2025 will be a big year for GBSUP as we look to finish off our current strategy with the momentum we have built and continue to build to the future.
Our 2026 and beyond plans will be covered in another blog, but in 2025, we will start putting the blocks in place to deliver against our ambitions as we look to continue driving forward SUP racing in the UK.
Provisional Dates for Your Diary
National Series
Oxford SUP, Oxford - March 29th
Llandegfedd, South Wales - May 17th/18th
BaySUP, Christchurch - June 28th
TBC - July 6th
TBC - July 19/20th
TBC - August 23/24th
SUP The Creek, South Devon - Oct 18th/19th
British National Championships
Falmouth, Cornwall - June 7th/8th
Additional Dates Still to be Confirmed
We are still working to confirm our final events for the National Series, the National Sprint Championships, and stand-alone events - watch this space!
So, what will 2025 look like for GBSUP?
2025, we will host the National Series, the British National Championships, and the Sprint National Championships. In addition to these events, we plan to hold the Team England (ISA World Champs) and Team GB (ICF World Champs) Selections. Details on these and our 2025 events are below. We are also moving towards our 2026 strategy, which will bring in an affiliation programme for events and organisers as we look to build a strong structure for SUP competition in the UK. 2025 will see us test that model with chosen events, series and initiatives. More details on our plans to follow shortly.
2025 National Series Configuration
The National Series is set to be a 7-event series in which paddlers compete for an overall ranking position in their respective fleets. We have finalised four events and are currently finalising dates with our remaining three hosts. These remaining events will complete what we believe to be the best season yet, with races across the country bringing balance to the calendar through the locations and types of events we will be running like never before. 2025 is set to be a proper National Series taking us to the South West, South Coast, the Middle, South Wales, North East and the North West. We can't wait for this one.
What are the fleets for 2025?
A Race Fleet is made up of your Board Category and Age Group, and for those who competed this year, the 2025 National Series looks very similar to the 2024 Series. There are a few changes to be aware of, and we are also looking to continue with the newly introduced Starboard Airline Cup brought into the fleets at the 2024 finale at Calshot.
Board Categories
14' Hardboard SUP - Any hard SUP race board up to 14' in length
14' iSUP - Any inflatable (iSUP) race board up to 14' in length
Prone Paddleboard - Any Prone Paddleboard up to 14' in length
Starboard Airline Cup - A one-make class. Any Starboard Airline iSUP board is eligible to enter
Challenge Tour - A novice racer fleet open to any board size and construction
Juniors - A specific fleet for juniors open to any board size or construction currently
Adult Age Groups
Your age defines your Age Group at the start of the competitive year (January 1st).
Senior (30 - 39)
Masters (40 - 49)
Veterans (50 - 59)
Grand Kahunas (60+)
Open Age Group
The Open Age Group is open to paddlers of any age, and all paddlers compete equally against their peers. The open is used for fleets whose age groups are not applied and to create a 16-29 fleet in the 14' Harboard race fleet. For 2025, we are reducing the entry age to 16 for juniors looking to take on the longer distances of the adult competitive fleets.
Open (16+) - reduced from 18+ for 2025. Anyone over 16 may enter
Open (16 - 29) - specifically for the 14' Hardboard fleet
What happens if you change Age Groups during the Year?
If your birthday during the competitive year means you will be changing age ranges for the Age Groups, you should remain in your previous Age Group.
For example, a Paddler who is 49 on January 1st is entered into the Masters' Age Group (40-49). If their birthday is in spring when they turn 50, they should remain in the Master's Age Group for the remainder of the year and move to the Veterans' Age Group for the following competitive year.
2025 Race Fleets (Adults)
Race Fleet | Eligible Age Groups |
14' Harboard SUP | Open (16 - 29) Senior (30 - 39) Masters (40 - 49) Veterans (50 - 59) Grand Kahunas (60+) |
14' iSUP | Open (16+) |
Prone Paddleboard | Open (16+) |
Starboard Airline Cup | Open (16+) |
Challenge Tour | Open (16+) |
Juniors
The 2025 junior configuration is set for review. With a developing junior scene driven by the growth initiatives being implemented, it's a very exciting time for the future of our sport.
