July 1, 2015
by Christopher Parker (@wheresbossman)

With Apologies… (aka Where The F@#k Is SUP Racer?)


Battle of the Paddle race start

“Into the unknown…” (BOP 2014 photo courtesy of Lahui Kai)

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It appears SUP Racer has been on a bit of a break the past few weeks, however today the site will begin to resume its job of keeping you updated with the world of stand up paddle racing.

There have been just five posts in the past 22 days, an average of one news item every 4.4 days. There’s only been one post in the past 10 days, and nothing for almost an entire week now. That’s the slowest ever news cycle in the 1,293 days since SUP Racer launched.

And it’s not like there hasn’t been any news to post: The aftermath of the epic Payette River Games, the massive festival that is Race The Lake of the Sky, the conclusion of the Euro Tour, the young guns battling in Barcelona. There have been amazing photographs, entertaining videos and plenty of other news-worthy items. And that’s just on the water.

Behind the scenes, this sport continues to evolve at a rapid pace every day. The news of a BOP “replacement” event at Dana Point, the continued jockeying of the “governing bodies” for control of SUP’s future, the continued debate between athletes over where the sport should go, the never-ending paddletics and all the other colourful things that make SUP racing such an interesting sport to cover and analyse. There’s been a lot happening.

So why has SUP Racer been so quiet?

Well… I just kinda got over it.

Little bit burnt out. Needed a break. Needed to refresh and refocus.

And when I take a break, SUP Racer takes a break, because this site is a virtual one man band. I’ve been so lucky to have some great contributors post some amazing articles over the years, along with countless paddlers sending in news, results and insights from around the world. But pretty much everything that gets posted on the site, everything that you see, involves me sitting at my laptop bashing away at the keys. And after 1,293 days, that can get a little draining.

But now I’m over being over it. Back on the saddle. Up and at ’em. Fire in the belly and all those other wonderful metaphors, analogies and clichés.

Missed events will be covered, lost results will be posted, lagging rankings will be updated, and paddlers that deserve credit for their great performances will be recognised.

I’m pretty damn lucky to get paid to travel the world and provide a window into the sport I love. And while my travel plans may change a little, SUP Racer definitely won’t. So my apologies to the paddlers and the events not covered in the past few weeks, particularly Race The Lake of the Sky, which has become a classic piece of the SUP racing landscape, and which I was particularly bummed not to be at in person this year.

But rest assured, SUP Racer will return to normal quite possibly become better than ever in the coming days and weeks.

Chat to you soon…