Indoor SUP sprint race London Boatshow

[Cornelia van der Schilden]

Bron: Sup-guide

From Jan 14th to 16th the world's first indoor Stand Up Paddle Race took place in London. A race on 12"6 boards, in a 120m x 30m indoor Pool, that was a challenge for both athletes and those organizing the event.

The event organizers had to find a mode to bring the new sport alive to a novice audience in a fun and action-packed way.  Paddlers had to be very skilful to make quick turns in the narrow Pool.

Hundreds of spectators at the Excel in London saw fast paced man on man races with many more thousands watching online via the webcast. A fantastic weekend of hard fought battles ended with John Hibbard's overall win in the men's, and Annabel Anderson's overall win for the women's.

John Says:

“The indoor race concept worked really well. The action was right up close and personal to the spectators and our commentators kept everyone entertained. There were some insanely close races, with literally only a couple of inches between boards. I had to use every ounce of power and energy to overcome my opponents. I really hope we can do it again next year and build on the success of this years event. I’m going home now for a few days rest!”

We could not agree more. What a weekend!

MEN's Rankings

1. John Hibbard

2. Rich Morton

3. Pete Holliday

WOMEN's Rankings

1. Annabel Anderson

2. Marie Buchanan

Congratulations, Annabel and John!

After the race, we had a blast with Annabel, shooting the videos for the SUP fitness section. We started in the changing room and then moved up to the media center. Not ideal setting, but very authentic!

Full results and photo's: http://www.sup-guide.de/EN/index.php?option=com_content&view=ar...

[Cornelia van der Schilden]

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