For now, juniors will remain the same, with two competitive age groups and a novice entry for our groms.
Groms (under 11) - Novice fleet for those just starting out (min age 5)
Juniors (12 - 15)
Juniors (16 - 17)
Race Formats
Over the past few years, one of our goals has been to standardise the formats of our races to provide a blueprint for the competitive SUP scene. This process has included a standard layout and distance, with the defined race categories outlined below.
First, the three traditional formats are Distance, Technical, and Sprints. While certainly for Distance, there is a whole range of options available, from short to ultra-distances, our focus here is what you can expect within the GBSUP Remit.
Distance Races
Defined as short, middle or long-distance races within either a point-to-point or course layout held across all locations consisting of:
A point-to-point race starting in one location and ending in another (usually a river or estuary).
An out-and-back course starting in one location, heading out to the furthest point and returning to the start location to finish (usually a river or estuary).
A simple course layout with a maximum of 3 critical turns (more than 90 degrees) per lap. Laps should represent the location and desired distance, with an ideal limit of 5 laps (used in any location but typically lakes and reservoirs).
Distances should be best matched in line with the following categories:
Short Distances are 3, 5 and 7km races
Middle Distances are 8 and 10km races
Long Distance are 12, 14 and 16km races
Note that the novice Fleets (the Challenge Tour) typically complete the short-distance races.
Junior Distances are reduced slightly to be as follows:
Short Distances are 1 and 2km races
Middle Distances are 3 and 5km races
Long Distance are 6, 7 and 8km races
Distance Race start procedures should use a static start, in which the paddler is static before the starting signal is triggered.
This could be:
Standing Start - Paddlers form a line on the water between set points and await the starting signal
Beach Start—Where a beach start is mandated or required, paddlers will line up either at the shoreline holding their boards or standing knee-to-thigh deep in the water and waiting for the start signal.
Technical Races
Defined as technically challenging races consisting of multiple turns within a multi-lap configuration. Technical races can be held in any location and can make use of tight locations, surf or beach-based races or location-specific landmarks consisting of:
Multiple Laps of a course with between 3 to 7 critical turns (more than 90 degrees) per lap
A minimum of 3 laps is recommended, with a maximum of 7 laps
They can include transitions with paddlers exiting the water and running around a flag, for example, on the shoreline.
Extended transitions can include a short run between 25 and 100m, whereby paddlers may be mandated to release their boards at the shoreline as they transition around a flag or object.
Technical Race distances can be defined within two categories:
Short Course - distances up to 4km in length for a complete distance
Long Course - distances from 4.5 km to 8km in length
Sprint Races
Short and fast races usually take place on flat water or from a beach.
Straight Line - 50, 100 and 200m distances held point-to-point in a straight line
Gated Sprints - Upto 150m with paddlers starting between two buoys or from the beach, out between a set of two buoys (paddler can choose to turn left or right) and back to the starting point
Hybrid Formats
Our Hybrid formats allow us to flex the racing and course layout according to the conditions, and location or to create an exciting format for spectators. The Hybrid Formats allow us to blend the aspects from the formats above to create these courses.
Distance Tech—Typically distance-focused, it allows longer races to occur in restricted venues such as large lakes. For example, a technical section can be added to make the racing more exciting over a normal distance race, which may just follow the outside of the lake. A zig-zag layout can bring in some critical turns and make the racing more exciting.
Tech Sprint - Shorter races (sub 1.5km), which can be used for a round-robin or knock-out format, so typically, one lap of a course blends the fast-paced nature of sprint with a technical course layout.
