SIDNEY — Get ready to stand up and be counted this weekend, as Sidney plays host to the 2018 Canadian National Stand Up Paddleboarding Championship.
The event — known now as the Sidney SUPJAM — has moved to the Saanich Peninsula after several years in Tofino. Presented by the Mill Bay Marine Group, the SUPJAM is the national championship and race selections for Team Canada for the upcoming World and PanAm qualifying races.
Starting May 25 and running all weekend, the Sidney SUPJAM opens with a morning of advanced and intermediate race clinics at Gonzales Beach in Victoria with some of Canada’s national champs. There will be displays at Sidney’s Glass Beach, near Beacon Park, featuring introductions, a youth clinic and Learn-To-SUP-Race activities, put on by South Island SUP. Those run from 11:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.
Saturday’s races and other events take place along the Sidney waterfront. Opening ceremonies start at 10 a.m. at the Port Sidney Marina.
Immediately afterwards, at around 10:30, the first races begins — the 4km Open Male and Female event. That’s followed at 11:30 a.m. with Mens and Women’s Elite 4km heats and finals, expected to finish at around 4 p.m. The final event of the day starts at 4 p.m. — the Men’s and Women’s Elite 200 metre sprints.
The Sunday, May 27 races get under way at 9:30 a.m. at Port Sidney Marina. There will be distance, prone and relay events, along with recreational paddles and a 200 metre ‘mini-groms’ for kids 10 and under at Glass Beach. Awards will be handed out in Beacon Park at around 2 p.m.
To find out more about the Sidney SUPJAM, visit www.csasurfcanada.org.
