Race Recap: The 2025 USA SUP National Championships 

by Michael Carney, SouthCentral Regional Rep

My First USA SUP National Championship Race did not disappoint!

First and foremost - thank you to the volunteers, racers, sponsors, spectators, Belle Isle Classic, and USA SUP for making this happen! I had an amazing time hanging out with you all (and occasionally racing).

There’s way too much to talk about to fit into this short recap. I wrote over 4,000 words on my full-length version over at inflatableboarder.com, so definitely check that out.

Very short version: 

AWESOME - everyone should be joining us next year!

Short version: 

Day 1 - Sprints

Sprint racing is not a style that we regularly see out here in my neck of the woods, and it’s probably my least favorite to practice. But, that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy my first ever actual sprint race, and I did waaaaay better than I expected. 

I got a little lucky here in that my first heat had only four racers, so even though I was in the slow lane (outside lanes had a bit more current to deal with than inside lanes) and came in last, I got a second chance in the semi finals. I put it all out on the water in the second heat and came in 5th out of 6, and right on the heels of 4th place. I really did not expect that kind of result (again, not a type of racing I’ve ever done or practiced). So while I didn’t stand on a podium, I was absolutely thrilled with my results.

Hanging out at Whiskeys on the Water after the race was also a blast. My favorite part of any race is always the social aspect before, after, and even during the race. 

Day 2 – Tech

Now this is a format I’m more familiar with, but on a condensed course. 800 meters, 8 turns, and plenty of wind by the time my heats came around.

Even though the tech races started much earlier in the day than the sprints, the longer course really made a full day of it. My first heat wasn’t until almost 3 hours after the start! By then the wind had started picking up (and picking up some of the buoys) making the course far more challenging than during warmups. I did well in the straight aways, but lost too much speed during the turns. You’re always faster on your board than in the water, so I took several cross-bow turns around the buoys rather than always using a faster (but riskier) pivot turn. It felt like 2 strokes forward and 1 stroke back for me on those turns. I didn’t move up to the semi’s, but still had a blast. I even laughed a bit during the race when I saw Jake Portwood motoring up to the finish line when I still had a third of the course to go!

I wasn’t able to join everyone at the social after the races on Saturday as my wife and I were making this a double-duty trip to visit family in the area as well, but I’m sure you all had a great time!

Day 3 – Distance

The partner race for this year’s USA SUP Nationals was the Belle Isle Classic - a 6.7 mile race around Belle Isle in the Detroit River. I’m no stranger to paddling and racing on rivers, but dealing with freighter traffic through an international shipping lane was certainly a first for me! This was the race I had been training most for, and I felt as ready as I could be. After battling upriver for the first mile and a half I got rocked by that traffic wake and slowed way down as I spent a lot of energy trying to stay as dry as possible.  

Note to self: practice more in bad conditions. I had some pretty bad “Elvis Leg” going on about halfway down the island as my muscles were definitely not used to that sort of amplitude. 

After a lot of ups and downs (literally) on the south side of the island I rounded the corner to the more protected side of the river and began heading back up stream. I timed it perfectly to coincide with a new head wind coming out of the North that brought a bit of rain with it as well. Oh well. Nothing to do at this point but keep paddling - focus on technique, breathing and keeping that stroke rate up!

After passing the large bridge that connects the mainland and the island, I dug in and revved up for the last mile and wondered how my legs would do for the beach run to the finish.

 

Ultimately I was a little slower than I had hoped, but still happy with my result. My standing goal in any race is “give it all you got and try not to be last.” I definitely accomplished both of those in the distance race and all weekend. 

Paddling on an Inflatable

So you  may have noticed from the pictures that I paddled an inflatable board for the entire weekend. I’m a big fan of inflatables, I think they offer a way to significantly grow the sport of SUP racing. The current generation of inflatable technology is so much better than it was even a couple of years ago, and it’s constantly improving. It also gives me the ability to easily travel with my own gear rather than having to find something to borrow - a huge benefit for me considering my closest regular races are a 7 hour drive away!

