Can't wait! Leave on the 26th sept and we are there til 17th October for more races.
Training once again in full swing!!
I also heard a rumor today that the distance race at BOP is now changed aswell, main class for men is 14ft and main class for women 12'6. This is great news!!
Looking forward it and can't wait :)
X Angie
Hey PT, yeh it's also the same for The Battle of the Bay race In San Fran.
Seems to be reoccurring trend over there now.
I think it's great as it puts all the elite guys in one class and all the elite girls in one class.
In the past it's been impossible for the girls that travel from so far away to take a 14 ft and 12'6.
This way it's all sorted. I don't mind doing 9mile races on a 12'6 but I'm sure some will not be happy.
X Angie
It certainly starts to get frustrating when the necessity of overseas travel complications impact upon standards and formats for local events where travel is not a factor. I don't think there's any doubt that 99% of men would much prefer to be on a 14' board in a distance race (at least 14'). Personally, I prefer 14' for distance but I know I would be more competitive on 12'6" if everyone else had to paddle 12'6". But I also know there would be a mutiny on the beach if we made our local distance races 12'6" for the men.
So a question for all the women of Seabreeze: what would you say if we standardized all women's racing to 12'6"?
I would have no problem just racing a 12'6 for everything PT.
It seems like USA mainland is going that way.
X Angie
Seems the trend is that future races will be mainly 14's - so lets see if the ladies division doesn't follow suit next year. We advise the ladies here to go on 14's - also from a resale point of view and it's working - everyone races same size board across divisions and can compare themselves.
12'6 For All !! 
It would be extremely interesting to see the board designs, if it was 12'6 for all...
I have a two slightly radical board designs in my head.
But I think 14 is entrenched.
Where did the 14 footers originate from anyway!?
Who was first to produce a 14 footer?
serious dw ing and 12'6 dw racing is hard work, require lots of skill and best for strong intermediate, advanced and elite paddlers imo.
to get more people into it and learn how to dw easier, keep the 14' classes in there
The BOP will be huge this year and I will be there spectating. My two cents on 12'6"s vs 14's; We rarely have winds over 10 knots in SoCal, "downwind conditions" almost never happen and the benefits of 14's are mostly lost. As the sport grows and riders get younger and lighter, the added length is really no benefit. I paddle flatwater a lot and I never see a 14. Sure, I see a few in the ocean and racers have them, but for recreational riders they make no sense. SoCal is the driving force in US stand up, we're BOP crazy and we like 12'6"s.
Laceys Lane makes a great point, it takes more skill to ride a 12'6" in a distance / downwind race; shouldn't that be what elite racing is all about?
Yep, lets keep it simple and more affordable for all , at least in the early stages of the sport, 12.6 for the girls.
We have to reduce the number of classes and get more people racing against each other. To grow the sport we need to get more people involved, but if they have to buy two different length boards to stay competitive I don't think for most that would be possible. Certainly it helps to have the one size also for any traveling. We already have to carry at least two, maybe four boards to every race because we go as a family nearly everywhere. I would much prefer one class of 12'6 and for those longer races maybe the distance changes not the board length. Downwinders are still great run on a 12'6.
There are so few women as it is, why spread them out into more classes.
Some good points Mossie, although perhaps only pertinent to women when you talk about getting more people involved. The feedback I've experienced is that 12'6" for long distance racing would result in significant numbers of men choosing NOT to participate. If it can be shown that 12'6" as the only board length for women would not adversely impact the numbers of women participating, then the other benefits you mention become worth considering. But as I say, if we were to impose a 12'6" limit on men for distance races, that would be like the sport shooting itself in the foot.
Agree 100% PT, It was my wife speeking from her point of view on my phone, she just forgot to change the login. It is only the women that should maybe have one class until the numbers are enough to have more.
