Sayulita JR SUP Team Classic

Just before Christmas break the kid's SUP Team had their first inter-team competition.  They have a few of these during the year so the kids can test their skills and get a taste of what it would be like to compete in a real race.  The coaches set things up just like an actual competition.  When the kids went to the Pacific Paddle Games last September not much was a surprise to them.  Lots of credit goes to our coaches for preparing them for events away from our own beach.

The morning of the comp the conditions were BIG and the waves were serious.  I was totally fine with the race being called off.  The coaches cancelled the race for all the kids EXCEPT Trace and Alex' group.  Their group has the most experience and the coaches felt they could handle the conditions.  Many of the kids in the program are new to SUP so it just wasn't a good idea to send them out.

Alex and Trace ready themselves for the start.

The race began and all the kids were off with mountains of water coming at them.  Some kids were immediately knocked of their boards by the waves and some were able to continue on and begin to navigate the course around the buoys set up in the bay.  Trace made it through the waves and was in the lead to begin the race but Alex had to recover and lost some time.

Waves are part of the challenge of an SUP race

A beautiful morning for a race.

Both Alex and Trace had goals for this race.  Alex has consistently finished just out of the top spot with the small group of girls she trains with so she really wanted to do well.  Alex' paddling and endurance has gotten much stronger in the last year but she is working on some other things that will help her save time and compete at a higher level.  She knows that once she makes mistakes, she will not do as well as she hopes.  Buoy turns, breaking waves and surfing waves to the beach are all part of a race and she knows she needs to develop her skills a bit to get better.  Once she cleans those things up a bit she will see more the success she is hoping for.

Alex paddling in open water towards a buoy

Alex smiling as she finishes

Alex finished first today in her small group after finishing behind each of these girls in previous races.   She was grinning ear to ear and after she caught her breath she was literally bouncing up and down saying "I am so happy"!  She did great!!

Trace is a bit of a different story.  This kid is addicted to the ocean and paddling.  Most kids go to practice twice a week for one hour each session.  Trace attends both practices offered each day for a total of 8 hours a week after school.  Then he will go to a SUP class on the weekend and surf with his old man.  Sometimes he will just go the beach with a board and paddle on his own and surf for a couple hours.

Trace and his buddy, Kolbi, lead the pack

Trace had clear goals for this race.  He wanted to finish ahead of one of his good friends, Kaden.  I feel he also wanted the Team as a group to see him as one of the top dogs in the program.  All I can say is that I am so impressed with what Trace accomplished.  He had a goal, dedicated himself, focused and put in the hours to achieve his goal and he was successful!  He finished ahead of his friend for the first time and finished second overall.  Plus, he was not far behind the fastest paddler in the program.

Trace riding the big surf to the beach.

Trace all smiles

Trace was not done yet.  There was a SUP surf competition yet to come.  He has seen several surf competitions but had yet to learn how it all worked and understand what the judges were looking for so it was a great experience.  He made some mistakes early on but passed through to the next and final round.  He learned from those mistakes and got some coaching from his dad having been in a couple competitions previously and was really happy about the way things turned out in his first comp.

Trace navigating some big surf paddling back out

Trace looking for space for his next trick

With dedication like this how can you not be proud.  We know that Trace has been surfing with less than optimal equipment but this has been totally fine for the last year or so as he learned.  Now it is time to get him some decent gear.  For Christmas he received an adjustable Quickblade Paddle that he can use for racing and surfing.  It is really nice and so much better than the "log" he has been using. Our next goal is a new SUP surfboard.  The board he is over a foot longer than he should be on and is a tank.  So much so it is hard to believe that he has done as well as he has.  Watching him from the beach during the comp you could just see that the gear he was using was big, heavy and slow compared to the other kids competing.  He managed the gear, the conditions and was super stoked to finish 4th and we are sure he is setting goals to do better than that next time.

Trace receives his award for a 4th place finish with Coach Bicho Jimenez

Sayulita is the epicenter of all things SUP in Mexico and the coaching, existing talent and up and coming talent is high.  The kids are literally a 5 minute walk to the beach.  Even closer than he would have been to the World Class resorts near our house in Park City and they can carry their own gear to the beach!  We cannot wait to see what kind of water people they become in the next few years.