Standup Zone Forum
Stand Up Paddle => Downwind and Racing => Topic started by: surf4food on February 21, 2019, 06:12:11 PM
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There hasn't been a new post since December 7.
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Maybe they attacked Perle Mesta?
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Chris Parker is at Paddle League on FB
I don't know if this is a change up, or what.... but he is active on Paddle League page.
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I'm guessing close shop supracer and focus on paddle league.
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Still looking forward for Paddle League to announce the "2019 Paddle League schedule in early December". <cough, cough>
OK, it's winter (up here) and maybe nice warm summer (down there) and we all know rest is good for us...
I'm having fun. Hope boss man is too.
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Maybe realized there is no real money to be made in the tiny space of
sup racing and decided to throw in the towel?
If that's the case there is a long running thread here on the
subject, someone send Chris a link so he can get some inspiration ;D
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http://www.supracer.com/burnt-out
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http://www.supracer.com/burnt-out
I have a lot of time for Christopher and had some good exchanges with him over the years but it was this line in that post I found most telling:
"It happened almost overnight. The industry suddenly woke up and realised there wasn’t nearly as much money in SUP as everyone thought–especially not in the tiny niche of racing that I was solely focused on."
That's so true. In the UK, most brands have downscaled their ambassadors or team sizes. Many of us are leaving the sport. Hell, I'm planning on selling several of my race boards off shortly to buy a nicer surfski. I'm doing one more race shortly and then I'm not sure if/when I'll race SUP again.
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Those who love paddling and couldn’t give a toss about competing (which is 95% of SUPers) will carry on as before, and those who love competing more than paddling will leave. It was always like that though. How many people who used to win races when the sport started are still competing? If they really loved paddling they still would be. So, I don’t think anything much changed, except that for a very short time brands put some money into racing.
I couldn’t care less: Today I scored clean overhead perfection and 500 metre rides. Had the entire break to myself. It was the warmest February day on record, in bright sunshine. I was SUP surfing that same break 12 years ago (and surfing it for 25 years before that), and if I’m still alive I’ll be doing it in 2032. Who is gonna be racing for 25 years? Unless you are a professional athlete, racing is just something you’ll do for a short while. But get someone hooked on surfing, downwinding, foiling, White Water, maybe even adventure touring, and you have an addict for life, updating his or her gear at regular intervals. And you can build up brand loyalties over that time too - although it would be easier if the brands worked harder to give us good products at good prices by re-thinking their distribution models and using more modern technology. Maybe without the crazy-quick change cycle that racing has encouraged, we might actually start to get that too. So there may actually be positives to the attenuation of racing within the sport of SUP.
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Those who love paddling and couldn’t give a toss about competing (which is 95% of SUPers) will carry on as before, and those who love competing more than paddling will leave. It was always like that though. How many people who used to win races when the sport started are still competing? If they really loved paddling they still would be. So, I don’t think anything much changed, except that for a very short time brands put some money into racing.
I couldn’t care less: Today I scored clean overhead perfection and 500 metre rides. Had the entire break to myself. It was the warmest February day on record, in bright sunshine. I was SUP surfing that same break 12 years ago (and surfing it for 25 years before that), and if I’m still alive I’ll be doing it in 2032. Who is gonna be racing for 25 years? Unless you are a professional athlete, racing is just something you’ll do for a short while. But get someone hooked on surfing, downwinding, foiling, White Water, maybe even adventure touring, and you have an addict for life, updating his or her gear at regular intervals. And you can build up brand loyalties over that time too - although it would be easier if the brands worked harder to give us good products at good prices by re-thinking their distribution models and using more modern technology. Maybe without the crazy-quick change cycle that racing has encouraged, we might actually start to get that too. So there may actually be positives to the attenuation of racing within the sport of SUP.
The thing that started the rot for me was my recent experience with the light signature board. Forget the performance for a minute. It was the kayak-like solid build and light weight that did it for me - I remember looking back at my less than year old allstar which looked like it had been in a war and just thought “our equipment is poorly made, stupidly fragile, too heavy and companies just treat us like we’re idiots”. I then went and ordered myself a new racing inflatable for training and then planned to sell most of my other boards off. Maybe I had too much sugar today......
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thanks, Chris for the supracer show, reset and rest up dude.
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http://www.supracer.com/burnt-out
That’s a really good article. I did wonder how he managed to do it all and still have a life. I felt worn out just reading it. I hope he can find a way to balance it all going forward because he’s a talented guy and has given us all a huge amount of entertainment over the years.
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I then went and ordered myself a new racing inflatable for training and then planned to sell most of my other boards off.
Now you are at risk to be called full of hot air.... :-)
Racing and inflatable, you must be a masochist.
What about , I ordered a downwind board and hooked-up with some friends to shuttle :-)
https://www.facebook.com/arne.gutmann/videos/pcb.10161394717585366/10161394704695366/?type=3&theater (https://www.facebook.com/arne.gutmann/videos/pcb.10161394717585366/10161394704695366/?type=3&theater)
That is what a wintery Sunday should look like:
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Or if there is not much wind (just ignore the crowds :-) :
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I guess this answers my question: http://www.supracer.com/burnt-out/
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And two new posts since: http://www.supracer.com/