SUPS MAKE A STAND IN DOCTOR FESTIVAL OF PADDLE SPORTS

 

January, 19, 2012: To paddle the 27.5km from Rottnest Island to Perth’s Sorrento Beach on an ocean ski in Saturday’s Doctor will be tough enough and for the likes of defending champion, Freshwater’s Tim Jacobs and the 400 hundred odd paddlers who will follow him, most will get to sit down on the job.

But spare a thought for the field of international watermen who will line up in water sports fastest growing addition to the Doctor Festival of Paddle Sports  – the Starboard Stand Up Paddle Board category or SUPS.

The field will be on their feet all the way and hoping “The Doctor” kicks in and gives them a helping hand as they paddle and plot their course across the ocean for a slice of the $10,000 prizemoney.

While most of the attention will be on the main ocean ski event, with Jacobs now joined by 2009 winner, five-time Olympian Clint Robinson, the SUP paddlers will again feature prominently in the popular Festival which has attracted Hawaiian whiz kid Connor Baxter – winner of the Molokai Channel SUP event last year and one of the hottest young competitors in world water sports.

Baxter, just 17, who added Fiji’s 35km Namotu World Paddle Challenge to his list of wins in November, has confirmed he is a definite starter and he will take on defending champion, Paul Jackson and his fellow Currumbin-based Gold Coast team mate Travis Grant.

Organisers are also hopeful that 10-time Molokai paddleboard champion and arguably Australia’s number one multi-sport waterman Jamie Mitchell will also fly in from Hawaii for the event, after spending the winter chasing the island’s big surf.

Grant, just as much at home on a SUP as he is on his OC1 outrigger, is excited to be at the forefront of a sport that is taking off professionally and recreationally in the US mainland, Hawaii, throughout the Pacific and around Australia.

“It’s an exciting time for Stand Up paddlers with increased sponsorship and support making it very worthwhile for everyone to stand up and take notice of this sport,” said Grant.

“To be on the groundfloor and to be part of it is great and races like the Doctor can only get bigger and bigger once the word spreads around world.

“It’s an exciting race in a great location and I can’t wait to get over to Perth for what is the prestige race on the SUP calendar.

“To get paddlers like Connor Baxter and Jamie Mitchell will also give the race increased profile in the SUP world and set it up for the future that’s for sure.

“It is going to be a tough race that’s for sure but to have a downwind race like The Doctor will provide the field with a great chance to show SUP in the best possible light.”

Saturday, January 21 - THE DOCTOR
 
When: Saturday, January 21, 2012.
Where: Rottnest Island, WA (start location); Sorrento Beach SLSC (finish location)
Distance: 27.5km
Start Times: 1pm –SUPs and Paddleboards; 1:45pm – OC1 and Female competitors, Plastics; 2pm Male Skis.
Finish Times: From 3pm onwards
What: Ocean skis, surf skis (traditional Surf Life Saving competition skis), plastic skis and kayaks, Stand Up Paddle Boards, Paddleboards, Outrigger Canoes
Who: Ocean Skis - Tim Jacobs (NSW), Clint Robinson (QLD), Dawid Mocke (RSA), Jasper Mocke (RSA), Jeremy Cotter QLD), Bruce Taylor (QLD), Ben Allen (QLD), Brendan Sarson (WA), Reece Baker (WA). SUPs – Travis Grant (QLD), Jamie Mitchell (QLD), Connor Baxter (Hawaii).
 
Sunday, January 22 - FINN KAYAK COASTAL CHALLENGE
 
What: A teams and relay race from Fremantle to Sorrento Beach. Competitors can enter in a team of two, three or four in an all male, mixed, plastic or SUP team category.
When: Sunday, January 21, 2012
Where: Port Beach, Fremantle (in front of Salt On The Beach Restaurant)
Start Time: 12 Noon – all categories
Finish Time: From 1:15pm
Finish Location: Sorrento Beach SLSC
Transitions: North Cottesloe, City Beach, Scarborough Beach
Who: The majority of the competitors double up for the Challenge
 
FESTIVAL OF PADDLE SPORTS FACTS
The Doctor is named after the well known prevailing afternoon sea breeze “The Fremantle Doctor”.
In the case of off shore winds the course may be changed to start on the mainland and finish at Rottnest Island. This was the case in 2010 – the only time it has reversed in 10 years.
The event has attracted a wide range of competitors from the elite athlete, including Olympic representatives to the recreational paddler.
The Doctor provides the opportunity for the weekend paddler to line up against the world’s best.
 
ALL INTERVIEW REQUESTS: Ian Hanson (0407) 385 160