[VIDEO] Waikiki Paddle Festival (Big names, Big Races, Big $$...)

[SUPracer.]

You've probably heard rumours and whispers about this one for weeks, but now the details are finally out of the bag.

The Waikiki Paddle Festival will be held on May 5th & 6th and it looks like it'll be one of the biggest, most exciting (and most lucrative) SUP races of the year.

Check out Jamie Mitchell and Peter Mel announce the event:



Sounds pretty epic... so who's going??

[blueplanetsurf]

Thanks for this video.  Sounds great, I really like the concept of holding elimination races, should be very exciting for both racers and the crowd on the beach as well as those watching the webcast.  I and am really looking forward to it.  Blue Planet will have a booth on the beach and I'm planning to race, too.  We hope that many of you can make it to the Waikiki Paddle Festival.

[Easy Rider]

Website Here:
Just a place holder for now - but more info up soon.

http://waterman.quiksilver.com/

[SUPracer.]

The official press release will be out in a couple of days and the website/registration will be available from March 20th.

In the meantime you can the main info here (races, formats, etc)

http://www.supracer.com/waikiki-paddle-festival-jamie-mitchell-video-announcement/

I'll post the main stuff below...

[SUPracer.]

Waikiki Paddle Festival

Dates: 5th-6th May 2012

Location: Waikiki, Hawaii

Races:
- Survivor Format Race (the main event)
- Open Race
- Hawaii Kai Run (long distance)
- Male and female divisions in all races
- plus events for OC-1, OC-6 and Prone Paddleboarders

Prize Money: Still to be decided, but we’re hearing it could be $30,000 plus..!

Webcast: YES

TV: Oceanic Cable in Hawaii

[SUPracer.]

Here's more info on the new Waikiki Paddle Festival "Survivor" Format.

This is going to be the main event, sort of like the Battle of the Paddle Elite Race, but with a cool new format.


Survivor Format Race

Everything depends on the numbers, but there’s most likely going to be 2x Qualifying Heats in the morning and a Multi-Race Final in the afternoon. Both men and women will be on 12'6" boards.

Here's how the format works...

Let's say there's 120x paddlers in the Men’s Race:

- 2x Qualifying Heats with 60 paddlers each
- Each heat is 2x laps of an M-shaped course (roughly 30 minutes race time)
- Top 25 from each heat go through to the final

So then the Top 50 paddlers would be through to the Multi-Race Final, which is the really cool part of this whole event...

With 50 paddlers qualified for the final, the Multi-Race Final would look something like this:

- Five consecutive 1x lap races (roughly 10-15 minutes each)
- All 50 paddlers would line up in Race #1
- Top 40 go through to Race #2, bottom 10 are eliminated
- Five minutes after the winner of Race #1 crosses the finish line, Race #2 begins (no matter when all the other paddlers finish)

So if you finish in 40th place in Race #1 you’ll be the last paddler to qualify for Race #2.

If you finish 4 minutes 30 seconds behind the winner, you’ll have 30 seconds to get ready for the next race. Sounds tough, but that’s why it’s called the Survivor…

- This knockout format continues with 10 paddlers being eliminated from each race. So Race #1 = 50 paddlers, Race #2 = 40 paddlers, Race #3 = 30 paddlers, etc.

- This non-stop action keeps going until there are just 10 paddlers left standing before Race #5. The winner of that race is the Survivor Format Race Champion.

- To mix things up, there’s going to be overall prize money plus bonus cash prizes for each individual race.

[SUPracer.]

Here's the course for the Survivor Format Race.

- There will be no run leg in between laps for the Qualifying Heats (2x lap races). You'll simply paddle between buoy #5 and #1 to start your 2nd lap.

- You will have to run up the beach to finish though.

- The start will be "Le Mans" style. You'll be standing on the shoreline next to your board, then once the gun goes you'll run up the beach to grab your paddle, then back down to the shore to grab your board and start paddling.

- It'll be an uneven "M" shaped course.

-- The first buoy will be out in the waves, just to add a bit more action (and carnage).

-- The 3rd buoy will be pretty close to the shore to get the spectators close to the action.

- Qualifying Heats will be 2x lap races (25-30 minutes each) while each race of the Final will be 1x lap.

[pdxmike]

The format could make for some interesting strategy decisions for the top paddlers.  Your time and finish place is meaningless until the final heat, as long as you don't get eliminated.   So there's no benefit to winning or placing high until the final heat, other than the fact that you get some more rest.  So do you just go fast enough to avoid elimination, knowing that you get a bit less rest, but you don't have to work as hard?  And since it's always 10 people that get cut, each heat has a higher percentage of people being eliminated--lots of pressure.

It's more like a playoff system vs. a stage race, since nobody's keeping track of your times until the last heat.  Could be fun to watch as the intensity increases with each heat.  I'm curious what the racers think of this format.   

[catdailey]

Sounds like a miss and out in speedskating and cycling at the velodrome, 'cept we didn't get any breaks, just kept going on laps... last peeps were just flagged off the course and the race kept going 

[SUPracer.]

The format could make for some interesting strategy decisions for the top paddlers...

Yeah for sure, I think that'll actually be one of the coolest parts of the race - seeing how hard the top guys & girls go in the earlier elimination rounds.

Though there will be *some* incentive to win each of the Survivor races... there's going to be prize money on offer for each individual elimination race, as well as an overall prize purse.

So yeah, there's going to be plenty of interesting strategies from the top guys I think.

No matter what happens though, sounds like there will be plenty of action for everyone watching

[PT Woody]

Thanks for the updates Chris. This format is the best thing to happen to SUP BOP racing. I think we might try it out at a club event in a couple of weeks.

[Easy Rider]

Looks like I am making the trek over from the frozen north to warm up a bit.

Hope to see some "zoners" there.

[SUPracer.]

Registration is now open!

http://waterman.quiksilver.com/

[SUPracer.]

Course maps...

[Easy Rider]

Any one going to this event?
I'll be over on Friday.