Stand Up Paddleboarding
as a Paddlesport
Stand Up Paddleboarding I believe, is not only poorly named but poorly promoted as a consequence of confusion as to whether considered a surf sport or a paddle sport. Let's be absolutely clear that it was the addition of a paddle that made this sport a paddlesport. Standing was already a requirement of surfing, yet we don't refer to surfing as, 'stand up surfing' no more than we call paddleboarding, 'lying down on a board paddling with your hands'.
Critically, global participation numbers in paddlesports is very much greater than that of surfsports, for very obvious reasons. Paddlesports don't (for the most part) require surf of which there is less of than flat water, often requires fewer 'natural' skills and daring and for the most part you stay dryer and higher out of the water (but not always). It appeals to families, embraces the idea of adventuring, touring, day trips and outings; it even has a better image unlike surfing, whose followers have managed to associate their sport over time with noble qualities such as; attitude, tribalism and territorialism.
Promoted, taught and nurtured as a paddlesport, SUP can be understood, accepted and embraced with greater affinity and speed. If participants then want to narrow their interests to surf or ocean racing, then of course that option is available to all. If windsurfing (sailboarding, boardsailing) had been promoted and taught as a surf sport when in its infancy and not as sailing sport (which it was) I dare say, its appeal would never have been as far reaching as it achieved during the 1980s.
Flat water and downwind paddling SUP disciplines, are heavily reliant on paddling skills and the power delivered by the paddle itself. Only when surfing, is the paddle’s power rendered less relevant. It’s no coincidence that Hawaii’s founding pioneers, educators, advocators and ambassadors for the sport are also individuals who possess both surf and outrigger canoe paddling skills.
