Two full days of SUP coaching, in the beautiful Bay of Islands. Ideal fine tuning and preparation for anyone entering the NZ SUP Nationals this year, but also a great opportunity for anyone wanting to improve their skills and raise their paddling game.
The paddling will take place on the waters around the Kerikeri area (Bay of Islands), dependent on the prevailing conditions.
The weekend will include sessions on paddling technique, accelerating (vital skills for starts, turns, surfing, sprinting etc), achieving and maintaining speed, pacing, breathing, cadence and many other aspects of maintaining maximal efficiency while paddling. All vital skills for competition, but absolutely relevant for recreational paddling too, especially if you want to use your paddling as a fitness tool. More race-specific aspects of technique such as starting, cornering and finishing will also be covered, but again, improving these skills will absolutely benefit your recreational skills.
Video coaching will be used extensively, and there will be plenty of opportunity for discussion and debriefing.
The exact programme will be announced when we have a better idea of the level of the participants. It may also be subject to some change according to the conditions.
Read through the FAQs below for more information on the weekend.
Anybody wanting to improve their paddling skills. If you’re going to the NZ SUP Nationals and you’re new to competition then you’ll find it incredibly useful. If you’ve already done some competition but wouldn’t quite describe yourself as an elite competitor, this will be the perfect opportunity to move your skills up another step. But even if you have no intention of ever racing, it’ll still stand you in good stead for your general paddling, particularly if you use (or are planning on using) SUP as a fitness tool.
Yes, so please get your applications in early. If we are over subscribed we may well end up picking the ‘best fit’ group so that we can best target the workshops and sessions to the widest possible benefit. We will let you know as soon as possible whether your application has been accepted.
Absolutely – but we’ll keep it focussed specifically on youngsters who are planning on racing at the Northland Schools Championships and the NZ SUP Nationals.
Any paddlers under 16 will need a parent or carer to be on site for the duration, except by prior arrangement (ie sharing responsibilities with another carer etc).
Every participant must fill out a separate form, so we know exact numbers and details. If you’re applying on behalf of a paddler under 16, please make it clear in the comments box at the end what your intended arrangements will be.
You should be comfortable with paddling at least 3km in one session at a reasonably brisk pace, ideally a bit further, and able to cope with a bit of chop and swell. With regard to specific paddling and turning techniques, we’ll give you some ‘homework’ so that you can practice beforehand.
Exact price TBA, but not more than $120 for adults and $60 for U16s.
Don’t worry about payment yet. We’ll let the successful applicants know as soon as possible, and will supply bank account details then.
You can paddle on whatever you want. For sure, some people will be on raceboards, but it won’t be compulsory, and it certainly won’t stop you getting plenty out of the sessions if you’re not using a raceboard. Also, we have a number of spare raceboards and/or higher performance 12’6 inflatables for rent if you would prefer to use those rather than your own gear. Or just take the opportunity to try out some different boards.
We’ll get under way at around 9am on the Saturday, and finish after lunch on the Sunday. So if you’re out of town there will time for travelling back on the Sunday afternoon/evening. But you’ll probably want to get into town on the Friday night, for a fresh start on the Saturday morning.
Ideally you should do both, as much of the video analysis will take place on day 2, based on film shot on day 1.
If you really can only do one day, it would need to be the Saturday.
Preference will be given to applicants applying for both days, but if we have spare space then Saturday-only applicants will be accepted.
No, you’ll need to bring your own lunches and hydration.
Kerikeri has plenty of motels and bach style accommodation. While we can’t predict in advance what the weather will bring and which beaches we’ll be using, we’ll be somewhere fairly close by to Kerikeri.
It’ll be a fantastic fine-tuning exercise, to set you up perfectly for the event. And while it won’t be a ‘boot camp’ intended to punish you physically, there will enough paddling at various tempos to fit comfortably into any existing training programme.
Register your interest now!
If you’d like to attend the weekend please enter your details below.