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.
