SUPport PROductions will be bringing on-water action to the wonderful annual Mangonui Waterfront festival, scheduled for March 30 2019. This great little festival features local food, wine, culture, art and music, all along the super-picturesque Mangonui waterfront, and the paddleboarding relay event has long been an integral part of the festival, with teams of four battling it out around a short course out in front of the festival area, perfect for spectators. For next year though, we’ll be taking the event to a whole new level, looking to attrct teams from all over New Zealand to take part, all racing on identical boards supplied by us.
SUPport PROductions will be running the 2019 NZ SUP Racing Championships over the weekend of 13/14 April 2019, at Waitangi, Bay of Islands. This will certainly be the biggest event we’ve done yet, but with the experience of running several Triple Crowns under our belt, along with having been very much hands-on with the 2014, 2015 and 2016 National Champs (at Ohope, Omaha, and Omaha respectively), particularly on the scoring and results side of things, we’re confident we’ll be able to put on a really awesome show.
Our most ambitious event yet! The 2018 Barfoot & Thompson Triple Crown was a real challenge. Following on from the success of the 2017 event, we decided to up the stakes. This time, be prepared for anything, we told the competitors – we will decide what is going to happen (and where) on the day, depending on the weather conditions. We’d wing it – make sure that we gave the competitors maximum bang for their buck.
Well, the weather gods clearly have a sense of humour. They did their best to make it as challenging as possible for us. Forecasts changing by the minute, and delivering everything from 45 knot gales to torrential rain. It really did test us to our limits.
But we coped. The competitors all went away very happy, with three excellent and very different events completed. And from our point of view, we learned loads more about how to run really awesome SUP events… For more details , results and lots of pix check the facebook page.
SUPport PROductions is proud to announce the first ever SUP Team Challenge event will be hosted by the fabulous Lake Hood development, near Ashburton in South Island. The SUP Team Challenge is a whole new concept in watersports events, developed entirely by SUPport PROductions.� The event will be held over 17-18 February 2018, and involve a series of challenges for teams of 4, all involving paddleboarding. The event will be hosted at the stunning Lake House restuarant, and the paddling will all be happening around the canals and waterways of Lake Hood. SUPport PROductions will be managing and running the event, and has secured sponsorship from Fox & Associates to ensure that the entry fee is kept low, to make the event as attractive as possible.
SUPport PROductions has been commissioned by a leading board brand to come up with a whole new concept of stand up paddleboard events. Something that gets away from the ‘sharp end’ of hardcore racing, instead creating an event that is primarily about participation. Something that people will come to simply because it’s fun. The plan we have come up with is a 2 day series of challenges involving paddleboarding, for teams of 4 – with each team having to include at least one youth/master, and one junior/senior member. Some of the challenges may involve a race element, but others will be more around problem-solving, treasure hunts and multi-rider activities. Stuff that anyone of any ability level can enjoy.� The project is coming together very well, and we hope to announce the first events very soon.� Watch this space!
Another great show by SUPport Productions!� The 2017 Harcourts Triple Crown SUP series was a fantastic success, nearly 100 competitors from all over New Zealand enjoying three days of superb stand up paddleboard racing around the Bay of Islands, all three events totally different in style yet all in superbly scenic surroundings. Check out the pix and results on the Facebook page, and like the page to stay tuned for news on the 2018 Tour!
This event was organised and run in its entirety by the SUPport PROductions team. Sponsorship and backing was raised from local businesses, along with funding from the district council.
When Red Paddle Co asked us to come up with the design for the fastest ever inflatable SUP board, we knew we had a challenge on our hands. Designing inflatable boards requires a very different approach to traditional board design� – a fundamental fact that far too many brands simply don’t get! You cannot simply take ‘solid board’ shapes and design approaches, and apply them to inflatables.
However, having been involved in inflatable board design since 2010,� and able to put our name to some of the best selling models on the planet,� we’ve got a pretty good handle on how it works. We’re not going to give away our secrets here, but we can tell you that there’s a whole lot of ‘Kiwi’ in the 2017 Red Paddle Co Elite 14′.� A comprehensive programme of prototype testing and refinement, using some of the best racers in the country and all our prior experience, led to a shape that appears to go against so many of the established rules of board design.� But we had confidence in it. The question was, how would the rest of the world react?
The SUP Company:� �”Probably the fastest inflatable SUP in the world…an absolute rocketship. We put it head to head against high performance 24.5″ hard boards, and this board keeps up. For an inflatable, that’s just unheard of…”
And plenty more of the same.� Our final prototype won the 8km distance race at the NZ Nationals, against a fleet of nearly 70 other boards, all solid.� This is a seriously design.
