SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers April 2014 lo-res free to read | Page 39

Central SUP Club Paddle on Youtube
16th March 2014

That was then…

Success!

Before Central SUP, the sport of stand up paddle boarding
was unheard of in the Midlands. There was an unorganised
group of inland surfers, but nothing else as such. This was
frustrating and I was always on the hunt for another fix.
Snowboarding, skateboarding and windsurfing; I went
through the lot but nothing really grabbed me like SUP.

The game changer came after a winter paddle ended in an
argument with a fisherman. I was not wise to the world of
water access but after paddling a local lake in Tamworth I
learnt very quickly you couldn't SUP where you pleased. I
took it a bit personally, at the time, and not wanting to give
up called the council.

My first experience was in Sheffield on a lake. It felt (and
tasted) very different to the sea! I still got hooked though
nonetheless.

I never expected them being keen to offer new sports to the
people of Tamworth. (One of the development officers
happened to be a surfer and had seen SUP in Hawaii). They
wanted to meet with me and discuss the idea further.

inning

I had nothing other than my boards and a lot of
enthusiasm – I never expected the outcome to be what it is
now. As it was the year of the Olympics in the UK there was
funding around so the council offered some help to
formalise Central SUP and get it going in Tamworth. They
even had a room right on the river they were prepared to
rent to us.

Excitement rises

Location, location,
location

Driving home I was so stoked with the outcome – this was
it I thought! Then a bit of panic set in. How on earth would I
do this?

The biggest obstacle was trying to find somewhere to
paddle. Nobody had done this on inland waterways near me
so I started tagging along with the local canoe club. They
happily accepted me as one of theirs, even if I did look a bit
odd standing up.

I would need kit, I would need insurance and I would need
to be able to teach SUP. Fortunately I had made some good
friends and I got straight on the phone with my good pal
Scott (Warren), also a very keen paddler.

I got more attention on the water which started to build
interest in the sport. After a few chats Central SUP came
together. I started offering club night sessions using a
couple of boards I had purchased. We also paddled in
Birmingham City Centre which was a unique experience in
itself.
There was still no real structure to the SUP club other than a
Facebook group. This was a really good way to raise the
profile of Central SUP. I found by adding content I could get
more people interested, but without the support of a proper
club it was merely a way for likeminded people to meet
up and paddle together.

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Building
blocks
We ran the first ever
Midlands Race Series
which went down a
storm, attracting
paddlers from all over.
It was our first venture
into racing, which was
growing at a rapid rate
The following year our
regular paddlers were
keen for more. When
the opportunity to
become instructors
arose they jumped at
it. Scott was moving on
to pastures new so I
would need help to
keep things going. In
particular, one of our
club members was
keen to get the SUP
scene happening at the
National Watersports
Centre. Stacey took on
the challenge and with
our support Central
SUP Nottingham was
born.
We also took part in
the Head of the Dart,
the Battle of the
Thames, Bray Lake
Race Series, Paddle
Round the Pier,
Watergate Bay
Nationals and built our
network with other SUP
clubs.