To encourage the Midwest water lovers to stand up and ride the paddleboarding wave.
Midwest Stand Up Paddleboard Championship and Festival Series
The Midwest is a sleeping giant in the Stand Up Paddling (SUP) world. Easy access to many lakes and rivers, and a small learning curve, have enabled the fun-loving people of the Great Lakes region to join in with this growing activity. The Midwest also has its share of world class paddlers who are working hard to hone their skills, and who are willing to share their expertise with the many interested and eager newcomers. All of this has given shape to the fun, educational, and competitive Midwest SUP Racing Series.
Progressive board shops and SUP enthusiasts in the Midwest joined forces to create a series of events that feature friendly competition and a host of fun activities, in an effort to foster athletic growth and broaden interest in the sport. The Midwest SUP Racing Series aims to provide a platform for serious paddlers to test their skills against their peers, while encouraging others to take their first stroke on a SUP board and see what the sport is all about. Race directors are free to create their own unique races, while they are, at the same time, adhering to the rules and guidelines that were set up by the World Paddle Association to provide consistency. The 2012 Midwest SUP Racing Series season consists of 12 unique events in 6 states across the Midwest region.
Men and women will be able to compete at each event in a variety of race lengths, age groups, and board size categories. Racers who choose to compete at multiple events will be able to track their progress by accumulating world ranking points. A racer's top six scores will go towards earning an opportunity to compete for the grand prize in the Regional Racing Series Championship event on August 18th in Traverse City, Michigan. The top finisher in the men's 12'6" and 14' board classes, and the top woman in the 12'6" board class, will receive a voucher that must be used to help cover the cost of a trip to Cabo San Lucas to compete at the WPA - Hennessey's 2012 World SUP/Paddle Championships.
The Midwest has a rich paddling history. Canoes were referenced in the earliest known writings of the First Peoples (archeologists' given name for people of pre-history). Like most paddling history around the world, traversing waterways with a paddle in hand was a necessity of travel. The lakes and rivers in the upper Midwest compose the greatest freshwater surface area in the world. During the 1600's, fur traders quickly realized the value of the indigenous peoples' birch bark canoes. The traders improved the design by building the famous Voyager canoes that could carry 8-20 passengers, or thousands of pounds of gear, across large waterways. The Midwest paddling tradition continues today with the highest concentration of recreational paddlers in the world!
This is who we are and this is where we come from!
The Midwest is a sleeping giant in the Stand Up Paddling (SUP) world. Easy access to many lakes and rivers, and a small learning curve, have enabled the fun-loving people of the Great Lakes region to join in with this growing activity. The Midwest also has its share of world class paddlers who are working hard to hone their skills, and who are willing to share their expertise with the many interested and eager newcomers. All of this has given shape to the fun, educational, and competitive Midwest SUP Racing Series.
Progressive board shops and SUP enthusiasts in the Midwest joined forces to create a series of events that feature friendly competition and a host of fun activities, in an effort to foster athletic growth and broaden interest in the sport. The Midwest SUP Racing Series aims to provide a platform for serious paddlers to test their skills against their peers, while encouraging others to take their first stroke on a SUP board and see what the sport is all about. Race directors are free to create their own unique races, while they are, at the same time, adhering to the rules and guidelines that were set up by the World Paddle Association to provide consistency. The 2012 Midwest SUP Racing Series season consists of 12 unique events in 6 states across the Midwest region.
Men and women will be able to compete at each event in a variety of race lengths, age groups, and board size categories. Racers who choose to compete at multiple events will be able to track their progress by accumulating world ranking points. A racer's top six scores will go towards earning an opportunity to compete for the grand prize in the Regional Racing Series Championship event on August 18th in Traverse City, Michigan. The top finisher in the men's 12'6" and 14' board classes, and the top woman in the 12'6" board class, will receive a voucher that must be used to help cover the cost of a trip to Cabo San Lucas to compete at the WPA - Hennessey's 2012 World SUP/Paddle Championships.
The Midwest has a rich paddling history. Canoes were referenced in the earliest known writings of the First Peoples (archeologists' given name for people of pre-history). Like most paddling history around the world, traversing waterways with a paddle in hand was a necessity of travel. The lakes and rivers in the upper Midwest compose the greatest freshwater surface area in the world. During the 1600's, fur traders quickly realized the value of the indigenous peoples' birch bark canoes. The traders improved the design by building the famous Voyager canoes that could carry 8-20 passengers, or thousands of pounds of gear, across large waterways. The Midwest paddling tradition continues today with the highest concentration of recreational paddlers in the world!
This is who we are and this is where we come from!
Sponsors:
