The prestigious Lost Mills race in Germany this month will continue a busy year of Stand Up Paddling with the ongoing support of the International Canoe Federation.
Lost Mills is just one of many SUP events around the world supported by the ICF, with competitions on every continent and the excitement of new races in the coming months.
Lost Mills is currently in its fifth year at Germany’s Brombachsee, and has a reputation for attracting the very best SUP in the world.
The 18 kilometre race is considered one of the toughest to win, and this year will be held from June 15 to 18, with athletes from more than 25 countries expected to attend.
ICF President, Jose Perurena, said Lost Mills captures perfectly the popularity of SUP.
“The ICF has been hosting and partnering SUP events around the world for many years, and Lost Mills has always been one of the biggest,” Mr Perurena said.
“This year we have a packed SUP calendar, ranging from World Cups and Invitational events, to national competitions that have been staged by our National Federations for many years.
“It’s a very exciting time for the discipline, and with the ICF’s long association with the Olympic movement, it is a relationship that will continue to open doors for SUP.”
Last weekend the ICF showcased the depth of SUP with an invitational men’s and women’s event in front of a big crowd at the Szeged Sprint Canoe World Cup.
And later this year the ICF will support the first European SUP Inflatable Championships, an event officially sanctioned by the European Canoeing Association to be contested in Bernau Felden in Germany.
Inflatable boards are growing in popularity among SUP throughout the world. The convenience of being able to fold a board into a backpack has made the sport more accessible to athletes, and the ICF is proud to recognise this fast-growing discipline.
The SUP 11-city tour is also one for the hardy, a 220-kilometre odyssey billed as the “ultimate challenge” in the northern Friesland region of the Netherlands.
The tour takes in 11 historic cities dotted along the original waterways and several kilometres of open fields, with more than 200 paddlers expected to take part.
Later this month the ICF will support the 2017 Mercedes-Benz SUP World Cup in Scharbeutz, Germany. This event premiered last year and attracted more than 10,000 visitors, and this year’s competition is expected to be even bigger.
As well as a being a major exhibition of the sport, the Mercedes-Benz Sup World Cup is also part of the APP World Tour, with paddlers competing for world ranking points and prize money over both Sprint Distance and Long Distance.
The SUP programme heads to Tahiti on the first weekend in September for the Ocean Racing World Cup and International SUP race, and a big turnout is expected for the ICF Nelo SUP Cup in Portugal, also in September.
The International Ocean Racing and SUP Cup in Hong Kong in November will be one of the highlights of the 2017 ICF calendar.
The event is guaranteed to draw a big crowd to the many vantage points that will be on offer for this showcase event.
And for the first time, SUP will be included in the South American Ocean Racing Championships, to be held in Brazil in November.
Also in November, the Ardeche Marathon will once again welcome SUP for the second year after its successful introduction last year.
The event is limited to 50 paddlers.
