Season 2017: Men’s Schedule

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Category Event Rating Minimum³ Score Region Date The Majors Pacific Paddle Games 7 Star 70% 82.5% California September 29 The Majors Gorge Paddle Challenge 7 Star 70% 70.0% Oregon August 19 The Majors Carolina Cup 7 Star 70% 70.0% N. Carolina April 21 The Majors Molokai-2-Oahu 5 Star 50% 50.0% Hawaii July 30 APP Tour Maui Pro-Am 5 Star 50% 54.0% Hawaii March 11 APP Tour Japan 5 Star no min. 47.5% Japan May 6 Euro Tour Bilbao Paddle Challenge 4 Star 40% 40.0% Basque June 10 Euro Tour SUP Race Cup (St. Maxime) 4 Star 40% 42.5% France May 20 Euro Tour San Sebastian 4 Star 40% 40.0% Basque June 17 Euro Tour Thonon-les-Bains 4 Star no min. 41.5% France June 3 Euro Tour Hossegor Paddle Games 4 Star no min. 44.5% France May 27 ISA The Worlds: Marathon 4 Star 40% 45.0% Denmark September 2 ISA The Worlds: Beach Race 4 Star 40% 45.5% Denmark September 7 ISA The Worlds: Sprints 3 Star no min. 30.0% Denmark September 3 Regional Majors SUP World Cup 5 Star 50% 50.0% Germany July 1 Regional Majors Red Bull Heavy Water 5 Star no min. 40.0% California October Regional Majors Gorge Beach Race⁴ 4 Star 40% 40.0% Oregon August 19 Regional Majors Maui2Molokai 4 Star 40% 40.0% Hawaii July 15 Regional Majors OluKai Ho'olaulea 4 Star 40% 40.0% Hawaii April 29 Regional Majors King of the Cut 4 Star 40% - Australia December 2 Regional Majors Battle of the Bay 3 Star 30% 30.0% California September 23 Regional Majors Noosa Festival of Surfing 3 Star 30% 30.0% Australia March 4 Regional Majors 11 City Tour 3 Star 30% 30.0% Netherlands September 13 Regional Majors Paris Crossing 3 Star 30% - France December 3 Regional Majors Santa Monica Pier Paddle 2 Star 20% 24.0% California June 10 Regional Majors Air France Paddle Festival 2 Star 20% 20.0% Tahiti April 8 Regional Majors The Japan Cup 2 Star 20% 20.0% Japan October 14 Regional Majors The Lost Mills 2 Star 20% 20.0% Germany June 17 Regional Majors Hong Kong International 2 Star 20% 20.0% Hong Kong August 26 Regional Majors Santa Cruz Paddlefest 2 Star 20% 20.0% California March 24

Season 2017: Women’s Schedule

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Category Event Stars Minimum³ Score Location Date The Majors Pacific Paddle Games 7 Star 70% 76.0% California September 29 The Majors Gorge Paddle Challenge 7 Star 70% 72.0% Oregon August 19 The Majors Carolina Cup 6 Star 60% 60.0% N. Carolina April 21 The Majors Molokai-2-Oahu 5 Star 50% 50.0% Hawaii July 30 ISA Worlds: Marathon 4 Star 40% 64.0% Denmark September 2 ISA Worlds: Beach Race 4 Star 40% 58.0% Denmark September 7 ISA Worlds: Sprints 3 Star no min.¹ 30.0% Denmark September 3 APP Tour Maui Pro-Am 4 Star 40% 40.0% Hawaii March 11 APP Tour Japan 4 Star no min.¹ 38.0% Japan May 6 Euro Tour Bilbao 3 Star 30% 30.0% Basque June 10 Euro Tour St. Maxime 3 Star 30% 37.0% France May 20 Euro Tour San Sebastian 3 Star 30% 30.0% Basque June 17 Euro Tour Thonon-les-Bains 3 Star no min.¹ 30.0% France June 3 Euro Tour Hossegor Paddle Games 3 Star no min.¹ 40.0% France May 27 Regional Majors SUP World Cup 4 Star 40% 40.0% Germany July 1 Regional Majors Gorge Beach Race⁴ 4 star 40% 40.0% Oregon August 19 Regional Majors Battle of the Bay 3 Star 30% 33.0% California September 23 Regional Majors Santa Monica Pier Paddle 3 Star 30% 33.0% California June 10 Regional Majors OluKai Ho'olaulea 3 Star 30% 30.0% Hawaii April 29 Regional Majors Maui2Molokai 3 Star 30% 30.0% Hawaii July 15 Regional Majors King of the Cut 3 Star 30% - Australia December 2 Regional Majors 11 City Tour 3 Star 30% 30.0% Netherlands September 13 Regional Majors Santa Cruz Paddlefest 2 Star 20% 20.0% California March 24 Regional Majors The Japan Cup 2 Star 20% 20.0% Japan October 14 Regional Majors The Lost Mills 2 Star 20% 20.0% Germany June 17 Regional Majors The Paris Crossing 2 Star 20% - France December 3 Regional Majors Hong Kong International 2 Star 20% 20.0% Hong Kong August 26 Regional Majors Noosa Festival of Surfing 2 Star 20% 20.0% Australia March 4 Regional Majors Air France Paddle Festival 2 Star 20% 20.0% Tahiti April 8

