SUP Mag UK lo-res free to readers July 2014 lo-res - free to read | Page 70

BaySUP believe passionately in grass
ro o t s l eve l c o m p e t i t i o n . Te l l u s a b i t
about the Frostbite Race Series and
Summer Sizzler events and your
involvement in getting those off the
ground?
After a big event at Watergate Bay in September about five years ago,
the organiser signed off by thanking everyone and said: “We’ll see you in
the spring for more racing”. That got me thinking, what is the point in
stopping racing and building the sport just because it’s going to get a bit
chilly? So I spoke to a few movers and shakers at that time about a
winter race series and several locations were up for it so Frostbite Race
Series was born. Then in the summer it became Summer Sizzler. After a
year or so of running these highly successful races, they then focused
more at club level racing where the concept is to run a series of races over
the season so that local clubs could start to build. Plus this meant that
people weren’t having to travel to race. Several clubs still run a series and
BaySUP Frostbite has been going from strength to strength – there will
be a series in 2014/15. Many paddlers use these races to keep active over
the winter ready for the bigger summer events. Each year we see people
come to the series to do their first races and it’s a great feeling when you
see them get the bug and start racing nationally.

How important do you feel having a
network of SUP clubs is and how do
they contribute to the nurturing of
talent and the overall UK SUP
industry?
The club network is the lifeblood of the sport and fundamental to the
future. It’s not rocket science and we are not inventing the wheel here,
we are just doing what is done in other watersports in the UK and
around the globe. We now have a good network of clubs built by
PASSIONATE people who are right for the sport.

How do you cater for non-competitive
SUPers who want to join BaySUP –
should fair weather paddlers come
along to club nights, events and
meets?
We encourage recreational paddling through people meeting up over
Facebook, which works well. We will also be running regular paddles
through the summer. We have a high concentration of SUPers that
don’t race but enjoy the training side of the sport so they use this as a
way to keep fit, learn paddling skills and socialise. Training is not all
about elite racers.

What plans does BaySUP have moving
forwards – for development of
facilities, amenities and reasons to
join and become part of the club?
We want to start a nippers club and get more juniors involved. This is
something we have thought about for a long time but it takes a great
deal of dedication. Facilities is something which would move the club
into a totally different league and we see no reason why this can’t
happen in the future, we just need to raise enough capital.

We’re seeing increasing numbers of
stand up paddle clubs springing up all
over the UK. How do you go about
setting up your own? Do you have to
consider things like insurance and
liability implications if you want to
start a club?
Yes you will need insurance for your members. BaySUP has been
affiliated to the British Canoe Union since its birth as they offer a
simple, cost effective, no-nonsense affiliation which will get your club
off the ground. Whilst assisting to launch UK SUP Clubs, Chris Kenyon
from Central SUP put together excellent guidelines for creating a club –
http://www.uksupclubs.co.uk/start-a-club/
If you are thinking of putting a club together and you have any
questions, please use UK SUP Clubs as a resource to assist you. The
knowledge and experience within the organisation is fantastic.

If you could go back to the start what
would you do differently a second
time around?
I would have asked more ladies to get involved a lot sooner. The area is
booming with lady paddlers and I think we have missed getting more
involved because it’s been run by guys. Since our AGM in May, we now
have two lady committee members, which is great news. This will help
get more ladies on the water.

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