Ozzy and Ashley's Adventures: Sayulita JR SUP Team - Pacific Paddle Games 2018

Sunday was the final day of competition and we were able to arrive at the beach a little later than Saturday. The day's race would be the "technical" race where the racers basically sprint one lap of 1.4 miles around several stationary buoys navigating swell and waves along the way.

The course was essentially the same as last year so the kids were well prepared. Alex' group was up after a few races so she sat on the beach with her helmet on and waited with butterflies in her stomach. Again, Jade Howson appeared and wished her new friends from Sayulita good luck and provided some hometown advice to Alex. Super cool of her to take time from her JR Pro pre-race prep to encourage some of the kids on our team.

Alex gets some advice from Jade Howson.

Minutes later Alex was on the starting line with several of the girls she met during the previous day's race and they were off! The wave conditions had mellowed a bit but there were still moments where large sets came through. Fortunately for Alex' group the race began during a lull in the surf and they paddled off to the first buoy.

Alex begins her technical race. Black helmet on the right.

During this time Trace had been on the beach waiting with his best buddy and team mate, Kolbi. Jade gave our boys a brief "pep-talk" and soon after the they were off!

Trace and Kolbi get ready for their start. 11 and under boys and girls all raced in a single group but placed separately.

After the kids were in the water we had a few minutes to move over towards the finish line and grab the binoculars to be able to see the race progress a bit better. The race is a fast one of only one lap but part of it far from the beach and we tried to locate Alex in her group. We spotted her in second place and not far behind the leader. And, she was actually closing on her!!! Whaaaaat!!!? The swell had picked up a bit and we could see the racers moving parallel to the beach between the large rolling walls of water. The leader made the 180 degree turn to head to the final buoy turn and Alex was now right behind her. Things got a bit crazy from there as her coaches, other parents and friends of both girls began yelling unheard encouragement from the beach.

They made the last buoy side by side and both looked to grab a wave in to the beach and the finish line. Super exciting and the group of parents around us watching the race began to buzz!! Alex and the other girl picked up the same wave but Alex was trying to ride it where the wave was a bit steeper than where the other girl was at. She tried like crazy to hold onto it but it was just too much wave with such a long board and she went down as the other girl rode a smaller less steep section of the wave all the way to the beach. Ughhhh!! So much fun to watch the hard fought contest between the two girls. Alex collected herself and was able to catch a wave finishing only 30 seconds behind her in second place.

Traces contest was less of a nail biter with a whole lot less drama but was also really fun to watch. He knew his buddy, Kolbi, was going to blow the doors off the competition so he had his eye on the next fastest boy in his group who was just 30 seconds faster than him the previous day bumping Trace to 3rd.

We picked up Trace with the binoculars as he made the second to last turn heading to the last bouy to pick up a wave to the beach. 11 year old boys with helmets on look so similar at a distance so it was hard to figure out just who was who. The boy who he wanted to beat this race was able to grab a wave ahead of Trace and rode it all the way to the beach to foil Trace's plans for second place. Trace grabbed a wave too and finished third just 25 seconds behind.

The awards ceremony followed and it was fantastic to once again see the kids hard work and dedication pay off standing on the podium. During the weekend our team brought home 11 medals! We loved hearing the commentators say "From Sayulita" as each one of the kids received their medals. The coaches and parents were so proud of the team and how they got after it with energy, skill and sportsmanship.

The Elite Team!

Once again, our team from this year made it's mark on the Pacific Paddle Games. Our group of kids put it all out there on the water in tough conditions that even challenged the pros and did it with skill, class and a smile. It was hard not to notice the team from Sayulita was in the water and doing well.

One of the biggest things to happen over the weekend was a donation of a handful of 12'6" race boards from The Paddle Academy SUP race program. Their program picked up a sponsorship from SICMaui and the loaner boards they let our team borrow for the weekend's event were just taking up space in storage unused. Amazing and super generous! Several of our Elite Team kids have received the attention from Brawner Boards and received a discount to purchase their own 12'6" race boards to train with in Sayulita but much of the kid's group trains with the older 11' boards. So, with the addition of the donated boards the Elite Team may be able to come close to all be training on real race sized boards for the first time ever when the boards arrive later this winter!!

So, second year at the Pacific Paddle Games. What did we learn?

-Our team is prepared. Training in variable conditions is to our team's benefit. You could see a difference in competitors, including the pros. Some were comfortable in surf and some were not.

-Our team really likes to have fun but competes at a high level too and supports each other.

-The announcers can actually pronounce "Ostrowski"...most of the time.

-SUP pros continue to be so supportive and always give back to the kids.

-It is great to meet new kids with the same interests in other places.

-Our program is unique. We now know of and met a couple other kid supportive programs out there but there are few like our program in small town Mexico. Fun to meet parents from other programs too.

-I am not sure if other SUP kids know what to make of our team from Sayulita. I watched kids around them during the weekend's parties and events and it was interesting. All of them are Spanish and English speaking but most are sun bleached blonde. All are physically very fit thanks to their training and ocean lifestyle. They all have ocean skills, compete hard and are composed under pressure. They are always having fun no matter if they are at beach, competing, having dinner, traveling or at a pre-race party and it is noticeable. They are kids being kids and the youngest member on the team can hang out with the oldest kid. The team has a positive energy and it is contagious. I am not sure all this is the norm so I feel like our group is special.

-SUP racing, like other sports, takes money. Gear, travel, lodging, logistics and other expenses really add up to be able to attend races. Our team of 30-40 kids practices weekly on essentially smaller recreational boards that are getting tired and constantly need repairs and many kids who could travel cannot with the costs involved. If anyone out there wants to help support the team in any way or may know some who could contact the The Sayulita JR SUP Team here or drop us a message via the blog.