PPG

[SUPflorida]

I'm I missing something? Don't see any video associated with that link that's more than a couple of minutes of highlights...And part of that's some guy strumming a guitar and people browsing through a t-shirt rack...anywhere else to see the footage of Kai & Connor?

[NEplay]

http://ppg.supthemag.com/video/watch-day-2-webcast/

go to 2:11:00

[SUPflorida]

Thanks NEPlay...uh? I was't there..,but from what I see on the video Connor runs over the top of Kai...from behind...and Kai's called out for unsportsmanlike behavior? Someone's moral compass is in need of re-calibration...

[starman]

Kai certainly deserved the penalty. He's the only one looking back instead of forward as he rounds the mark and makes a point to kick Conner's board causing him to fall. There was a lot of contact between boards at that turn but Kai is the only one who makes an effort to boot a fellow racer who is BEHIND him. Now that's SUP racing worth watching! Nice job by the race officials to make the call instead of ignoring the foul.

Is the pressure of having to perform to keep his sponsors happy getting to the young Kai Lenny?

[kayadogg]

Thanks NEPlay...uh? I was't there..,but from what I see on the video Connor runs over the top of Kai...from behind...and Kai's called out for unsportsmanlike behavior? Someone's moral compass is in need of re-calibration...

Kai's kick was blatant but I wouldn't consider it malicious. He was doing what he needed to do in order to make sure Connor's board didn't get between his legs or trip him up. There was a protest issued after the race but they didn't say by who or what the protest was about. We can assume it was related to this but only the officials know. Buoy turns like that require a paddler to do anything they can to make it around as quickly and efficiently as possible while staying on their feet but obviously not to the point of intentionally making someone fall. I took that kick more as a, hey I'm not going to let your board get between my legs or ride up on my tail. Rubbing is racing, right?  I think it stemmed from the Kai/Connor issues from last year, including the handle grab, and they wanted to make an attempt to squash that kind of behavior.

I think the PPG is going to release a clarification that there are two types of unsportsmanlike conduct, one that penalizes a racer by invoking a time penalty and one that disqualifies a racer.

[SUPcheat]

I can see why the racing board guys and gals spend so much time surfing their big boards around Sharks. Buoy turns and waves are the areas where they either make or break the race in terms of time and lead lost.

[NEplay]

cheatah-surfing a raceboard also super fun. Not sure why exactly but it is.

[Tom]

It took me several  attempts to see the Kai/Conner incident even knowing it was at 2:11:00. I think the judges may have singled them out because of what happened last year. There is so much going on at every crowded buoy turn I find it suspicious that the judges would find that one incident and no others. 

[kayadogg]

It took me several  attempts to see the Kai/Conner incident even knowing it was at 2:11:00. I think the judges may have singled them out because of what happened last year. There is so much going on at every crowded buoy turn I find it suspicious that the judges would find that one incident and no others.

Again, I personally think this is what the protest was about but am just assuming, nothing has been released that says who protested or what the protest was about. It does seem to be the type of thing that would only be noticeable if someone brought it to the officials attention and then they reviewed the footage.

[corrego]

I saw Kai's kick and it is pretty evident. I thought it was common though in this kind of races.

[Easy Rider]

From the video - it doesn't appear that there is any way that Connor's board is going to go between Kai's legs. 

[starman]

LOT'S of contact between paddlers at the buoy turns. In the case of Kai he's the only one that felt the need to kick away a competitors board. The inside paddler Brennan Rose has a board in his chest and you don't see him pushing it away. Considering it was Conner's board does not help Kai's cause. No other paddler in that sequence felt the need to shove the paddler next to them to get clear. There were lots of crashes (see Moe getting taken out by Danny on that turn) but I could not see anyone other then Kai trying to gain advantage by knocking someone off their board.

Good race for sure and the good video feed makes for even better post race discussion.

