Surf Expo Tradeshow 2012 Kicks Off SUP Style

Written by Andre Niemeyer , Editor

Surf Expo, a highly popular tradeshow traditionally for the surf industry, begins today with its winter edition and once again opens its arms wide open for the stand up paddle board industry. Follow Supconnect.

Indoor pool at Surf Expo 2012 offered plenty of fun for stand up paddle board enthusiasts on hand.

ORLANDO, Florida – Despite of the well-known clash of worlds between surfing and stand up paddling, Surf Expo, originally an exclusive surf-oriented tradeshow, has been warmly receptive to the stand up paddle board industry. While the surfing world was highly antagonistic to the new sport and many surf companies saw it as radioactive, Surf Expo has gone the extra mile to welcome and please the sport of stand up paddle boarding.

With yet another edition of the Surf Expo underway today, running through Saturday, it’s worth to take the time to highlight some of the steps the tradeshow in Orlando, Florida has taken to accommodate stand up paddling. Without going too far back, take the past two years. During the winter show, normally held during the first half of January, Sup retailers had access to an indoor pool, which was setup specifically for sup retailers to test products on site. Also during last year’s winter show, Surf Expo made a room available for a SUP Industry gathering, which set a record number of attendees for any sup industry event to date. Then, during the last fall show, Surf Expo added an outdoor demo day, taking the winter pool experience outdoors.

All the gestures by the Surf Expo to reach out to the sup world is not only worthy of a highlight but also worthy of praise. Stand up paddling has seen an enormous growth and it has inspired countless people to live better and healthier lives. Now Surf Expo is not the only tradeshow around, but nonetheless it’s setting the bar in regards to its treatment of stand up paddle boarding.

How do you think Surf Expo has treated paddleboarding?