Author Topic: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.  (Read 10092 times)

burchas

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #15 on: October 08, 2018, 02:29:18 PM »
I'm glad APP picked up PPG. I hope they add in a SUP surfing contest like they did in NYC.

Hopefully, maybe that will do the trick and bring the crowd though based on the
NYC beach attendence it doesn’t look promising for APP either...
in progress...

mastman

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #16 on: October 08, 2018, 02:48:02 PM »
I raced both days and this is my fourth Battle/PPG over the years.  I liked this one the best.  As an Open division racer (and not a good one at that), I did not feel like a second-class citizen.  Everything about this year's event was awesome.

After the open race each morning, I headed to my hotel and watched the pros on-line.  The coverage on-line was so much better than what you could see from the beach.  If they had a big screen with the drone footage, I would have stayed on the beach.

The event seemed well attended.  Certainly not as big as past years, but not small by any measure.  One advantage of the smaller crowd size: parking.

My wife asked if we could come back every year and she doesn't even compete or know any of the big names.
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SaMoSUP

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #17 on: October 09, 2018, 08:20:06 AM »
I agree with most of your points mastman. Definitely did not feel like a second class citizen this time around. The event was great overall.

The online coverage has gotten pretty good to the point where why bother going to the beach to watch it in person. However, the coverage can look so exciting that it makes you want to go to the beach. The organizers can milk this dynamic if they're media savvy enough.

Thanks JEG & burchas. I do think adding a SUP surfing contest would be good. It could bridge the gap between SUP surfers and distance paddlers and increase the beach attendance. SoCal has a larger population of SUP surfers than NY area. Plus the fact that the venue is all in Doheny helps. In NYC the contest venues were an hour apart I believe.

Then add in a foil division....there were some guys out there ripping it up. Seems like a good venue for that too. But is it a paddle sport?
« Last Edit: October 09, 2018, 08:22:51 AM by SaMoSUP »

supsean

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #18 on: October 09, 2018, 03:08:08 PM »
Having been excited to see the NYC APP surfing contest, I was a bit disappointed with the event. Partly it was the waves, but also there didn't seem to be anything planned for the enthusiasts. I did enjoy myself, 1/2 because supthecreek showed up with a couple of demo boards, and 1/2 to see the athletes, both male and female, who gave their all into the Long Island Mush. it was a treat seeing those athletes here in NYC, but I wish it was more of an event, with some more planned stuff to bring people in during the day. As a positive, the event was super organized, and being able to see it all live streamed was a treat. Also, I did watch a bunch of it at work, and loved the commentary.

The San Diego Paddlefest looks like an interesting paradigm. I have never gone, but plan to go next year.  Clay Island has a great video of it, and how all the different paddlers got together as happy surf outcasts and shared Aloha, waves and beer (my summation of his video) https://clayisland.com/paddlefest/

Supthecreek said to me while we were watching the pros that this sport is more about the enthusiast than anything else. And generating some energy in this direction should be an events first priority. 
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PonoBill

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #19 on: October 09, 2018, 03:44:28 PM »
I raced both days and this is my fourth Battle/PPG over the years.  I liked this one the best.  As an Open division racer (and not a good one at that), I did not feel like a second-class citizen.  Everything about this year's event was awesome.

I'm very glad to hear that. That particular complaint is kind of leftover from two years ago, when the open class was most definitely treated poorly. The technical race was so short I thought everyone had miscounted. I hesitated and started to head for the next lap buoy but friends yelled at me and got me pointed the right way (head to the beach you idiot!). I lost a few places because I was certain I needed to do another lap. Overall the total focus was on the elite races.  I know the organizers saw us bitching about it here, and made an effort to correct that last year. The problem is that it's hard to get a second chance when you piss people off. That said, I feel like I missed out this year, so if they run it next year, I'm in. I think I have a solid second place finish nailed down in that over 70 group, or I could pick up the pace a bunch and go for first.
« Last Edit: October 09, 2018, 03:46:44 PM by PonoBill »
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TallDude

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #20 on: October 09, 2018, 04:14:53 PM »
I raced both days and this is my fourth Battle/PPG over the years.  I liked this one the best.  As an Open division racer (and not a good one at that), I did not feel like a second-class citizen.  Everything about this year's event was awesome.

