Tahoe SUP Jay Wild Places 4th at SUP Cup

JORDANELLE RESERVOIR, Park City, Utah – The H2O Overdrive National SUP CUP held July 31st wasnt even a blip on the SUP radar a month ago.  But behind the promotional wizardry of Barret Tester and proximity of the Outdoor Retailer Expo, this quickly forming event drew the attention of a national field and developed into a force of nature.

Jay Wild and Ronnie Ayres fromTeam Tahoe SUP couldnt resist either, with cash prizes and similar altitude to Lake Tahoe, the race fell into an empty slot on the calender and a chance to line up with some of the best racers out there.  Advertised as a race that would test  technical skills, the course was set similar to a Battle of the Paddle with four, 1.25 mile laps, beach runs in between each (in this case rock runs!) but with a couple of added twists.  On the final stretch of each lap was a zig zag with a 180 degree right turn that sent you back upwind to a 180 left turn about 100 yards away.  Another man made obstacle was the thick wakeboard boat traffic that buzzed around the outside of the course creating conditions similar to dropping bricks into a bath tub. The only constant was the gusty south wind.

$100 bucks was also up grabs for the male and female leader of the 1st and 3rd laps.  After one lap, Slater Trout would grab the lead and the cash, Jay in the pack in 7th place, followed by Ronnie and another group of paddlers.  Overcoming a bit of bad luck in the transition into the 3rd lap and losing some ground, Jay was able to start picking up time in the straightaways and was closing in on the top 3.  Ronnie would also get tied up (literally) rounding a buoy in the 3rd lap, causing him to get off the board to free it from the noose, and letting 2 places slip away.

"That was brutal", said Ronnie who would finish 12th. "I was trying to make a tight turn and recover from all the bad turns I made today and got too close and tangled in the buoy ropes.  Costly mistake. But I'm pleased with how I felt and how my knee responded."  Ronnie is now 6 months out from major knee surgery from snowboarding and this would be the first real test of his recovery, having to run and handle the choppy conditions.

In the final lap, Jay was able to really start moving in the tricky waters to finish a strong 4th place amongst some names of the world's elite.  "I felt really good coming into the final lap and on that last downwind leg I was picking up some bumps right off the buoy turns.  Its great to get out of our isolation in Tahoe and race and hang out with these guys.  One of the best parts of the races is everyone coming together.  I love it."

Up next for Team Tahoe SUP is one of the biggest races in the country, Taho-e Nalu August 21 and 22nd, held on our own Lake Tahoe and will bring the best in the world to face off in the flatwater mecca for a $20,000 prize purse.