SUMMARY

Here is the updated schedule for Season 2017, which lists all the big international races along with their star ratings and Race Index minimums that will have a big influence on this year’s SUP Racer World Rankings.

Below you will find a list of 33 races that we know are going to attract a lot of top ranked paddlers in 2017. This list is based primarily on feedback from the top 50 men and top 30 women via the recent SUP Racer Athlete Survey, where we asked each of the world’s best paddlers which races they planned on doing this season and in doing so allowed the paddlers themselves to help shape the race season.

(If you’re new to the World Rankings: The ‘Race Index’ is the foundation of the system that ranks every race in the world from 0-100% based on the level of competition on the start line; the more competitive a race, the higher its Race Index score and the more world ranking points that are on offer.)

The goal of the SUP Racer World Rankings has always been to provide an accurate and unbiased leaderboard of the world’s best paddlers, while also highlighting the world’s biggest (or at least, most competitive) events.

With the combination of World Rankings, Star Ratings and Race Index, SUP Racer also aims to provide the fragmented international race season with some much-needed structure, while making it easier for everyone in the paddling community (fans, athletes, brands, events and all other stakeholders) to follow and analyse this great sport of ours.

We now group the big international races into five categories. The star ratings tables below are colour-coded based on these groupings.

THE MAJORS

These are the four biggest and most prestigious races that combine to form a ‘Grand Slam of Paddleboarding’ (similar to what you find in tennis)

APP TOUR

This is the elite, invite-only circuit of six races that rebrands the old Stand Up World Series that is expected to feature the most competitive races outside of the Majors

Late July Update: There have been some major changes to the APP World Tour season, with the athletes voting to boycott the APP at the SUP World Cup and run that event as a standalone race; shortly after, the New York APP event was cancelled while the China event is still to be confirmed. Therefore we’ve removed both New York and China from the Season 2017 schedule.

EURO TOUR

This is the well-established, regional tour in Europe during the summer that will see highly competitive ‘prime’ events run back-to-back over six week period from late May til the end of June

ISA WORLDS

The sport’s showcase event for national teams is set for Denmark from September 1-10 and will feature three separate points races this year

REGIONAL MAJORS

These are all of the great standalone events around the world



We’ve produced separate star ratings for men and women this year to give the women more time in the spotlight. This is also because many events are simply far more competitive on the men’s side (or vice versa), so aligning the star ratings between genders (as we did last year) would greatly skewer the ratings.

There are 33 men’s events and 32 women’s events with star ratings in season 2017 (there is one men’s-only event), however any other event can still qualify for the World Rankings system if it scores 20% or above on its own; the more elite paddlers on the start line, the higher an event’s Race Index score.

We’ve also introduced the First Year Rule, which gives all brand new events a provisional star rating but no guaranteed minimum. This is because new events have the greatest uncertainty in terms of anticipated attendance (there were a lot of ‘maybes’ in the athlete survey), so it’s quite risky to give them a guarantee. This rule is also a way to show respect to the established events that have already proven to be great events. Or in other words: These new events have to prove themselves first. The First Year Rule applies to 3x APP Tour races, 3x Euro Tour races and the 1x new ISA race.

We don’t expect any significant changes to this list, however it may be tweaked throughout the season if specific races fluctuate or if any big new events are announced.