There was a great turnout at the first annual B'More SUP Race on Bear Creek Sunday, August 13. Fifty five paddlers of all levels came out to take part in both a 2.5 mile and five mile SUP race. The figure eight buoy course featured lots of fun challenges including head wind, side chop, a bit of downwind, and lots of fun buoy turns.
B'More SUP owner Jessie Benson tells us, "We are proud to say that over 20 of the racers were first time SUP racers....they did amazing! In fact, the winner of the 2.5 mile course was a brand new paddler, Justin Welsh, who had only been on a board a few times before the race! Our youngest paddler was two year old Thomas Weadock who sat on his mom's board the entire 2.5 mile race!"
"Our race was a bit different than most others in the SUP race circuit, we did not have any specific board or gender categories and we did not award any prizes for first, second, and third place. Instead, all 55 racers received a raffle ticket and were entered to win one of six SUP experiences (things like a sunset SUP cruise, SUP surfing lessons at Assateague Island, an Inner Harbor paddle tour, private FloYo class, etc.). Also, every racer was encouraged to hit the water after the race to collect trash. We collected about a dozen bags of trash and also raised over $200 for Blue Water Baltimore by selling raffle tickets to win a Pacifico Beach Cruiser."
The event was a really fun way to bring the community together and celebrate being on the water, while also doing our part to help clean up the local waterways.
B'More SUP plans to make this an annual event. Stay tuned for next year's event at
baltimoresup.com.
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