 Do I think using an inflatable board limited my performance? No. I know that the motor is the biggest part of this equation, not the board. I used to have a carbon fiber race board, but I’m just as fast on this Hydrus Elysium Air inflatable, and I know I haven’t reached its performance limit.

Big shout out to USA SUP Annual Sponsor Hydrus Board Tech as well. They’ve been a leading brand in inflatable SUP design and construction for several years and are fully committed to getting people on the water - and racing - with quality, performance gear at an affordable price. I raced on a 14’ x 26” Hydrus Elysium Air with their new Katana 2.0 and Riptide fins, and a pre-production Ruckus Flyweight paddle - a whole kit you can get for less than half the cost of a carbon board.

Race Recap: The Ohio River Paddlefest 

by Adrian Angel, NorthCentral Regional Rep and Race Director

The Ohio River Paddlefest Race, held on August 2nd, brought together paddlers from across 10 States and Canada for a day of competition, camaraderie, and celebration of paddling, all benefiting a local charity, Adventure Crew, which works with local city schools to connect kids to outdoor activities, including paddling. Paddlers arriving the day before the race enjoyed a paddlers festival, with bands, food trucks, demos, and vendors, after picking up their registration packages.

Immediately after the race start, 2000 recreational paddlers follow the racers down the nine-mile course past downtown Cincinnati, and under 7 bridges. This makes for an exciting start-line, with the riverbank filled with people cheering the racers on. With clear skies, low humidity, and the wind on their backs, this year (the 24^th year!) the racers had perfect conditions for a fun time on the water, and great competition. A particular focus this year was the addition of inflatable SUP and recreational SUP classes, which encouraged new races to make the move from the recreational fleet to the race fleet, and getting more people on the podium.

In the Men's category, Tony Galang claimed first place on his Starboard Sprint Zero. Randy Rair, secured the second spot, while Michael Weidman rounded out the podium in third.

On the Women's side, Elizabeth Duke, from Chicago, emerged victorious, taking home the first-place title for the second year in a row. Following her were Nathalie Shurigina, from Canada, in second, and Sara Rair in third, with a strong field showcasing the depth of talent among female paddlers.

Winners of the Inflatable SUP divisions were, Cori Wolf (Women), Gavin Conti (Men). Winner of the Unlimited division was Julie Hipp (Women). Winner of the 12’6” and under division was Brian Lane (Men).

Sleeping Bear, Rising Sun

by Ryan Whiteford, Traverse City, Michigan - USASUP NorthCentral Region

Paddling Northwest Michigan's big water there is a deep sense of rememberance.  These are the waters indigenous tribes used for travel, fishing, and carrying out ceremonies.  The National Park in Leelanau County inherited its name "Sleeping Bear" Dunes from a Native folktale.  The evolution continued from birch bark & dugout canoes later to explorers and merchants in wooden ships and eventually hulking steel freighters.  Below the surface many relics remain fossilized memories of the respect these waters demand.

The Manitou Passageway is a shipping lane between Michigan's mainland and two islands,  North & South Manitou.  It's treacherous due to a dominant current and full exposure to prevailing westerly winds across Lake Michigan.  Those caught in unfavorable weather have referred to water conditions to that of a washing machine. 

In October 1917 a 133 foot wooden steamer called "The Rising Sun" was caught in gale force winds while hauling potatoes.  It was forcefully grounded in shallow waters off Pyramid Point with all crew abandoning ship and surviving. 

It was noted in local publications that potatoes were found for miles away from the shipwreck along the shoreline in following weeks. The Detroit built ship now rests in about 12 feet of water with its wooden ribs and boiler still visible. 

All around Northwest Michigan are preserved bookmarks of its past just under the crystal clear surface.  There is a reverence amongst locals for the regions nautical history.  With a blossoming new SUP community emerging and learning to navigate these big waters, there is a sense we are part of the lore in a new chapter on the Great Lakes.