[Bulky]

A really fun weekend.  As far as the Kai thing, I remember seeing it from the beach and thinking it was pretty aggressive but perhaps only a bit more blatant than some of the other maneuvering.  Conner is pretty aggressive (as are most of them) but he seems to have an uncanny ability to accelerate.  On at least a couple pack waves approaching buoys, he would come from the middle and take a pretty aggressive line pinching in on other racers--leading to major wipeouts which sometimes included him.  Sure, it wasn't kicking another rider's board but he certainly knew what the outcome was going to be.

In any case, I happened to be sitting on the beach near the Naish/Starboard tents and sure didn't seem like there was any great animosity between them.  As a whole, I was very impressed with the pros--a pretty enthusiastic positive bunch who race hard but seem pretty stoked for each other.

As for my own experience, having only done a few local races it was pretty fun to be out there with such a huge group of paddlers.  Given the conditions, I was happy just to survive.  Was pleased with a couple aspects of both races and laughing some of the bonehead mistakes I made.  Biggest one was on the distance race--after watching the pros unleash while riding waves in to the beach at the finish on Saturday, I caught a nice one in at the end of the distance race with a rider on either side.  Zipped the cuff off and then the wave broke down heavy and took all three of us out.  My board was gone and I guess I was a little on the early side with the unleash--cost me about 3min to swim in about 75yds as I was getting pounded by set waves. 

My biggest regret was that we didn't establish a good Zoner meeting point.  Met Pono in the parking lot and saw him at the start but then didn't see him the rest of the day.  Met Capo at the ULI tent but other than that didn't know who was who. Had fun meeting people anyway.

Someone commented already on the race length.  Distances for both races were off considerably but ended up being the same length.  Technical was supposed to be 3mi, my GPS had it at about 4.5.  Distance was supposed to be 6mi, my GPS read 4.8mi. 

My only other complaint would be about participation in the demo zone.  Hats off to the manufacturers that participated (Hobie, Riviera, SIC, Lahui Kai, Uli as I recall) but I was hoping to paddle more performance brands (Naish, Starboard, Infinity, Bark, etc).  Wasn't really interested in lots of the more entry-level/inflatables that were there.  I realize there's expense involved, but as this is positioned to be among the premiere SUP events it'd be good to have the industry leaders strongly supporting it.  Since the announcers kept talking about the Manufacturers' Challenge, it would be good to make a booth in the Demo Zone a requirement to be in the running for this. 

Other than that, a great time.  Nice goodie bags.  Nice touch providing lunch for all the competitors both days.  Inspiring to watch the elites do what they do and also fun that they create opportunities for the regular joes to get out there.

[stoneaxe]

Watching the video makes this a must do for me. So jealous. Looked like a blast.

[Paddleboy]

New to the forum and standup paddling. Pleased to be here.

I just finished watching quite a bit of the streaming content and was very impressed with the event. In fact, I jumped right into a Columbus Day weekend 2016 hotel reservation at the DoubleTree across the street from Doheny. My wife (who doesn't paddle) even said it would be a solid fall vacation. Looked to be a first rate event.

Reading the thread, I think there are a few things I'd be disappointed with however if they remain the same.

1) The races just can't be the same distance. If I were to train for this event and try to enter an age group race, only to find that the distance race was a 4mi shorty and surfing skills determined many of the places, well, let's just say I can't train for four-footers in southwest Oklahoma. Hopefully they fix that next year.

2) The demo area has to have all the players. Shipping SUP's is hard obviously. But how many of the missing companies (Surftech Bark, Naish, Starboard) are located on the west coast? Other than the folks living in SUP heavy areas like SoCal, the Gorge, Hawaii, etc., just hopping on a new Bark Vapor isn't really happening. But coming to the premier event in the sport should mean I have access to as much as possible. That is unless surf expo wants to start selling tickets to civilians for less than a G. :-)

The beauty of our sport is its accessibility. Making the PPG the most approachable event for new and experienced, young and old, could be pretty cool.