Where / how did you discover SUP ?
Whilst living in New Zealand , I had a few lessons ; it was relatively new back then ; I struggled a bit with my balance , ( until the instructor took out a camera , apparently when posing for a picture I found my balance !) I didn ' t think I ' d be back on a board anytime soon so I enjoyed the water ! Fast forward a few years , living in the United Arab Emirates , a centre we often worked at had a few boards , so we took them out at every opportunity – Sunrises before climbing sessions and evenings before campfires etc .
Talk us through how the group started .
I often joke , “ I started the group to find friends , and now I have over 11k of them .” However , there is some truth behind that . I moved back to my family home when I left working in the outdoors and didn ’ t know that many people here since my childhood friends had mostly moved away or settled down . So , yeah , I wanted to find some new people to paddle with . It was also a small chance for me to keep my coaching qualifications up and eventually , after purchase of some second-hand boards , keep instructing .
Talk a little about your role within EOEPS and what it entails .
I started the group in 2017 , and all the trips , socials , etc ., were my creation . I figured if I wanted to do something or thought something would be fun , surely others would too . In the early stages , I managed the group alone , checking posts , answering questions etc . I now share the platform with several other admins , who help manage the day-to-day running of the group ; we also share ideas and create new trips and socials , charity events etc . together , which has freed up my time away from Facebook , meaning I can coach , organize other trips and create a range of branded merchandise ( all available on www . eoeps . co . uk / shop ;) )
Can you explain how it ’ s been building a UK SUP group ?
We often say the members make the group , which is true . Without the genuine word of mouth and invites to friends and family , we probably wouldn ’ t have such a big , friendly and successful group . There have been times , which aren ’ t always enjoyable , when people try to cause upset amongst the group , but for every negative person or comment , there seem to be about a hundred positives to take over . We seem to be growing daily and achieving pretty amazing things , which tells us we must be doing something right !
The following three questions are answered by Andy Large , who joined me as admin in the early days when we had less than 1000 members . The group is as much his as it is mine !
Are you the only FB group affiliated with British Canoeing ( BC ), and how did that happen ?
BC has told us that we are the first Facebook group and the single largest group to be affiliated – though a few smaller groups have come forward and said they are the first online group etc ., so we aren ’ t sure . However , we are definitely the biggest ! Other similar platforms have now started discussing our affiliation with BC and how it can work for themselves . We had
“ We have never been just about SUP , though our group could probably be split 60 % SUP , 35 % kayak and 5 % canoe .” s t a n d u p p a d d l e m a g u k 20