I'm very glad to hear that. That particular complaint is kind of leftover from two years ago, when the open class was most definitely treated poorly. The technical race was so short I thought everyone had miscounted. I hesitated and started to head for the next lap buoy but friends yelled at me and got me pointed the right way (head to the beach you idiot!). I lost a few places because I was certain I needed to do another lap. Overall the total focus was on the elite races.  I know the organizers saw us bitching about it here, and made an effort to correct that last year. The problem is that it's hard to get a second chance when you piss people off. That said, I feel like I missed out this year, so if they run it next year, I'm in. I think I have a solid second place finish nailed down in that over 70 group, or I could pick up the pace a bunch and go for first.
If you do Bill, I'll bring my camera a take pictures. I might even race?? We'll see... After that scene is over I'll meet you at SanO then Riders Club:) I've got a new taco spot as well...
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digger71

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #21 on: October 09, 2018, 05:58:44 PM »
The technical race was so short I thought everyone had miscounted.

Looking at the results I don't think they've made it any longer...
Men's 2 mile Open Technical race - 1st place 10:27

SaMoSUP

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #22 on: October 09, 2018, 07:07:23 PM »
The Open tech final with 10:27 winning time was only one lap on the pro course. The main open race beforehand was two laps on a different course set with top times in the 24:00 range. So not so short, just about the right distance.

digger71

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #23 on: October 09, 2018, 09:24:37 PM »
The Open tech final with 10:27 winning time was only one lap on the pro course. The main open race beforehand was two laps on a different course set with top times in the 24:00 range. So not so short, just about the right distance.

Now I see.  The one I saw was the Open Technical Surf Race.  Though they do have it listed in the results as 2 miles sounds like it was just 1.  Guessing the distance course wasn't a full 6 miles either - unless paddlers have gotten a lot faster :)

stoneaxe

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #24 on: October 10, 2018, 09:10:30 AM »
Bummed I never made it out for some of the early ones.
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southwesterly

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #25 on: October 10, 2018, 09:43:29 AM »
   I coulda been a contender.

pdxmike

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #26 on: October 10, 2018, 11:33:15 AM »
   I coulda been a contender.
On the positive side, you still got class and you're not a bum. 

Area 10

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #27 on: October 10, 2018, 03:05:49 PM »
   I coulda been a contender.
On the positive side, you still got class and you're not a bum.
I’ve been told that they are holding the PPG in Palookaville next year. I’m a regular visitor there, so it suits me fine. However I heard that some people find trouble getting back home by train.

TallDude

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #28 on: October 10, 2018, 03:23:30 PM »
   I coulda been a contender.
On the positive side, you still got class and you're not a bum.
I’ve been told that they are holding the PPG in Palookaville next year. I’m a regular visitor there, so it suits me fine. However I heard that some people find trouble getting back home by train.
The trouble with Palookaville is the train station is so small, you have to be exactly in one of the middle two cars to get off the train......
It's not overhead to me!
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SouthCounty

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Re: Battle of the Paddle now and then... Eight years later.
« Reply #29 on: October 10, 2018, 05:37:28 PM »
I volunteered over the weekend for this event, we had over 400 registered participants, it was a great event with what i thought was a pretty good turn out. It got me inspired to race the open class next year. The only bummer was in the womens open tech race, they had 50 going all at once, some girls I talked to feel they need to break that down like they do the  to 12 or 13 per heat mostly because the boards can get damaged and repair isn't cheap. Otherwise I think everything was done very well, and a special shout out to all the volunteers who showed up we RAWK... lol
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