tricky question
have you still got that bottle of Red handy Scotty we need you to stand up and show us yer Label
I'm only new to the sup world but I have a couple of ideas if the governing body ran a state base competition monthly and used the best let's say for example 3 results or (however many )for the year at state competition level to select for a state team to then compete at a national level and then on for aussie team selection it's basic but may work and each month the venue could move around the state especially the larger states so everybody could get to the majority of contests.
And on age related surf lifesaving masters works well 35 + 45+ 55+ 10 year age increments for state and 5 at national level you can compete in a lower age group or opens but not a older age group it's an example but generally is very fair. Just thought I'd throw it out there.
we need you to stand up and show us yer Label
Instead of age groups what about board groups.
Opens up to 9' Short board judging.9' over more points for style?
At the nsw titles I had a couple of heats with guys on 9 plus boards
I'm on a 8' foot board .all I had to do was a couple of dishpan turns
And the guy on the bigger board had no chance .The guy on the bigger board
Surfed unreal but never had a chance with the current system???
no different to the Mals with traditional and progressive. I'm staying away from this one.
ok you have sucked me in again, 10' and over division and over 50's is my call for us fat, balance challenged, grumpy old men. and by the way its called SURFING AUSTRALIA not sup racing australia. sure, if its got a motor race it, if not just paddle away.[}:)][}:)][}:)] grumpy.
Well I too was trying to stay out of this one but can't keep my mouth shut as usual. Whilst I don't dispute the fact that people are competitive and want to beat other people at things I can't understand why anyone over 50 would want to compete. I have heard all the reasons but honestly cannot grasp it. In a contest you do what they say, surf where they say, when they say. A bunch of guys on this thread are not happy with divisions etc. I say don't go. You can paddle, surf when and here you want if you are not tied to a contest. How many times do people complain about conditions, heat times, sign in times the list is endless.
I know there are other reasons such as friendship, etc but if other areas are like the Sunshine Coast there is no end of companions to SUP with and all are very friendly. I am talking ages from 20's to 70's.
I guess it comes back to people not being happy. Maybe they should SUP more.
I still don't get the competeting thing though.
Here's my take on it. I have entered the SUP surfing in the Qld 40+ div. I am 60 and still like to compete even though i know I don't have much chance against a 40 yr old but it's still fun. I surf Noosa almost every day and a lot of the SUP surfers there are over 50 and I know a lot of them would enter contests if there were more age divisions. It's not going to spread out the guys who enter into smaller divisions, there would be a lot more entries. Look at Longboard contests, the largest entries are in the 55+ and the 60+ and a lot of them SUP as well. I don't enter SUP races as I would probably get flogged in an open event paddling against a 20 something paddler but if there were age divisions I'd have a go. So if the competition of SUP is to grow there needs to be more age divisions in both surf and race events.
Hahahah massive can of worms.
For the surf sup we should only be allowed to ride 9ft plus, no more 8'0s or less. I had way more fun on my 9ft 6 then my 8'0s. But i ride my 8'0s because its easier to get a score.
Spoke to some industry big wigs the other week, they can't sell 8'0s to the public as alot of the crew cant ride em. If they cant sell em then they aren't earning any coin, not earning any coin, means nothing back to the sport. It may also get rid of dishpan's (hahahhaha)
Surfing Aus and SUPA are doing an awesome job. It must be hard to cater for everyone. The racing seems to be hammering ahead.
Adapt,I don't know your age mate,I'm 50 and played a hell of a lot of sport in my day.
Yep we were all young chargers way back in time and hitting a certain age was something I would look forward too,35,40,45 and now 50 why so I could compete with people in my age bracket.Now this was not to rub my ego as you have mentioned however to see how I sit within my age group.Adapt I can tell you right now I was way better at 40 than now at 50,I think this is what some of the guy's are saying.
I agree with Piros on his comments.
I had a good look around yesterday before the race started and at a guess 50% were 40+,sure support the event but a small trophy for each age group would be priceless to attract more numbers.How many people sup in Queensland,thousands I reckon but 60 odd entered the race yesterday.I would put money down that this would double if people could race within the race in thier own age group.I'm not trying to be negative here but this is how I see it,btw Adapt I no longer sup but was down there yesterday to support the Queensland Sup Titles. Enough from the grumpy old longboarder 
.
I was going to stop writting on this but I think you guys need me to explain myself a bit better in a less angry mood.
All I could see yesterday was a group of guys whinging about not participating in events because there wasn't an age catergory for them or griping because they made a state team but have to compete against younger crew, this started in the Qld titles forum then moved to here.
These comments pissed me off because others and myself get their ass kicked all the time by some of these 50+ year old (Lacey, Dc, Alain, etc), but do I use the excuss that if I had my own age catergory I'd compete more often, HELL NO, I suck it up like a man and enjoy the fact that I'm helping promoting the sport. What I'm getting at here is will a 50+ age catergory really get more people to compete?
Then there was the opinion of having board size and age catergories for events, I'm not totally against this but from an organising percpective this can be a nightmare and not fiancially possible when a sport is still growing. I'm all for when the sport grows more age catergories etc, but ask yourselves why the younger crew don't get involved as much, is it the stigma that SUP is an old mans/womans sport?
In a nutshell I was voicing a viewpoint in a predominant 50+ forum, where I was trying to point out the broader issues for SUP competition rather then a small lets add a 50+ catergory.
62mac I was at the QLD titles as well yesterday and I'll be at the surfing tomorrow supporting the sport and when its not a major event I'm trying to help the local club move forward in a positive direction for all in the sport of SUP.
Obviously I offened people yesterday and sorry if anyone took it personally but I'm a passionate guy when it comes to SUP
Hey Adapt
Didn't for a minute take anything personaly.
You and Woody were one hundred percent correct in moving us on from the Queensland Titles thread, a time and a place and all that stuff. And there has been some bloody interesting ideas thrown up as a result.
It's great that you're passionate about SUP, with very few exceptions, most who post on this forum are passionate about the sport. All the racing stuff is eye opening for me. It's sometimes easy to get cocooned in your own little interest area, in my case surf, but quite obviously there's committed individuals out there pushing the boundaries of the sport in all its forms for the benefit of everyone.
All good.... hope your getting amongst it
Cheers
Sparx
no different to the Mals with traditional and progressive. I'm staying away from this one.
After a couple of days hearty discussion there seems to be an overwhelming support for an older age category, where does it go from here? will the surfing associations listen?
I don't want to sound apologetic for the facts, but there seems to be more older people embracing Sup than at the other end, we all would like to see some more youth in the sport competing at the highest level and we would all encourage that and continue to do so, its only a matter of time, but in the mean time, the sport should be inclusive to all ages, including the older category.
I wonder how does the push for the new " over 50's pathway" continue past this thread or the next or the previous?, its up to the keen oldies to hassle those who make the decisions, I guess the one redeeming beauty of older age is that we less inclined to give a farrk of what people think, so therefore that should make it easier to be persistent, won't it ....
