Sounds interesting and great to see.

Given that Fiji is the first event of the series, would it be fair to assume that the format for the whole series is going to based on Fiji? So that's to say, a downwind race (18 miles or so) and a surf slalom (BOP) short course race. And in Fiji, both races are restricted to 12'6" due to travel/transport issues as I understand it. Will this be the case for the series?

(PS. Don't necessarily expect anyone here to have answers to these questions, I'm just saying...)

I don't know any more than you PT, but i'm guessing they might aim to have a sprint surf slalom and a distance/downwind race for each event?

The first event is actually the North Shore Paddle Challenge at Turtle Bay, Oahu in October and includes a Surf Slalom Course on the Saturday and 8 mile downwinder on Sunday. The sprint SurfSlalom at this event will be 12'6 class only, with the downwinder being open to stock (12'6"), 14ft and unlimited classes as well as prone.

Interesting to see that the overall champion pointscore for the Oahu event will be based on result in the sprint race and the 14ft class for the downwinder, so you automatically need to have 2 boards to be considered for the overall crown (unless you're like Connor and can beat most of the 14's on a 12'6).

Looks like the waterman league are trying to put together a competitive races series around the world which is great, but in my opinion they need to be a bit more organised, at at least better at communicating details on their website (www.standupworldseries.com) - if you look at the details they have listed for the Fiji event, you can pay you're entry fee online already, but it doesn't even say what dates the races are on!!! we only know because Downwinder has previously posted dates on here, but seems to me that if you're advertising an event like that, letting people know when it is on is a MUST.

I wonder if the Aussie races are planning to utilise existing races The Doctor (Fremantle, January) and Noosa Festival (Noosa, March) or whether they will run stand alone events at about the same time.

Edit: With their quick response to you're email PT, hopefully they will rectify the issue with the dates ASAP too! Maybe it's just an oversight?

PTWoody said...

Ali, it looks like there's a contradiction with the Oahu event if they are pushing 14' class for the DW, yet the points don't score towards the overall championship unless you are on 12'6".

Thought that was a bit strange too, but this is directly from their website:
- "Sprint Races will be run on stock 12'6 class for SUP"
- "Downwind Race will be open to all classes and prone"
- "Overall SUP Result (North Shore Racing Champion) will be for the sprint and 14' class in the downwind race"

As i said the concept and enthusiasm for getting the series running is great, just need a bit more organisation and/or communication of what's going on.

byronmaui said...

The airlines is gonna make a fortune with the board shipping. Hopefully they can set up deals.

Air Pacific is doing offering shipping of 12'6 boards for competitors for the Fiji event