FOR THE 2ND CONSECUTIVE YEAR!
(VIDEO at the end of the article)
An amazing event! Stoked for the win – photo by BanzaiBetty
The 2014 Honolua Surf Co’s Ultimate SUP Showdown was by far one of the best organized events I have ever been to. First of all – Most all of the top surf and race competitors that were invited were at the event. The heats in both surf and race were started on time. It isn’t easy – but the organizers stuck to the schedule. CBS Sports was there covering action, with color commentary by Chuck Patterson who knows our sport and the competitors better than almost anyone. It’s great for our sport that CBS Sports is going to televise the event on Prime Time TV.
At the end of the day the finale was a race in the surf – but if you wanted a slot on the first line in the Showdown you had to deliver a decent performance in both the surfing and the racing heats that came first. Going in the first row was a huge advantage - having that open, clean water and having about a 2-3 second lead on the back row made a significant difference. This and similar creative innovations are what make the Showdown a different format. The organizer, Boyd Jeffery, sees the future of the sport that promotes the surfers to become better racers and vice versa.
So to qualify for the Ultimate Showdown – the top 12 men and 4 women from the surf event – and then the top 12 men and 4 women from the race event are selected to compete. Here’s the twist – your combined score from both events puts you in either the front row – or the back row. I was fortunate to do well in both events – and was in the first row!
My flying finish!
Day One: I made my first surfing heat but in my second one I didn’t get so lucky. Unfortunately, I popped my shoulder out doing a backside crossbow turn. However, in my first race heat I placed first – which is always nice. That was the end of day one and I got a good meal in me and got some sleep.
On the way back in, Kai kept bumping me and was playing dirty, so I made a move which left him behind me. Of course he didn’t like this and on the next buoy turn I was more then 3/4 around it and he still tried to get on the inside. I think he may have purposely rammed into me to knock me off- but I stayed on and stayed steady. He just put a huge hole in my board (photo sequence in the video and above). I just blocked him out and still had only one thing on my mind and that was to win. I ended up sneaking into a little wave that didn’t break and got it to the second to the last buoy. After I turned I notice I had a comfortable lead and I was getting more and more excited. Coming in on the home stretch I was so stoked to power through my injury and come out on top.
Stoked to have met Boyd 0 Ultimate SUP Showdown organizer
Super stoked to have made such a great connection with the event organizer Boyd, because now we have one of the sickest events ever and for many more years to come.
Connor Baxter