Technical Race Photo Album

The entire photo album from our amazing event photographer, Emilie Reid, can be found here. Additional photos by Alice Batson can be found here.

USA SUP National Championships Technical Race Recap

“Just enough texture to make things Interesting” was the comment OluKai Low Country Boil Paddle Battle race director, John Batson, made as the sun rose over the Atlantic Ocean in the early hours of September 8, 2024. It was the last and final day of the USA SUP National Championships - and things were getting interesting!

The rain fell, sometimes just a drizzle and sometimes with more intent and ferocity. The wind blew in equal measure and the waves crashed. It was dark and grey, but also as bright and promising as anything the sport of SUP has seen in the USA. Perhaps not in terms of sheer numbers, but in terms of aligning to the world stage of SUP racing. This day marked the successful completion of the second USA National Championships, cementing the organization's legitimacy and sustainability. 

The race course was an “M” shaped affair, starting with a sprint directly into the surf 100M to right-hand (#1 buoy), 100m 30 degrees to (#2 buoy) left, followed by (#3 buoy) right back to the beach. Competitors then exited the water, ran around a flag on the beach and headed back out into the surf, to round #3 this time left, back to #1, and left back to the beach.

While race recaps of the past two days have focused on individual heats and what happened during them, this one will take a different tack. Instead, discussing the people and stories that made the day great.

Men’s Grand Masters: Ed Pierce, who at 70, showed up with a board he designed and built himself. He didn’t just show up for parade laps but competed, hard. Joe Bechtold, who drove in from the fresh waters of the Midwest, ended up the overall champ of the three combined events and proved there are good paddlers between the coasts. The Grand Masters class has some really strong paddlers, including Don Finn, who was always in the mix at the front of his class and Michael Markunas who was the picture of cool and composure as he surfed into the technical finish with a smile on his face. Karl Eugster won the grand masters 10k, but scratched day 3 so he could fly out to the SUP 11 City Tour.

Women's Grand Masters: USA SUP President, Kristin Thomas, who gracefully balanced representing USA SUP as well as being an athlete, took the first place stand on the podium.  Kathy McRae fearlessly attacked every course and every condition took the second step on the podium at the end of the day. Julianne Veal who never quit took third place. We have to mention Debra Szatko, who pushed Kristin to her limits for two straight days, but had to respect her own limits on day 3.

Men’s Masters: Steve Miller, who celebrated his 51st birthday on race day, would be just as competitive in the Open division as he was dominant in his own age group. Steven Bernstein was always the first to every stage. He was patient and kind even when the guy handing out jerseys was frazzled (that would be the author). Eric Carter who, in addition to fathering one of our sports most promising up and comers, was competitive in his own right. A whole gang from the Midwest including Alex Sandler, Tony Galang, Adrian Angell, Rob Wilkinson, and Brent Norsman, fought it out in the middle of the pack.

Women’s Masters: If you have never watched Shirley Heinemann paddle, stop for a minute and watch. Her stroke is poetry smooth, and she’s one of the nicest and most humble paddlers on the beach. Michelle Currier goes as hard as anyone and has the biggest smile at every finish. Ruth Ann Steen, who drove up from St. Augustine, Florida, proved to be a feisty competitor! Be sure to watch out for these strong women paddlers in upcoming races! 

Men’s Open: One can’t help but feel like we are witnessing an emergence when it comes to Eri Tenorio. He is a man on a mission and he’s doing it with grace and style. We are fortunate that he chooses to make his home here in the USA and represents our sport so well. Jake Portwood, barely a half step behind, lies in wait for the smallest break, a simple mistake, or a breakthrough to call his own. Bodie and Carter, Carter and Bodie, barely able to mention without the other are the future of our sport in the USA. Blake Carmichael makes a convincing argument on why he should be mentioned in the same breath, as he gains ground quickly with impressive performances.

But the story of the day, the weekend, and of our sport, continues to be driven by the Women’s Open class, and the woman in the front is Maddie Miller. A few years ago, Maddie, the daughter of Men’s Masters champ Steve Miller, was an up-and-coming teenager but seemingly stepped away from the sport. Well, she’s back in a big way with convincing wins in the Tech and Sprint competitions. Seychelle and Kim Barnes didn’t make it easy on her, with both ready to capitalize on even the smallest mistake. Both women are at the top of their respective games and could win on any given day. Stephanie Shideler and Canadian Maddi Leblanc are on their way up, both are in the lead pack and only a good day away from taking wins on their own terms. Never count out April Zilg! She may have had a quiet weekend and had to miss out on the 10k, but she was never out of contention.

USA SUP recognizes the top U.S. citizens across all three events as National Champions. At this event, the clear winner in Men’s Open was Eri Tenorio with a masterful and dominating performance. Although Eri makes his home in Florida, he represents his home country of Brazil on the world stage. As such, the National Championship is, in this case, passed to the top U.S. citizen. At the end of the day and weekend, 8 USA SUP National Champions emerged, achieving the best results across all three events:

Men’s:

• Grand Masters – Joe Bechtold

• Masters – Steve Miller

• Open – Jake Portwood

Women’s:

• Grand Masters – Kristin Thomas

• Masters – Michelle Currier

• Open – Maddie Miller

Youth:

• Mason Kobler

• Maylee Jaggi

USA SUP would like to thank John Batson, The Outside Foundation, and the OluKai Low Country Boil Paddle Battle for hosting this year’s championship. It was an outstanding event and venue that should be on the top of everyone’s list for a visit next year. Now all eyes turn to the ICF World Championships, taking place November 19-24 in Sarasota Florida, where the United States SUP team will compete on the world stage.

USA SUP is also proud to announce the location for next year's National Championships as Detroit, Michigan in collaboration with the Belle Isle Classic. The event will once again feature tech and sprint racing, along with a classic distance race around Belle Isle, complete with spectacular views of Detroit and Windsor. Dates will be announced soon! We are aiming to have the race mid-July, 2025.  

And finally, a special acknowledgement to all of the paddlers who came out to race this weekend. This event, and races all across the country, would not be possible without them. It takes months of preparation, training, and planning. There is often travel and logistics involved, time off from work, and time away from family. The fact that we had participants from all 6 regions of the US goes to show the level of dedication to the sport from our USA SUP members. None of this would be possible without them - thank you! 

Please consider showing your support for USA SUP and our efforts to grow the sport of stand up paddle boarding by becoming a member here.

USA SUP National Championship Technical Race Results