deep analysis of the world rankings database.
One of the main goals of the SUP Racer World Rankings is to find the worldās number one paddler. Itās a complex system that uses a lot of algorithms and a lot of results from around the world. There are currently 6000+ paddlers and 100+ events in the system, but underpinning the entire leaderboard is a simple idea: That a paddlerās āBest 5ā results of the year will determine their total world ranking points.
But the āBest 5ā method only tells part of the storyā¦
The current system favours big results more than consistent results. Thatās how Danny Ching held onto a top 15 ranking despite hardly racing at all. Itās the same way that Lincoln Dews, who had a mixed season and only raced seven times (about half as much as his rivals), ranked at the pointy-end of the table. Lincoln had world-class results in China and Paris, which propelled him up the leaderboard, but he didnāt enjoy the consistency (or the regular competition) of some of his rivals.
So I thought it might be interesting to look beyond the āBest 5ā and try to uncover who the most-consistent paddlers of the year were.
And what I came up with is the āB-Team World Rankings.ā
The B-Team World Rankings are an athleteās total points from their 6th-10th best results of the year. It looks beyond the big results and shows how deep they went into the season. And apart from being a fun little statistical sideshow, this B-Team leaderboard (which you can find down below) is the best method Iāve found to objectively measure consistency.
Youāve gotta be consistent, or rather: consistently good, to rank near the top of the B-Team rankings. Athletes who peak at just a few events can still rank high on the SUP Racer World Rankings, but you canāt hide a lean season on the B-Team leaderboard.

Vinni Martins had an uber-consistent season capped off with gold in El Salvador (credit: Sean Evans/@waterworkmedia)
On the leaderboard (which youāll find down below), Iāve included both the āB-Teamā (6th-10th best results of the season) and the āA-Teamā (āBest 5ā results aka the real world rankings). Iāve also added a virtual āBest 10ā points score, which combines the A & B teams into a Super Team. The āBest 10ā is obviously a more accurate ranking than the B-Team (which ignores an athleteās best five performances), but the real question is whether āBest 10ā produces a more accurate ranking than the āBest 5ā system we currently use.
Iāll address that point in a moment, but firstly: Who are the most consistent paddlers of the season?
If I had to hand out an award, Iād say it was Vinni, Titou and Boothy.
Vinni and Titou are the most-prominent movers on the B-Team leaderboard. World number four Titouan was only a fraction of a result from being world number two on the main leaderboard, and according to the stats he had a more consistent year than #3 Bruno and #2 Connor. This is highlighted in both his āB-Teamā score, which is second only behind Boothy, and his āBest 10ā ranking (also #2 by a considerable margin).
Vinniās move up the leaderboard ā heās currently #7 in the world but the Brazilian would be #3 on the āB-Teamā and #5 on the āBest 10ā ā is no surprise either. Vinnicius is both a workhorse and a traveler; he goes to a lot of races and he gets a lot of good results. He still needs to improve by 1-2% to challenge Boothy for the top spot, but Vinni has been nothing if not consistent over the past 12 months (a serious improvement from his earlier years where he was a rollercoaster who would either 3rd or 30th).
Ty Judson is another big mover on the B-Team, jumping +4 to #5. Thatās largely thanks to his endless summer in Europe where he not only raced nearly every weekend but hit the podium nearly every time. Ty also moves +2 to #7 on the āBest 10ā ranking to highlight that heās a genuine contender for the top spots in 2020.
Martin Vitry and Tom Auber also make a big move, each jumping +7 spots on the B-Team leaderboard thanks to their consistent work ethic.
But without a doubt the most impressive athlete is still Michael Booth. His āB-Teamā score is almost as good as Titou/Connor/Brunoās āA-Teamā total, while his combined āBest 10ā is a mammoth 716 points ā more than 200 ahead of Titou and more than double everyone outside the top six. This isnāt just consistency, this is sheer dominance.
Statistically speaking, Boothyās season 2019 was simply extraordinary, and itās yet another sign that heās the worldās best paddler right now (not that we needed any more proof).

King Boothy
The womenās āB-Team World Rankingsā also rewards the workhorses: Susak Molinero (+3) and Amandine Chazot (+4) crack the top four, leapfrogging the athletes that had big results but not a lot of results in season 2019: Seychelle, Sonni and April.
Susak had a breakout year last year, moving from ājourneywomanā to genuine contender in the space of six months. The Spaniard started hitting the podium consistently instead of settling for her usual 4th- or 5th-place finishes. And she was a tireless campaigner. While Susak still hasnāt cracked the top five on the main leaderboard (currently #6), the B-Team rankings highlight her strong work ethic and willingness to travel-to-compete. Iām excited to see what she can do in 2020.
Amandine is a similar story. She does a lot of races and gets a lot of podium spots without the flashy big results of the top three or four women. So while the world rankings only have her pegged at #8, the B-Team leaderboard better highlights Amandineās deep consistency and even deeper talent.
Fiona Wylde easily jumps up to #2 on the āBest 10ā system, leapfrogging Seychelle who had a much shorter season. Interestingly, Fiona even dethroned Olivia on the āB-Teamā leaderboard, however the Frenchwoman is still be world number one under a Best 10 formula.

