SUPER Champs 2024
Sam Rutt recalls the success of the weekend…
Photos: Antony Thornely (@supjunkie.uk)
On the last weekend of September, Torbay hosted the SUPER Championships, bringing together paddlers from across the country for a range of SUP activities. Paddle UK is proud to have supported this thrilling festival of SUP racing and competitions.
‘Fun’, ‘inclusive’, ‘well organised’, ‘exciting’ and ‘bringing the SUP vibe alive’ were all statements that were used to describe the inaugural SUPER Championships in Torbay (27-29 September). The SUPER stands for SUP English Riviera, and the event was designed to be a fun, inclusive way to introduce racing. From absolute beginners up to watching international racers speed along the coast, it had something for everyone.
On Friday, the fun kicked off with sprints and ‘one design’ racing, where everyone competes on the same board. Racing was held in the sheltered inner harbour, providing everyone with calm, flat water to test their speeds. At the event HQ, stalls were set up with all manner of SUP products, from clothing to cleaning, so even if you weren’t taking part, you could enjoy wandering around the stalls.
Saturday morning, we were greeted with the most stunning sunrise over the bay at Abbey Sands, where the sprints, technical, and distance races were taking place. There was some great competition in the sprints, with a 53-year-old fighting off the younger competitors, showing that SUP really is a sport for every age.
The afternoon saw the fun move back to the inner harbour with SUP Polo. If you’ve never had the chance to watch this sport, it is highly entertaining. Teams of four go head-to-head in a battle of skill, speed, and who can fall most stylishly. It was great to see the people of Torbay surrounding the harbour walls, watching the action, and cheering everyone on.
Participants then headed to event HQ, where Paddle UK, one of the main sponsors, shared with the audience its 18-month SUP Plan (https://paddleuk.org.uk/paddle-uk-to-support-inaugural-superchamps/) with Q&A afterwards. Then it was time to put on some dancing shoes and enjoy the music, and those who had energy left some dancing.
Please find out more about the event on their official website here: https://superchampionships.com/
SUP Mag UK 
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