FCS SUP Athletes Succeed At 2014 Battle Of The Paddle

DANA POINT, California - This past weekend at the 2014 Battle of the Paddle FCS athletes came and conquered in difficult yet pristine conditions. With temps in what seemed like the high 90s and glassy conditions, the curveball that mother nature sent was in the form of head high to overhead waves and perfect left handers at Salt Creek beach where the event was held. It was absolutely beautiful weather at the BoP and it was an awesome event.

In the most exciting final ever for the Women’s Elite Race, FCS SUP athlete Candice Appleby came out on top over Lina Augaitis and two-time defending champion Annabel Anderson. Candice was beyond stoked saying, “Super excited to take the win. It was a really intense race, the start was hectic and crazy. It was really exciting with Annabel and I going back and forth for the lead.” The start of the women’s race was simultaneous with the incoming of the biggest set of the day, which made for an interesting start to the race. In the race Candice used her signature Candice Appleby fin. “I used my signature Candice Appleby fin because it works great in all conditions and super stoked it works well in the waves and on buoy turns,” Candice said.

In the Men’s Elite Final, FCS SUP athlete Danny Ching fought hard to keep his lead, but he was passed by defending champ Kai Lenny and Jake Jenson, who were able to catch a wave in at the very end, causing Danny to come in third. In the Men’s Elite Distance race, Danny Ching came back with a vengeance and surpassed the rest of the field by a longshot. “This venue is way more exciting than Doheny and way more dangerous which brings an element to it,” Danny said. When referring to his signature fin that he used, Danny said, “This thing is great. It didn’t catch any kelp and it rode the waves. It holds up when it needs to and it lets go when it needs to. I couldn’t have asked for a better fin.”

Fellow FCS SUP athlete Travis Grant was able to snatch second place in the distance race behind an on-fire Danny Ching. “By the time I got back to the front Danny had already broken free because he’s a freak powerhouse and I had to settle for second” Travis said. “I am very happy with second, I had a pretty good race with a bad start but my equipment and everything else was perfect.” Travis was riding the Slater Trout signature fin.

“FCS congratulates Danny Ching and Candice Appleby on their incredible victories at the 2014 battle of the paddle,” said Tyler Callaway Director of Business Development at FCS. “We would also like to salute all of our athletes who have trained so hard and performed so brilliantly this year it's an honor to you have your help developing the next generation of FCS high performance paddling accessories! You inspire us to do everything possible to make the best stuff.”

About FCS SUP
At FCS we do our best to make high-quality innovative products that will help you improve your performance and your standup paddle experience in and out of the water. We are honored to work with a long list of legends and to partner with them to help improve their performance and yours. We believe that the sport of standup paddling is largely about empowerment and helping people to enjoy their lives and achieve their performance goals. We are excited to share these products with you in our FCS catalog and we hope that you will be excited to share them with your friends and your customers. We hope that you will also share that same spirit of aloha that came from Hawaii so many years ago. It is truly a gift that keeps on giving.