Whether you’re a newbie stand up paddler or old hat it’s always good to spice up your paddling shenanigans, try new things and challenge yourself by learning additional SUP skills. Paddling on the flat, in a straight line is one thing. There are so many additional feathers to your cap, however – even those small building block skills can make huge impacts on your stand up paddling further down the line. One example being the tail sink pivot turn. In wave environments, when SUP surfing for instance, spinning on a sixpence allows riders to position themselves for wave catching quick smart, without having to go through the wider turning arc of using a sweep stroke and potentially missing the wave. Sweep strokes themselves are another necessary foundational and practical ‘weapon’ but in some instances paddlers will need a more efficient, whirly inspired turn like the pivot.
But it isn’t just paddle strokes and manoeuvres that can be added to your New Year 2021 SUP challenges. You may fancy tackling that elongated adventure SUP route that’s been taunting you for the last few months. jaunting off round the next bend and discovering what’s up way yonder (no matter how far) could be the stepping stone to that mammoth endurance paddle you vaguely have in the back of your mind. Paddling distance is, after all, one such area that some SUPers have focused on in the past.
A whole plethora of SUP challenges are available for the taking. Your imagination knows no bounds. And these challenges can be as big or small as you make. Ultimately if you’re improving then all good. There’s nothing worse than standing still. Progression leads to more fun as it opens up your wider SUP world.
The phrase ‘New Year’s resolution’ conjures up images of promises broken. Whereas a challenge is a slightly different mindset and therefore more likely to be achieved. Keep things realistic is the biggest advice when deciding on your SUP goals. Step by step, increase their difficulty and pretty soon you’ll find a whole host of new stand up paddle boarding experiences can be added to your existing rosta.
Let us know what your SUP challenges and goals are going to be for 2021.
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