Location/access:  The Rising Sun shipwreck is located within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.  A National Park Pass is required to park.  The closest launch is Port Oneida Beach, a 1.8 mile paddle one way. 

Shipwreck coordinates: N 44° 58.160 W 085° 55.908.  The wreck is approximately 340 feet off shore. 

*** Only experienced paddlers should attempt exploring ***  Lake Michigan offers a very short swim season June-September.  Susceptible to high winds.  Wear your Life Jacket/PFD at all times. Limited/no cellphone service.

“If the paddler can't come to the Nationals, then the Regionals shall come to the paddler”.

- A wise old paddler

The poorly paraphrased quote above, is often attributed to mean “if something is not how you like it, then you must adapt". 

After two years of National Championship events, hosted firstly on the West Coast and then the East Coast, it became clear that not all paddlers were able, for a variety of circumstances, to travel long distances to participate and race in these events.

So USA SUP needed to adapt.

We needed a way to allow our members to participate in races ‘closer to home’ but still be recognized by a ranking system that, as objectively as possible, compared their performances to other paddlers both within their home region and across all regions over the country.

If you have not already, visit and bookmark the latest USA SUP Member rankings here. You can also follow links to your specific region from that page.

The USA SUP Regional Races Series (RRS) came into being.

At the start of 2025, USA SUP Board members began working closely with all Race Directors & Organizers across the country to include their races in a series. We also needed to ensure that we had race representation across all regions.

As we are now at the 3 month mark of RRS, we can look back at events and races completed so far and the participation in those events.

In this first graphic you can see all completed RRS Events by Region. 

Clearly our paddling community prefers to start their season in warmer climates with SouthWest and SouthEast having completed most events in these first 3 months.

And we can further break this down by RRS Races per Region.

Often Race Directors will host multiple races within the same event, so the USA SUP team works with those race directors to identify what we refer to as an ‘A’ and ‘B’ race for inclusion in the series.

As a general rule of thumb, the ‘A’ race will be longer, have more participants, be more competitive for example, while the ’B’ race typically recognizes and rewards the ‘weekend warriors’ who are out paddling.

Using factors such as those above, we “weight” the ‘A’ and ‘B’ races, so that when assessing results we can create a more objective comparison of paddlers in the rankings.

To see when the next races are coming up you can check out the Regional Series Races page on the USA SUP website. You can find here links to RRS races in ALL regions and also your own Home Region.

As we evolve the RRS and associated member rankings, we are considering limiting the Top 5 races which make up the cumulative total for your ranking place, to include 3 races from your Home region. This ensures we support and grow our sport at home as well.

Another interesting aspect to come out of the RRS results is the number of events in which we share the water with our non-SUP paddling friends.

This of course has an impact on rankings, what if you are 4th overall in a race behind 2 OC-1’s and a surfski.

Currently when determining placings for rankings purposes, we consider you 1st place from a SUP perspective.

So get out there and enjoy the time on the water, you are always going to get more ranking points than them.

Of course races wouldn’t exist without paddle racers, so who was out there on the water.

And the charts again currently reflect a higher proportion of member racers from the warmer climates, but this will change during the next quarter as more of our regions thaw out and start racing.

And of course we split our rankings on gender.

It is also important to USA SUP to recognize all those paddlers who get out on the water and make the races an experience for all. 

If you have participated in a RRS race, you will see your name on the ranking table, but you will not be recognized at the end of the year as RRS Champion for your region or perhaps across regions.

If you have not already, visit and bookmark the latest USA SUP Member rankings here. You can also follow links to your specific region from that page.

And for those of you not yet a member, but would love the bragging rights of Regional Champion, we would love to have you join us. Visit over here for USA SUP All Race Rankings to see where you currently stand in the table.

It’s never too late to become a member and start climbing up the table.

