DANA POINT, CA - OCTOBER 9, 2014
The 7th Annual Battle of the Paddle (A.K.A. The Super Bowl of SUP) did not disappoint as the world's top stand up and prone paddle athletes took to the water last weekend to do battle at Salt Creek, CA. With a sizable south swell in the forecast and a new race venue notorious for pounding surf, athletes with a surfing background were ecstatic about last weekend's race.
Surftech's paddle team pride themselves on being well rounded water athletes able to handle just about any and all water conditions. Needless to say, the team in the Surftech Battle of the Paddle (BOP) expo tent were frothing to get in the water as a 4 - 6 foot southwest swell pumped through Salt Creek throughout the weekend! In fact Jay Wild, George Plsek, Morgan Hoesterey and Alison Riddle were so psyched they chose to race in both the Elite SUP and Prone races! While a handful of other men opted to race in both divisions, including Anthony Vela, Chuck Patterson and Rob Rojas, Morgan and Alison were the only two women to compete in both events! For her tenacity Hoesterey earned the Battle of the Paddle "Most Inspirational Female" award!
JACK BARK COMES FROM BEHIND TO WIN INAUGURAL ELITE PRONE RACE
In 2014 Jack Bark (Rancho Palos Verdes, CA) has paddled his Surftech 12' Bark Commander paddleboard from the tip of Southern Australia to the northern tip of Tasmania, from Vancouver, BC to Victoria Canada, broke the stock course record at the Molokai2Oahu Paddleboard World Championships, won the prone division in the Carolina Cup and the Surftech Jay Race and won the Waterman Tahiti Tour prone race last month! None of Jack's paddle adventures this year have involved paddling out through head-high waves and surfing!
In the Battle of the Paddle's inaugural Elite Prone Race, Bark trailed Shane Scoggins (Goleta, CA) throughout much of the race up until the final lap where he passed Scoggins at the first turn buoy and never looked back, opening up a 40 second lead over Scoggins.
"I was so stoked to win this year," said Bark. "There were some super fast guys, including Shane Scoggins, who is an animal on a stock board. I kind of got skunked on the waves, but managed to sneak by Shane at the end. Can't wait to see who shows up next year to battle it out!"
In the end Jack added another prone race victory to his trophy case, finishing the course in a time of 40:13 and the Surftech 12' Bark Commander was atop yet another elite race podium.
Jack Bark's board of choice - 12' Commander designed by Joe Bark
CANDICE APPLEBY WINS AN UNPRECEDENTED 5TH BOP TITLE
Candice Appleby (San Clemente, CA) used the momentum from her wins at the Surf Race to Victory and the Stand Up World Series in Huntington Beach to secure her 5th Battle of the Paddle Elite Women's title! Racing on her 12'6" Bark signature race board, Appleby raced neck and neck with Annabel Anderson (Wanaka, NZ) in what many consider the most exciting Battle of the Paddle Women's Elite Race of all time! The two chased each other through the head-high surf and around the race course in a grueling battle for the ages. By the time Anderson turned the final buoy, approximately a quarter mile from the finish, Appleby was already in the surf zone, riding a wave to victory. The win is Candice's first BOP victory since 2011 (she sat out last season due to a hand injury) and her 5th Battle of the Paddle Elite Women's title! 
"It's hard to fully express what this win means to me," admitted Candice. "It's honestly still sinking in. I learned a lot over the past year and a half, being injured and climbing my way back up the mountain. I realized that life isn't about the wins and losses... people aren't going to remember your win/loss record... they'll remember the way that you made them feel and the impact that you had on their life. That said, this win does mean a lot to me. I see it's weight in the faces of the people who have been behind me; helping, praying and rooting for me for the past few years. Seeing the pure joy of others and their heartfelt congrats inspires me to keep pushing forward." Candice's board of choice - 12'6" Bark CA Signature Model designed by Joe Bark 
Springer Sweeps Men's 30-39 14' SUP Course and Distance Races 
Seth Springer (Thousand Oaks, CA) made it a clean sweep in the Men's 30-39 age group 14' SUP division! Springer finishedSaturday's course race a full two minutes ahead of Australian Adam Cole (Terang, Vic). Seth timed his finish perfectly as he stroked into one of the best set waves of the day and rode it all the way to the finish line. Sunday's distance race was considerably closer with Springer edging out Tyler Schmuckle (Encinitas, CA) for the 14' 30-39 SUP division sweep. Congrats Seth on an epic weekend of racing! Congrats to all of the Surftech/Bark team riders who gave it their all last weekend! Candice Appleby - Womens Elite SUP Course race Jack Bark - Mens Elite Prone Course race Morgan Hoesterey - Womens Elite SUP Course and Prone races Matt Becker - Mens Elite Prone race Jay Wild - Mens Elite SUP Course and Prone races Ollie Shilston - Mens Elite SUP Course and Distance races Alison Riddle - Womens Elite SUP Course and Prone races George Plsek - Mens Elite SUP Course and Prone races Andrew Glidden - Mens Elite SUP Course race Seth Springer - Mens 30-39 14' SUP Course and Distance races Rand Carter - Mens 50-59 14' SUP Course and Distance races Tony Paul - Mens Elite SUP Distance Rhys Staples - Boys 18 & Under SUP Course race and Beach Flags Jane Staples - Girls 12-14 Kids SUP and 18 & Under SUP Course races Matix Springer - Boys 18 & Under SUP Course race and Beach Flags Trent Carter - Boys 12-14 Kids SUP and 18 & under SUP Course races Zoe Carter - Girls Beach Flags ABOUT SURFTECH
Founded in 1989, Surftech is the industry leader in manufacturing surfboards, stand up paddleboards and paddleboards. Surftech introduced the first composite technology surfboard to the surf industry 25 years ago. Surftech partnered with the best shapers in the world to bring this innovative new composite construction to market. Nearly 20 years later, at a time when very few people outside of Hawaii had ever seen or heard of stand up paddling, Surftech again broke new ground by introducing the very first production stand up paddleboard to the market, a move that some say launched the SUP industry. Today, in partnership with many of the world's leading board designers, Surftech offers a wide variety of high performance surf, stand up and prone paddleboards to customers worldwide. | 
Loading... Please wait...
