The future of SUP in India

   

The 2nd Edition of the India Surf Festival has come and gone. Participants and organizers alike have walked away with more knowledge, better understanding, and more passion.

 The original Distressed Mullet Dispatch:  "Hey guys!! Just got back from the East coast of India helping with the India Surf Festival. I am exhausted!

I was so stoked to help out with this event by giving so many SUP lessons and putting on such a memorable SUP race! Although things got off to a slow start, the surf expression event and SUP races were a hit. Surfers came from all over south India to show off their skills. Then we had a great International recreational race. We had to run it in heats due to limited board supply, but the competition was steep and the participants had a blast!!

The "big draw" was the elite race, the first one in India to leave a flat water environment and go into the open ocean. These guys knew what they were doing, though! They charged out through the inlet with no problems, and then when it was time to come back, the top three caught huge swells and surfed to the finish. Final results were posted on the India WPA site.

We also did a fun relay race. Truth be told, it was probably everyone's favorite. The relay was held last after I had attempted to give lessons to most of the festival's guests. After each lesson I would say, "Now you come enter the relay tomorrow!" Everyone was nervous about entering a race after they had just learned to paddle, but they all showed up! The smiles on everyones faces were priceless. They were paddling as hard as they could, and some were busy trying to keep balance; it was priceless to watch. By the end, everyone wanted to SUP more and come back for more events and lessons.

I'm happy to report that more events and learning opportunities are in the works! Surf and SU