One of the best loved aspects of our sport is the “community”. And although it is challenging for many of us to travel and share the camaraderie of racing and enjoying each other’s company afterwards, there are still a few intrepid souls who journey far and wide, to race in and enjoy the time with their ‘tribe’.  

So a big shout out to some of those racers who do make the journey and cover the miles.

RRS is underway, it is a first time series for USA SUP and there will be some learnings and likely more adaptations, and as athletes it's all about adaptation, along the way. But it is important for our sport to continue this evolution and continue to grow.

And of course none of this would be possible without the support and encouragement of Race Directors and  you, the paddlers who turn up at the water’s edge each race day.

A big thank you to all of you for supporting the USA SUP Regional Races Series, a series which will not only grow and get better over the coming months of this year, but well into the future.

Are you a Race Director that would like to participate? Reach out to Kristin.Thomas@usasup.org

If you wish to find out more about Rankings Calculations, visit our Rankings FAQ page

And for any questions about USA SUP reach out at info@usasup.org

by Linda McCoy

If you live in our SouthCentral Region, you are represented by the Lone SouthCentral Regional Rep – hailing from the Lone Star State of Texas– me (Linda McCoy)! I live in the beautiful city of Austin, Texas and I’ve been paddling since June of 2009. I love being an ambassador for SUP in our community and I’ve been leading lake clean ups for 16 years!  I also serve on the USA SUP Board of Directors as Vice President. We literally have a lake right in the middle of the city!!
Lady Bird Lake (formerly known as Town Lake) was created when the Colorado River was dammed up in 1960 by the Longhorn Dam – originally intended to be a cooling pond for the new city power plant. It was renamed to honor former first Lady Lady Bird Johnson in 2007 shortly after she passed away. Today, Lady Bird Lake hosts about 5 million visitors per year – many of them on SUPs! We also have one of the largest colonies of Mexican Free-Tailed Bats that live under our Congress Avenue Bridge (aka The Ann Richards Bridge)!

If you’re ever in Austin, send me a message! I’d love to take you out for a paddle!

We are currently hoping to add 3 more reps to our roster for the SouthCentral Region! If you live in any of the states represented in the SC Region (NE, KS, CO, OK, NM, or TX) and are interested in representing USA SUP in your community, let us know! Reach out to me at linda.mccoy@usasup.org and I’ll set up a time to talk. You must be a current member of USA SUP in good standing to be a Regional Rep. Not a member? Join today! https://usasup.org/join

Upcoming races in the SouthCentral Region are designated in Dark Blue on our calendar: https://usasup.org/Calendar

Texas Winter 100 – Bastrop, TX -January 25, 2025

Bluet Brawl – Pilot Knoll Park, TX – May 3, 2025

SUP El Camino Real – Bastrop, TX – August 8-9, 2025

Unconfirmed Races:

Icebreaker SUP Classic – Lakewood, CO – May 2025

Flatiron Flat Out – Boulder, CO – June 2025

Longs Peak SUP Classic, Longmont, CO – August 2025

Grand River Dam Paddle – Langley, OK – August 30, 2025

Bragging Rights SUP Classic – Lakewood, CO – September 2025

Middle Loup River Challenge – Thedford, NE – September 2025

Power to Paddle Classic – Stockton Lake, MO – October 2025

Don’t see your race highlighted? Add it to our calendar here! https://usasup.org/contribute

by Linda McCoy

Things are SO HOT in the SouthEast Region that we’re highlighting it again this month! We’ve got three incredible Regional Reps leading the charge. Sam Gentsch, one of our OG Reps, and our two newest members of the team, Kirk Bumgarner and Rachel Cantore! You can read more about Sam in the July newsletter!

SouthEast Region States

Arkansas – Louisiana – Mississippi – Tennessee – Alabama – Georgia – North Carolina – South Carolina – Florida

Kirk recently competed in – and WON! – The Ohio River Paddle Fest! One of our NorthCentral reps, Adrian Angell, is the race director for this super fun and well-organized races! Check our latest race recap to learn more about that race! Kirk started paddling recreationally on lakes in Texas and Colorado in 2010. That soon evolved into more touring and expedition paddling when he moved to NorthEast Tennessee. He started racing in 2018. His favorite race so far is the Cincinnati Paddle Fest! His wife and family are from Cincinnati, so it’s fun to have a cheering section! He loves to paddle on South Holston lake outside of Bristol TN when he’s not dreaming of paddling on Ashley Lake outside of Kalispell, MT.

Rachel owns and operates Stand and Paddle in Bluffton, SC. She’s been paddling regularly since 2017 having dabbled a few times prior to that. Her top favorite races are the Paddle at Skull Harbor in Orange Beach/Pensacola and the LowCountry Paddle battle on Hilton Head Island – home of our USASUP National Championships this year! She loves the technical courses at races and connecting with her paddle friends in Florida and the LowCountry. You can usually find her paddling the May River or Burke’s Beach, where she enjoys SUP Surfing and the ocean conditions! Her favorite destination paddle? ANY PLACE WARM! If she had to pick, it would be Costa Rica or Mexico. She has her sights set on paddling a race in Europe next year, so be sure to watch out for her – and cheer her on!

All three of our SouthEast Reps will be at Nationals – be sure to tell them hello!

We are so thankful that the OluKai Lowcountry Boil Paddle Battle will host the race this year. Big thanks to USASUP board member John Batson for welcoming us as a partner host. Check out all the details here: https://paddleguru.com/races/OluKaiLowcountryBoilPaddleBattle

We are currently hoping to add 1 more rep to our roster for the SouthEast Region! We’d love to find a rep in Florida or in Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi to stay geographically diverse. If you live in the SouthEast Region (light blue), and would like more information, please contact Linda McCoy – linda.mccoy@usasup.org! 

We also have spots available in the SouthWest, NorthWest, and SouthCentral regions. Check out the map above to see which region you live in. If you’d like to join our team, get in touch with Linda and we’ll set up a call!

by Linda McCoy

If you live in our SouthEast Region, you are lucky to be represented by none other than Sam Gentsch! Sam lives in Smyrna, Georgia and he’s been hooked on SUP since 2015! If you paddle in Georgia, you’ll most likely find him on Stone Mountain Lake. When Sam wants to find baby dolphins, he heads to Boggy Bayou in Valparaiso Florida – that’s his favorite destination paddle! His top three favorite races are Chattajack, Carolina Cup, and the Ohio River Fest! Look for him at a race soon! If you’re in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, or Florida – you’re in the SouthEast Region!

We are currently hoping to add 2 more reps to our roster for the SouthEast Region! We’d love to find a rep in Florida or in Arkansas, Louisiana, or Mississippi to stay geographically diverse. If you live in the SouthEast Region (light blue), and would like more information, please contact Linda McCoy – linda.mccoy@usasup.org!

The SouthEast Region is also this year’s host region for our USASUP National Championships! We are so thankful that the OluKai Lowcountry Boil Paddle Battle will host the race this year. Big thanks to USASUP board member John Batson for welcoming us as a partner host. Check out all the details here:

https://paddleguru.com/races/OluKaiLowcountryBoilPaddleBattle

Upcoming races in the SouthEast Region are designated in Light Blue on our calendar: https://usasup.org/Calendar

Goat Boater - Technical Goat (7-20) & Wylie Paddle Battle (7-21) – Tega Cay, SC -July 20-21, 2024

Flying Fish Summer Challenge – Jensen Beach, Florida – July 27, 2024

Knoxville’s Three Rivers Regatta – Knoxville, Tennessee – August 3, 2024

OluKai Lowcountry Boil Paddle Battle/USASUP National Champ – Hilton Head Island, SC – Sept 6-8, 2024

The Gritty Growler – Gasconade, Missouri, September 14, 2024

The Nous Défions 8-Hour Team Assault on Lake Keowee – Seneca, South Carolina - September 14, 2024

