ASI SUP Training Centre in Cornwall, UK hosts 24-hour paddle
Posted: 8 June 2017
ASI Accredited School, Ocean Sports Centre hosted a 24-hour Paddle in Cornwall on 3-4 June 2017.
It was organised by ASI SUP Master Trainer, Glenn Eldridge.
Youngsters and adults alike paddled none stop through the night for 24 hours during the weekend 3-4th June 2017, in aid of new equipment for their club, Ocean Sports Centre at Carbis Bay. The first time this has ever been attempted in the UK.
The two clubs involved were Ocean Sports, a multi paddlesport club where youngsters from 10 years can learn to paddle everything from Hawaiian canoes, to Stand Up Paddleboards, Ocean Skis and kayaks combined with its sister club the St 'Ives Bay Stand Up Paddleboard Club. Money raised will go toward buying a new six-man Hawaiian canoe similar to the one used in the fundraising event and paddles for the Juniors.
ASI Master SUP trainer and club chairman Glenn Eldridge said: “This was one of our most epic adventures yet. In total, it took over 30,000 strokes to cover the 152 kilometres in 24hr 1 min and 15 seconds with a mix of adults and juniors as young as 10 and as old as 60+”.
The event was a real coming together of the local community to help make it through the 24 hours.
Glenn said: “People had obviously seen what we were doing on social media and were coming down throughout the day to help out, whether they were members of the club or not, it felt really special.”
Club member Hattie said: “People were coming down after finishing their shifts in town late at night, juniors were getting up early Sunday morning and paddling at 6am; we even had the groom of a wedding party from the Carbis Bay Hotel jump in and do a shift!”
This is not to say that it was all plain sailing for this audacious adventure. Once past midnight volunteers and motivation began to wane. Mark Stevens one of the main steersmen for the attempt said: “Bizarrely it was fairly light up until 11PM but between one and three AM in the morning it was proper black and it was hard graft with only a few of us left to carry through, although, seeing the phosphorescence was amazing”.
Aside from being a real milestone for both clubs, the event raised nearly £1500 of the £10,000 they seek to raise, for the new six-man Hawaiian canoe. Both clubs are supported by Community Ocean Sports, a not for profit organisation who will, in turn, be hosting more fund-raising events throughout the year.
The next major event to be hosted at Carbis Bay will be a beach version of it’s a knockout (iKO) on July 8th and 9th 2017, a family fun event which forms part of the bigger St’Ives Bay Celtic Cup, where paddle boarders, Hawaiian canoes and ocean skis will all vie for the prestigious ‘Ultimate Paddler’.
For details and how to enter either iKO as a team or family go to www.oceansportscentre.co.uk/st-ives-bay-celtic-cup/
The clubs have a broad spectrum of club members from grass roots ‘get out there and have a go’ all the way through to elite international representation. “Our passion is the ocean, getting youngsters and adults out on the sea learning about ocean awareness and safety but, ultimately enjoying a more active and healthy lifestyle together. We take great pride in how so many local people get out and enjoy the ocean with us. That those who choose to compete, we have been able to nurture from absolute beginners who are now elite international sportswomen and men”.
If you would like to find out more about joining the clubs or would like to support their funding raising appeal as a business contact Glenn via email glenn@oceansportuk.com
Donations big or small can be made via the Just Giving website at www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/Hawaiian-canoe
Back to News
ASI (Academy of Surfing Instructors), is the worldwide peak body for Instructors and Coaches in the outdoor recreation and sport industry for surfing, stand up paddle and bodyboarding.
www.academyofsurfing.com
We set the standards for education, accreditation, professional development and ongoing support for our members, offering pathways from entry level to elite level.
International Instructor and Coach Accreditation. You can travel the world with ASI.
ASI Accredited Schools abide by the high international standards for operations, training and safety.