Amandine Chazot was one of the most-consistent paddlers of the season
While all this talk of āB-Team World Rankingsā is just a bit of unofficial fun, it does raise an interesting question: Should we increase the number of results that count for each athlete in 2020?
The rationale for including āonlyā the best five results was to give every paddler a chance to rank fairly. The more results we count, the harder it is for paddlers to reach the minimum threshold. And itās been ābest 5ā ever since I started the SUP world rankings way back in 2013, so Iām hesitant to change it.
On the flipside, the fewer results we count, the less predictable (and, some would argue, the less accurate) the world rankings become. Because if we only count a few results, it only takes one or two big performances to jump up several spots on the leaderboard. This lessens the value of consistency, which one could argue is a more important criteria.
So, should we reward consistency throughout the season? Or do we keep it easier to reach a minimum number of results?
Iām leaning towards the former ā I feel we should increase the number of counting results.
My thinking is this: There are 6,224 paddlers in the database and only 199 have 5x or more results, so itās already only a tiny percentage that completely fill in their score sheet. Most paddlers are on there simply for recognition, not a top ranking.
Would it make that much of a difference if instead of just 3.2% completing their Best 5, only 2% completed their āBest 7ā or āBest 10ā results? In the overall scheme of things, probably not, but it would reward the athletes who perform all year long against those who peak sporadically.
The other point is that 2020 will have at least twice as many races as 2019 after we add more Regional Paddle Leagues next month, which gives every paddler more opportunities to fill out their score sheet. We could also look at splitting ācombinedā events (separate course/distance race that produce one overall ranking result) into two separate results.
But the most important question is this: Which system is more accurate? āBest 5ā or āBest 10ā? Or perhaps a āBest 7ā or āBest 8ā would be the magic number.
Iāll make a final decision on the World Rankings formula for 2020 this week ā I aim to release the full criteria before the first major race of the season (the GlaGla Race in France on 18 January).
Until then, hereās a quick comparison of āBest 5ā vs āBest 10ā ā scroll down for the full āB-Team World Rankingsā leaderboard.
2019 Menās World Rankings āBEST 5ā
1st: Michael Booth (430.25)
2nd: Connor Baxter (316.58)
3rd: Bruno Hasulyo (314.35)
4th: Titouan Puyo (308.00)
5th: Lincoln Dews (259.23)
6th: Arthur Arutkin (256.43)
7th: Vinnicius Martins (228.63)
8th: Enzo Bennett (223.50)
9th: Ty Judson (216.84)
10th: Casper Steinfath (201.80)
2019 Menās World Rankings āBEST 10ā
1st: Michael Booth (716.00)
2nd: Titouan Puyo (503.21)
3rd: Connor Baxter (461.54)
4th: Bruno Hasulyo (430.87)
5th: Vinnicius Martins (379.68)
6th: Arthur Arutkin (377.49)
7th: Ty Judson (350.99)
8th: Enzo Bennett (331.08)
9th: Lincoln Dews (298.73)
10th: Daniel Hasulyo (293.73)
2019 Womenās World Rankings āBEST 5ā
1st: Olivia Piana (404.00)
2nd: Seychelle (342.50)
3rd: Fiona Wylde (339.50)
4th: Sonni Hƶnscheid (313.88)
5th: April Zilg (301.58)
6th: Susak Molinero (267.08)
7th: Espe Barreras (237.88)
8th: Amandine Chazot (216.25)
9th: Lena Ribeiro (208.65)
10th: Jade Howson (194.58)
2019 Womenās World Rankings āBEST 10ā
1st: Olivia Piana (628.83)
2nd: Fiona Wylde (593.10)
3rd: Seychelle (456.20)
4th: Susak Molinero (449.79)
5th: April Zilg (432.78)
6th: Sonni Hƶnscheid (405.88)
7th: Amandine Chazot (391.88)
8th: Espe Barreras (312.00)
9th: Caterina Stenta (307.33)
10th: Yuka Sato (305.61)
Menās āB-Teamā World Rankings
āB-Teamā = total points from an athleteās 6th-10th best results of the season
āA-Teamā = total points from an athleteās 1st-5th best results of the season (this is the same total points score as the real World Rankings)
āBest 10ā = total points from an athleteās 1st-10th best results of the season
Based on the 2019 SUP Racer World Rankings
Womenās āB-Teamā World Rankings