Sprint Race Photo Album

The entire photo album from our amazing event photographer, Emilie Reid, can be found here.

USA SUP National Championships Sprint Race Recap

The sun has set on day 1 of the USA SUP National Championships but the excitement at the OluKai Low Country Boil is just getting started.

Friday September 6 th was all about the 200m sprint. Held at the Rowing and Sailing Center on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the course ran from a fishing dock to the northeast of the finish line that featured a spacious floating dock attached to a pier that was home to scoring, timing, and livestream operations. If you missed it, the livestream can be rewatched here. Distance and Technical races will also be featured on YouTube live as they occur.

The day was overcast, but the rain held off until racing was finished for the day. Temps were moderate in the upper 70’s, but there was a persistent 10-15mph wind from the north that made conditions challenging and maintaining a lane difficult at best. A partial tail wind and surge made for fast and close racing throughout the day.

There were many storylines that shaped throughout the day, perhaps the most exciting of which was the women’s open class, which had the highest number of competitors and featured some very close finishes. 6 Full heats were whittled down to 4 for the quarterfinals, until the were just two heats remaining in the semifinals. In Heat 1, it was a tale of two Maddi(e)’s as Maddie Miller and Maddi Leblanc advanced edging April Zilg out of contention. In Heat 2 Seychelle and Kim Barnes advanced setting up a star-studded final race. In the performance of the day, Maddie Miller hammered straight and true, leaving Seychelle and Kim Barnes battling for lane position downwind and ultimately 2nd and 3rd on the podium.

Men’s Open featured some familiar match ups as Eri Tenorio and Jake Portwood went head-to-head with Bodie Von Allmen and Cambell Carter following suit. In the finals, Eri Tenario left no doubt as he paddled to the win like a man possessed. Cambell Carter played spoiler at the finish line to Relegate Jake Portwood to the small step.

The Women’s Grand Masters division feature Deborah Szatko pushing Kristen Thomas all day long with photo finishes in both semi final and final rounds. Kathy McRae was right behind to finish the podium. Men’s Grand Masters Features a close finish Steve Phillips just in front of Micheal Markunas. Don Finn took the final spot on the podium.

The Master’s divisions 50-59 are some of the most competitive in our sport, and in the Men’s division there are few faster that Steve Miller. The Miller family had a banner day with dad Steve and daughter Maddie winning their respective classes. Steven Berstein and Eric Carter did their best but had to settle for the lower rungs. Following the family-first theme, Eric Carter is the father of Men’s open podium finisher Cambell Carter. Female Masters was won by Alice Batson, with Michelle Currier falling just short on a late surge. Ruth Ann Steen took 3 rd .

Special shout-out to youth competitors Mason Kobler and Maylee Jaggi.

The racing for the day was capped off by a mixed field of surfski, OC, and prone.

Tomorrow, Saturday September 7 th will feature 5 and 10k distances for SUP and Prone racers that should prove both competitive and fun. Sunday September 8th will switch gears to open- ocean technical racing. All races will be cast live on YouTube.

USA SUP National Championship Sprint Race Results