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Bruce Dyer
So what is the future for 12 ’ 6 in the UK ?
Funnily enough , when researching this topic , I stumbled across an insightful article by Dr Bryce Dyer from 2015 . Bryce is someone who ’ s been a part of the sport since 2014 and is an Associate Profession at Bournemouth University in product development , more specifically technology in sport ( it ’ s his day job !). He puts forward some valid arguments about where the sport may go in the future with board class .
The most viable one was the phasing out of one category , which appears to be what has happened ; after speaking to racers in Italy , France , Spain , Canada and Australia . Their National Series are 14 ’ and under one class , one group all racing together with individuals choosing what board they want to race on …
He was way ahead of the game !
So really the final word on this topic needs to go to the people influencing the development of the sport here in the UK , the directors of the GB SUP National Series , and for us as racers , to understand how difficult it can be from their point of view to negotiate the categories and keep as many racers happy and doing what we all love most – racing no matter what board !
“ When the directors discuss the paddler categories , we have to consider all options , including market trends , paddler feedback , our own experiences and other options coming from outside the sport . It ’ s certainly not an easy task to find compromises , and our job would be much easier if we had one class , that ’ s for sure .
“ The 12 ’ 6 and 14 ’ debate is always an interesting and tricky one , especially now as more paddlers take up the sport and get into competitive paddling . While it might be a personal goal for many , we have to consider options to promote longevity in the sport . The last thing we want is to scare newcomers away with an intimidating startline and category list . We also have to find a balance for our competitive paddlers pushing for podiums and top placings ; so much goes into every category discussion .
“ One significant headache recently has been the explosion of SUP , which is truly impressive on the one hand , but from a race organiser ’ s POV , it ’ s an absolute nightmare . How can you accommodate the variety of boards in quite open historical categories of surf shapes under 12 ’ 6 , 12 ’ 6 and 14 ’? Now , of course , if paddlers want to be competitive at the sharper end , then the simple answer is to buy a narrow 14 ’ board , and away you go . For many , it is not a viable option with many factors included .