Battle of the Paddle organisers have upped the prize money for this year’s race ever so slightly, with line honours bonuses for both men and women in the Distance Race pushing the total prize purse of the world’s most lucrative SUP race to a new level.

The final prize purse at the 2013 Battle of the Paddle will stand at $26,950, after an extra $1,750 was added to the Distance Race. Traditionally it’s been set at $25k, which has been a benchmark many other events have strived to match (but which none have exceeded) over the past five years.

The BOP set the standard for SUP racing by going big right from the start, with the $25,000 on offer back in 2008 an unheard of amount that still hasn’t been beaten to this day. However the SUP racing world is changing fast and right now we know of at least four events in the works for next year that will have north of $25k up for grabs (one event, to be officially announced next week, will boast $50,000). But for now the Battle still holds the crown and with the latest addition to the purse has made it that little bit harder for other events to overtake it.

Here’s the breakdown…

2013 Rainbow Sandals Battle of the Paddle PRIZE MONEY

Men’s Elite Race
1st: $5,000
2nd: $3,000
3rd: $2,000
4th: $1,000
5th: $500
TOTAL: $11,500

Women’s Elite Race
1st: $3,000
2nd: $1,500
3rd: $1,000
4th: $500
5th: $250
TOTAL: $6,250

Men’s Distance Race
1st: $1,500
2nd: $1,000
3rd: $500
TOTAL: $3,000

Women’s Distance Race
1st: $1,250
2nd: $750
3rd: $350
TOTAL: $2,350

Elite Team Relay
1st: $1,200
2nd: $600
3rd: $300
TOTAL: $2,100

Distance Race Line Honours (regardless of class/division)
1st male over the line: $1,000
1st female over the line: $750
TOTAL: $1,750

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TOTAL PRIZE PURSE: $26,950
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So if one guy can make a clean sweep (Elite, Elite Distance, Distance Line Honours, Team Relay) they’d walk away with $7,800 on Sunday afternoon.

The bonus of $1,000 for the first guy and $750 for the first girl over the line, respectively, will add an interesting dynamic to the Distance Race. Based on past years’ performances the line honours guy will be probably be an Unlimited while the first girl over the line will probably be a paddler from the Elite 14 foot division. So with separate cash prizes for both the Elite division as well as the overall victory up for grabs, this could lead to the fastest female scoring a double win and bonus prize money. For example if results from last year are repeated next week, the 2013 Battle of the Paddle Distance Race prize money breakdown will look like this:

Rob Rojas: $1,000 (line honours)
Danny Ching: $1,500 (winner of the Elite 14′ division)
Annabel Anderson: $2,000 ($1,250 for being the Elite 14′ winner + $750 for line honours)

So there you go, if the leading Elite lady can beat out her Unlimited rivals she’ll lay claim to the biggest cash prize of the race.