Initial Race by Race & Event Plans
National Series Events
As with 2024, we will keep to a single National Series, taking our paddlers into various conditions, locations and formats. Our goal as a competitive series is to align with the ISA and ICF formats, which broadly relate to ocean and flatwater locations, respectively. Paddlers can, therefore, expect to be taking on our range of formats across different ocean and flatwater locations across the series.
Oxford SUP, Oxford - March 28th
The season's first race sees us head to a brand new location for GBSUP. Oxford SUP, based at Farmoor Reservoir just five miles outside of Oxford City, has been building its racing offering over the past few years and is becoming a key stakeholder in developing junior pathways. Provisional Race Details:
Distance Tech - 14km
7km Challenge Tour
Junior Clinic and Racing
Llandegfedd, South Wales - May 17th/18th
After a very last-minute switch to Llandegfedd Reservoir last year, we are excited to return to this stunning location eight miles north of Newport in South Wales. With beautiful scenery and excellent facilities, llandegfedd was a popular addition to last year's calendar.
Provisional Race Details:
Saturday, May 17th
Junior and Adult Clinics
Tech Sprint Racing (non-series) Adults & Juniors
Industry Demos and exhibitors
Sunday, May 18th
Distance Races (Series Event)
Adult Fleets 16km
Challenge Tour 10km
Junior Series Racing
BaySUP, Christchurch - June 28th
Last year saw the return of a favourite event on the calendar as we welcomed back the Battle of the Bay hosted by BaySUP. It was an event packed with talent, from international riders to our best UK paddlers, providing plenty of inspiration to our newcomers and juniors alike.
Provisional Race Details:
Distance Race - 10km
Tech Race - 5km
Challenge Tour and Junior options
SUP The Creek, South Devon - Oct 18th/19th
2025 is the 10th year of one of the UK's most iconic races in the SUP the Creek hosted by Waterborn. We are delighted to welcome back the STC to this year's calendar with the promise of exciting racing in one of the most beautiful venues on the circuit.
Provisional Race Details:
Saturday, Oct 18th
Distance Race
Options for 1, 6 and 12km (12 being the series race)
Sunday, Oct 19th
Tech Race
National Series Events still being confirmed:
We are discussing with three hosts to complete our 2025 lineup for the National Series. One of our primary goals is to bring a better balance to the National Series, and we are hopeful to find an agreement with these chosen hosts to complete our best season yet.
Provisional Dates Proposed:
TBC - July 6th
TBC - July 19/20th
TBC - August 23/24th
British National Championships, Falmouth - June 7/8th
The 2025 British National Championships will take us to the Falmouth Bay Open for a weekend of exciting racing, where we will crown our 2025 champions.
Provisional Race Details:
Saturday, June 7th
Junior and Adult Clinics
Distance Race 12km
Challenge Tour and Junior options
Industry demo and exhibitors
Sunday, June 8th
Tech Race - 5km
Tech Sprints
Challenge Tour and Junior races
British National Championships Competitive Formats
The British National Championships takes a more open approach to our Race Fleets, and we are currently working on details of what this will look like for 2025. We will release full details in a Championship-specific blog in the coming weeks.
Team GB and Team England Selections at Falmouth
Whilst still to be confirmed, we hope this year's event will play host to the team respect team selection for the ICF and ISA World Championships. The discussions are currently taking place with the selection panels, and we hope to have this plan confirmed ASAP. Full details on the selection process will be detailed in a selection specific blog.
Sprint National Championships
2025 will see us return to Nottingham and Holme Pierrepont to contest the National Sprint Championships. We want to open the entry to include Elite, Open and Junior categories within the 2025 format. We aim to have a dedicated Sprint National series in 2026, so 2025 will be another step towards that goal. Full details will be released in the dedicated Sprint National Championships blog.
Provisional format:
200m laned sprints
Supporting GBSUP
If you want to support GBSUP as a partner, host, or sponsor, please get in touch with us at info@gbsup.co.uk. GBSUP is a volunteer-led, non-profit organisation, and we rely on your support to fund the National Series and Championships as we continue to lead the national combative SUP scene.
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