Stand Up Paddle Boarding in Suffolk

Stand Up Paddle Boarding, or SUP for short, is currently the world’s fastest growing water sport. The East of England, with access to the beautiful waterways and excellent coastline of Suffolk, Essex and Norfolk, provides the ideal environment to try out this new sport.

In its simplest form the sport involves an oversized, stable surfboard that you stand on and a single bladed paddle that you use to propel yourself through the water. With the correct tuition and guidance it is possible to be confident with the basics after a couple of hours on the water, and it is this ease of entry that gives SUP its wide appeal. The views that you get over the river banks, and down through the water as you paddle along our accessible local rivers such as the River Stour, Orwell, Deben and Waveney, are sublime and the exercise benefits of an all-round work out, as you propel yourself along, could not be more enjoyable. For more of a challenge it is possible to take the boards onto the sea and also catch waves when there is a swell running along the coastline. The versatility of the sport appeals to a wide range of water sports enthusiasts.

Suffolk SUP Club and School operates from the safe waters of Alton Water in Suffolk and provides a full range of lessons and courses to introduce you to the sport. From beginners wanting to try out SUP to advanced paddlers wanting to improve their paddle technique via video analysis, SuffolkSUP can provide a lesson tailored to your needs. SuffolkSUP is an ASI Accredited SUP School (www.academyofsurfing.com ) and all of their instructors are capable of instructing both Level 1 Enclosed Flat Water lessons on inland waterways and rivers and also Level 2 Exposed Water lessons on the coast.

There are a number of demo days planned for the summer months where you can turn up and try out the sport and from April until October there are regular lessons for beginners held at Alton Water.

The SUP race scene is possibly the fastest growing aspect of the sport and the national clubs have got together to produce the UK SUP Clubs National Race series. Throughout the season from March to October there are regular races held at venues around the country. These include technical races on the sea, involving 6km courses with buoy turns and sprints, and also flat-water races along major rivers. The popular Battle of the Thames race in Kingston draws a large number of competitors and has races for beginners (2 miles) to advanced (11 miles). Closer to home, usually in August, there is the Norfolk Broads Classic race held in Martham, part of the UKSUP Clubs series. The season ends in Suffolk with the popular SUPtember Race day held at Alton Water in September.

SuffolkSUP club also provides a hub for members to get together on a Wednesday evening from 5.30pm until 8pm for a social paddle, some skills training and fun. The club also has boards that it hires out to members so  you can try out the sport before investing in equipment.

If you think that owning, transporting and storing a large SUP board would put you off the sport you will be pleased to learn that the most popular boards in use are inflatable. The technology in these boards has improved so much that they are very rigid and have the performance characteristics of a hard board. The big advantage is that they can be let down and rolled up to transport and store. All come with highly efficient pumps that allow 20 psi to be easily achieved. Robust and durable, they are an excellent way of accessing the sport and make it easy to reach the wide range of launching points on offer.

The fitness side of the sport has been very well documented with many celebrities and fitness experts describing the core workout and overall exercise benefits of the sport. This has led to SUP specific disciplines such as SUP Fitness classes and SUP Yoga taking off around the country. Local classes are available.

The new sport of Stand Up Paddle Boarding gets you out on the water easily, enjoying the local scenery, meeting new people and developing your fitness. What’s not to like?