Sun Sets on Battle of the Paddle California 2012

The Battle of the Paddle California was an incredible event.  Many of the leading finishers are listed below as well as the dates for the Battle of the Paddle that will be held in Rio, Brazil.

Battle of the Paddle Awards Ceremony

DOHENY BEACH, California - Once again the Battle of the Paddle proved to be a spectacular event with no shortage of excitement.  After an intense competition on Saturday the Stand up Paddle racers returned to compete on Sunday in the distance race, kids races, yoga, relay races and another attempt at a Guinness World Record, this time for the most people surfing a single wave. 

The action began at 9:00 am pst as the best paddlers in the world made their way along the beautifully sunny but hot 9 mile course to test their strength and endurance.  After just over an hour and a half the first men came to the finish with Rob Rojas taking the fastest overall time on an unlimited board (winning his division) followed closely by Danny Ching who was first in the elite portion of the race and was on a 14 ft. board.  Some of the other results for the men's race are as follows: (for official results visit www.battleofthepaddle.com)

Distance race 14' boards: 1st Mo Freitas (18 & under), 2nd Bart de Zwart (40-49), 3rd Andrew Logreco (19-29)

Distance Race Men's unlimited results: 1st Rob Rojas (30-39), 2nd Chuck Glynn (19-29), 3rd Dialy Ndiaye (40-49)

Distance Race results: Elite 1st Danny Ching, 2nd Kai Lenny, 3rd Slater Trout, 4th Kody Kerbox, 5th Eric Terrien, 6th Jamie Mitchell, 7th Noa Ginella, 8th Chase Kosterlitz, 9th Beau O'brian, 10thMattBecker

The women also competed at full capacity and after a strong 1st place performance the day before it was no surprise to see Annabel Anderson cross the line in first place for the ladies again.  Candice Appleby once again took 2nd and was followed by Jenny Kalmbach in 3rd and Brandi Baksic who took 4th.  The field was very strong and it is ever impressive to see the consistency of these amazing athletes and all that they endure to be the best in the world year after year.

As the day continued there was a lot of fun with both the kids race and the team relays.  Candice Appleby and Danny Ching were a huge help with the groms (kids) and provided the right atmosphere for these young super stars to be "stoked" about their battle experience.  

The relay race was perhaps the most entertaining and fun event all weekend.  Team Naish took the first place title and Team Performance Paddling was second.  However, it was the battle for third that really spiced up the action as it came down to a foot face to the finish line.  Conor Baxter, in his true high performance and all out style, made a leaping dive across the finish line to seal the 3rd place spot, but not with out coming up with a face covered in sand.  It was absolutely one of the weekend highlights.  

The day concluded with an attempt to break the Guinness Book World Record for the most people surfing a wave at the same time.  Currently the results are being counted and confirmed but it was an exciting process to watch as each person was carefully counted before and after surfing the wave.  Time will tell if the record was broken so we'll await the final results from the Guinness organization. 

At this point in time the sun has set on yet another California Battle of the Paddle, but the exciting news is that no one will have to wait a full year before the next battle takes place.  It was announced recently that there will be a new Battle of the Paddle venue in Rio, Brazil and the races have been scheduled for April 5th, 6th and 7th of 2013!  So start looking into flights now as this is only 6 months away!  Until then, the battle field will be calm but the training no doubt will be very intense.

Will you attend the Battle of the Paddle in Rio, Brazil?

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