Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina has been on everyone’s radar for some time now because of the world renowned Carolina Cup. After this year’s Hobie Salt Life Pro Am, the world’s paddle boarding community now has a legitimate reason to come a week early and watch the world’s best in the surf.

The time has come for the best stand up paddlers in the world to come together and face off yet again at the first major stand up paddle race of 2016, the Carolina Cup. Top athletes in the sport will be there including 3x women’s winner Annabel Anderson, Travis Grant, Candice Appleby, Danny Ching, Connor Baxter, Fiona Wylde and many, many more all going head-to-head aiming to conquer the grueling Graveyard Course.

For Summer 2016, Starboard Apparel continues to push Innovation Quality, producing Premium Technical Waterwear specifically for SUP, Windsurf and Surf. In doing so, they have created a collection of waterwear and lifestyle apparel to cater to your every need.

"Yes, I can confirm that I will be back in Wrightsville Beach to have another crack at the Carolina Cup," said Annabel Anderson, three-time champion in the Cup's elite and grueling 13.5-mile Graveyard Race and top woman in the world in standup paddle board.

Hailing from El Cerrito, California, Haakon Hoyer-Nielsen is rising the ranks in the stand up paddle (SUP) world in both SUP surfing and racing having become a podium regular in practically every event he attends. Haakon trains in the San Francisco Bay, has already finished his first Molokai 2 Oahu race, is a puppy raiser for Guide Dogs for the Blind, works year round as a lifeguard and consistently makes high honors as a sophomore at Saint Mary's College High School. Get to know this rising SUP star here:

Ever wonder what makes up Starboard’s carbon sandwich? Here, Starboard plays off the popular TV show Iron Chef to demonstrate how their Carbon Sandwich construction is uniquely designed and created with more high quality materials compared to other boards on the market.

When anyone hears KTA (Kiteboard Tour Asia), they think kiteboarding, which is fair enough as that is what they have been spearheading in the Asia region and sometimes further since they were founded back in 2009. But, you could never accuse the KTA of becoming routine or following the norm and it seems they have done it again with their inclusion of stand up paddle racing.

Michael Booth is sneaking up the world rankings list and after joining Starboard SUP’s Dream Team roster he’s gained a huge support system which will likely help to transform this dark horse into a full blown threat at each and every event he enters. We caught up with Boothy (as he’s known to his friends) and asked him a few questions to learn more about his roots and where he plans on taking his SUP career. Have a look:

We can already tell by watching this short trailer that The Progression Project, a SUP Surfing film by PaddleWoo and Erik Antonson, is going to be a must-see. For this film, PaddleWoo assembled nine of the world's best paddle surfers in the Blue Zone of Costa Rica to document and define the current state of paddle surfing.

If you’re looking to step up your game in SUP surfing and you want to get away for a bit the SUP-Surf Retreat in Punta Mita, Mexico is exactly what you need. Hosted by SUP Pro Sean Pointer and surfing legend Ian Cairns, the retreat is based around a SUP surfing coaching and learning experience that mixes in a 5-star luxurious vacation experience.

22-year-old Zane Schweitzer has been crowned the 2016 Ultimate Waterman. Schweitzer, a late call up for 2016, was the most consistent surfer of the multi discipline event winning three of the seven disciplines contested. Today Schweitzer placed third in the 16km Stand Up Paddleboard Race which was enough to clinch the title over runner up Danny Ching (USA).

Hawaiian athlete Zane Schweitzer has claimed his third discipline of the 2016 Ultimate Waterman in a thrilling head-to-head duel with defending champion Daniel Kereopa of New Zealand. The longboard discipline was held at Piha Beach, Auckland today in clean waves of less than 1.0m. Meanwhile, Danny Ching wins the Underwater Sprint and swim discipline pushing him into second.