Surf Slalom

[Admin]

Way back when there was a thread here which asked for ideas about a great SUP event.  One of the suggestions was a race that focused on out and back runs through the surf line.  After checking out BOP Hawaii this past weekend we got to talking about this again.  BOP is a very cool event and the production itself is astounding.  One thing that I had not realized, however, is that the course races are primarily flat water races.  The few wave sections were pretty far from sight and made up only few minutes in an hour and a half long race.  Also, due to the width of the course, most of the race was out of sight unless you were on the move.  

It seems like there is still an opportunity to do a more surf-line oriented race.  Bill Foote brought up the Ho'okipa windsurfing Surf Slalom events that used to be run on Maui.  Bouys set up just inside and just outside the break so that the course sawtooths for a few hunderd yards down the break and then ends (all right in front of the crowd and only a few hundred feet out).  Run it in small, short heats (maybe 4-8 racers in a heat that would likely take 10 minutes each) and like a wave contest, the winners move on.  Seems way more spectator oriented and certainly more action packed.  

[southwesterly]

Some of the best remembered windsurf contests at Waddell Creek were the surf-slalom in and out through the waves.
Easy to figure who wins and moves on, and a perfect spectator race. Weeds out the one-trick ponies too. Great idea.

[bigdom]

plenty of practice for surf slalom on a busy weekend
trying to snake around foamies, boogers and swimmers !

[stoneaxe]

See the Wellfleet SUPathalon from a week ago...swell made it fun.

http://www.standupzone.com/forum/index.php?topic=7592.msg67884#msg67884

http://www.capecodbaychallenge.org/Race_Series/race_series.html

Only a single buoy 400 yards out, 8 times in and out...the running sucked...for me at least.... . The whole race was very visible...especially from the top of the dune at the parking lot. No slalom but watching and taking advantage of the swell was the smart play.

[Admin]

the running sucked...for me at least.... .

Yeah, running in a SUP event???  Why, again?  I get that it is nice to bring the competition close to shore for the sake of spectators, but better to bring (and keep) the SUP action close to shore rather than making a flat water paddle followed by a run the most easily viewed part of the event. 

[JimK]

We have a surf Slalom event in NEW JERSEY STATE STAND UP PADDLEBOARD CHAMPION SHIPS
http://www.njpaddlesurfingchampionship.com/

Drew a BIG crowd and was a lot of fun. We are doing it again THIS year

JimK
www.extremewindsurfing.com

[Reid SUP'd]

Hey JimK when is the next one I'd be down to participate!

[stoneaxe]

I liked the idea of having to come into the beach inside the break multiple times but I think I'll suggest some inside buoys for next year...and get rid of the running...be very cool to have to turn and punch whitewater zig zagging in and out of the surf zone a couple times each lap. That would test most of the critical SUP skills and make for some fun spectating. The full combination of flatwater speed, surfing and staying upright in the impact zone.

Hey...there's the name for next years race...Impact Zonathalon...

[JimK]

Reid,

our next race is a casual affair down at 60th Street in OCEAN CITY NJ Starts at 6PM (no Dawn Patrol Nessary for this one)Will feature a 2 mile race and probably some wave riding expresion sessin Run by Local waterman Mark Keminosh. The details are in the EVENT section of DA ZONE here.

Once I get the NJ State Stand Up Paddleboard Champs website up dated I'll get that on the Event list here too!