The Great Alabama 650 – Cedar Bluff, Alabama – Sept 21-October 1, 2024

Fish Gotta Swim Paddle Battle – Savannah, Georgia - September 21, 2024

Key West Paddle Classic – Key West, Florida - September 28, 2024

Thief Neck Island Paddle Quest – Rockwood, Tennessee - September 28, 2024

Chattahoochee Half Jack – Rockwood, Tennessee - September 28, 2024

Panama Jack Paddleboard Classic – Panama City, Florida – October 5, 2024

Lake Jocassee Paddle Splash – Lake Jocassee, South Carolina – October 5, 2024

Ozone Florida Clearwater Beach Classic – Clearwater, Florida – October 5-6, 2024

Autumn Marsh Challenge – Tybee Island, Georgia – October 19, 2024

Nish Outrigger Challenge Miami– Miami-Dade, Florida – November 2-3, 2024

2024 ICF SUP World Championship – Sarasota, Florida – November 19-24, 2024

Last Paddler Standing – Sarasota, Florida – November 30-December 2, 2024

Don’t see your race highlighted? Add it to our calendar here! https://usasup.org/contribute

by Linda McCoy

If you live in our NorthCentral Region, you are lucky to be represented by Adrian Angell, Troy Hendricks, and our newest rep - Jeremy Nicholson!

Adrian and Troy both hale from Ohio and Jeremy is from Iowa – seemingly the only paddler in Iowa? If you paddle in Iowa, STAND UP and be counted!

All of our NorthCentral Reps are avid paddlers and racers. Adrian and Troy recently competed at the Carolina Cup and you will see Jeremy at the Goose Island Grind and Great Iowa River Race this month!

If you’re in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, or South Dakota – you’re in the NorthCentral Region!

There are so many fun races coming up!

Check out the USASUP RACE CALENDAR to find out more!
https://usasup.org/Calendar

Upcoming races in the NorthCentral Region are designated in yellow on our calendar

Goose Island Grind – Stoddard, Wisconsin – June 2, 2024

Great Iowa River Race – Sturgis Ferry Park, Iowa City – June 8, 2024

45 North Paddle Festival – Sutton’s Bay, Michigan - June 22, 2024

Blazing Paddles – Cleveland, Ohio - June 22, 2024

Midwest Paddle Festival – Oconomowoc, Michigan, July 13, 2024

Belle Isle Classic – Detriot, Michigan – July 13, 2024

Beach2Beach – Highland Park, Illinois – July 27, 2024

Ohio River Paddlefest – Cincinnati, Ohio – August 3, 2024

Rapa Nui – Power Island – Traverse City, Michigan – August 17, 2024

The Mighty Cumberland River Run & Festivus Float – Burkesville, Kentucky – August 17, 2024

Race the Fox – Berlin, Wisconsin - August 17, 2024

Rubber Ducky Regatta – Shelbyville, Michigan – September 14, 2024

Power to Paddle Classic – Stockton Lake, Missouri – October 3-5, 2024

Download the Bulletin here!

In May 2023, USA SUP member and North Central Regional Rep, Adrian Angell will be attempting to stand up paddle across the Irish Sea from the Isle of Man to the Cumbrian coast. His target will be to land on the beach at Seascale, which is the village he grew up in and where his love for watersports started. As a youth, he looked out towards the Isle of Man almost every day, but he has never been there. His planned route is comprised of 36 “straight” miles, but with currents and wind, he anticipates paddling somewhere closer to 40 miles. This requires significant training and planning. He is doing this to benefit Diabetes UK, which funds pioneering world-class research to benefit all forms of diabetes and its complications. Adrian has several friends and family members who are living with diabetes and this cause is very important to him. He has done a stand up paddle fundraiser for this cause since 2018. The results of the research done by Diabetes UK can improve the lives of people dealing with diabetes worldwide.

To learn more or to make a donation, visit: 

https://www.justgiving.com/page/adrian-angell-iom-to-cumbria