Racing Classes

[noa]

one theory i have about size, is that on a downwinder, the length and even rockerline of the board, should fit the shape of the waves it's riding. does that make sense to anyone else ?

[J.Riggs]

I've been racing SUP since 2005, starting my first race with a 12'0" Ron House. Since then I've progressed to a 12'6" Bill Foote race board. I like the idea of having a board under 13' - 14' representing the "stock" class. The smaller boards are more affordable, getting more people involved. They are easier to manage, store, and travel with. I'd like the other classes to include "Elite w/ rudder," "Elite no rudder," these boards being over 13'-14'. It doesn't seen fair that a competitor disable his rudder and have a considerably larger board and still be in the "stock" class.

Paddleboarders seem to have the classes dialed. It is simply stock 12' and unlimited (over 12', mostly with rudders). Due to the progression of the sport, there are so many options and sizes to choose from when racing SUP. This debate will probably continue for a while to come. I think the debate for the stock class will be the hardest to nail down. As you can see I am undecided between 13' and 14'. It would be nice to know so that when we order our new SUPs we know which class we will be representing.

[Admin]

Dfresh sent over these proposed rules (note: the pdf is two pages, so be sure to scroll down).

 www.standupzone.com/SUP_ Racing_ Rules_ 2008.pdf

[Admin]

...and a set of ISA rules (as posted by Evan at http://www.standuppaddlesurf.net/):


http://www.standuppaddlesurf.net/2008/08/03/international-surfing-assoc-sup-rules-7-10-08/

[longboarder1973]

Add another vote for a surf SUP class.  I was in the Hobie event this weekend and it seems that there are plenty of us who dont have the means to go get a racing board.  Hopefully the Battle of the Paddle will even the playing field a little bit with all of the turns over the course of the 3 laps.

[Big Island Mike]

This seems right on 

http://www.standupzone.com/SUP_%20Racing_%20Rules_%202008.pdf

I talked to Mike Takahashi the day after the Molo race and he supports this format. It will be official real soon. Gangini pushed the envelope this year with the 13' stock at the Maliko race, pissed off a lot of people and made it obvious that there HAS to be conformity. It will happen very soon.

[Southbay]

Also, who are the primary movers behind SUP racing? I can think of Hennessey, C4, Quicksilver and
Surftech...are there others?

Thanks,
g

Don't forget Joe Bark!

[Admin]

Just a thought, but I think it would be very cool to have a single downwind race (this should not be mistaken for a suggestion to be applied to all races) that has no classes. 

Every rider shows up on the board that he/she thinks he/she goes fastest on.  That's it.  If you think a rudder makes you faster, bring one, if you think that a 14 footer is going to be better than 12 or 18, then bring it. 

At least one race should be run this way.