BSUPA Nationals 2015

This weekend the BSUPA selection event for the 2016 ISA World Championships takes place in Carbis Bay, St Ives. The event is scheduled over two days with the forecast promising challenging conditions for all paddlers. Organiser Glenn Eldridge from the Ocean Sports Academy has the details:

Carbis Bay is fast becoming the premier destination for paddle sports in the UK. From the 50+ paddlers enrolled upon the Ocean Sports Academy programme to hosting National and International events; already current world number two Fiona Wilde has signed up to return for the 2016 St’Ives Bay Celtic Cup. What makes Carbis bay so special is not just its location adjacent to the famous art studios and beaches of St’Ives but the sheer range of conditions accessible from the sheltered clear blue waters of the bay.

Race director Glenn Eldridge, organiser of the epic Celtic Crossing and Paddlefest, is keen to maximise the oceans potential for competitors “as a paddler I know how frustrating it can be turning up to events and having to battle the conditions rather than utilising them”. With pumping waves around the corner and a variety of wind directions the event is best placed to provide a classic race designed for paddlers “we will make every effort to ensure we are able to access the best conditions suitable for the competitors – we also want to ensure that everyone gets a chance to safely get out in the ocean and do what paddles sports are designed for, having fun and a getting a buzz from surfing bumps!”. “With well drilled water rescue crews we have the flexibility to shift the course around the bay lining up the best wind direction as well as the ability to take paddlers through wave zones”.

The event is also a selection event for the world championships in paddle board, both prone and stand up, hosted by the International Surfing Association (ISA) next year. “we have studied the last few world championships and want to enable the best suited paddlers to go the worlds by mirroring the demands of previous venues – aside from the heat and palm trees I think we can get it pretty close”.

Competitors will race in both endurance and technical formats over the two days; Saturday will be the longer (18km) enduro course turning within the heart of the town with shorter faster racing close to the beach on Sunday using what is known as a technical format.

Conditions are looking epic!

We are expecting strong winds of 25 knots possibly pushing gust of 30+ from the South or south west. This will mean that we will keep the racing tight within the bay but with the possibility of more turns within the waves for the long course race on Saturday. Swell size is looking big at 3.5m and 11 seconds from the west – this type of swell size and direction will mean that Hawkes point will come into play producing a clean rolling wave on the high tide when the race starts.

As part of the event the Ocean Sports Centre will be hosting a series of Ocean skill workshops and forums discussing the importance of sports science within paddle sports, board manufactures will also be present providing board demo’s for those looking to get into the sport. If this isn’t enough to take a weekend down South, Carbis bay itself has one of the most spectacular views from its Cafe in St’Ives. The two day event will take place on November 7th & 8th; racing starts at 12:00am on Saturday and 10:45 on the Sunday.

If you wish to enter the event or come along to spectate please contact Glenn via email: glenn@oceansportuk.com or visit the event website www.oceansportscentre.co.uk