ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championships – Day 1 & 2 – Copenhagen, Denmark
September 2024
So, here we were, the very first Scottish national team to compete in the 12th ISA, (International Surfing Association), SUP and Paddleboard World Championships, in Copenhagen, Denmark.
We may have had a small team of just 6 paddlers – Alison Rennie, Angela Kerr, Jen Ng, Glen Sloss, Jonathan Sherwin, and me – along with team manager Ally Findlay, and top supporters Martin Kerr, Allistair Swinsco, Rhona Dunbar, and some of Jonathan’s family, but I reckon we had the most number of flags during the opening ceremony. And, when it came to cheering for our team-mates, the other Home nations, and the under-dogs, our volume and enthusiasm was second to none.
Day 1 started with registration and board measuring at the beach at Amager Strandpark. This was when I discovered my 12ft Bark Commander was actually 12 feet and ¼ inch long. That ¼ inch meant the difference between me being allowed to compete or not. Fortunately, Martin always carries the head of an old hockey stick and some sandpaper in his bag of tricks, and after a minute or so of sanding, he had brought my board within the 12ft limit. Phew!
At midday the technical course, (the one I would be racing on), was set up and competitors were invited to paddle around it.
On ALL of my previous technical races, BOTH of them had been set up in a simple M shape, made up of 4 turns and completed in 2 circuits – a total of 8 buoys/turns for me to find. The ISA tech course contained 21 buoy turns, (7 for each of the 3 circuits), placed anywhere between 40 and 150 metres apart
The other racers could see the whole course from the start line, but for me, the buoys would only become visible when I was just a few metres from them. This was definitely going to be a challenge.
With the help of my team, I managed to complete 3 practice circuits, counting my strokes between each buoy. I then spent the rest of the day committing these numbers to memory.
After this, it was a quick Metro ride into the city centre for the opening ceremony, which had all of the teams and supporters marching through the streets of Copenhagen, towards 
Søren Kirkegaards Plads, stopping traffic as we walked, with Glen as our “official” team flag-bearer.
The event was officially opened after the sand pouring ceremony, where each nation pours a small amount of sand from their home country into a large container, symbolizing the bringing together of our countries and the unity of the teams. Angela was our sand pourer.
Day 2
The previous night I had fallen asleep memorising my course stroke numbers. And on the journey back to the beach for another training session, I revised them again. Only to be met at the car park by Allistair who told me that some of the course had been altered. Not the best start to the day.
Not in the best frame of mind, I headed back out to do another 3 circuits, re-counting and re-memorizing my new numbers. I was so focussed on this task that I managed to hit a SUPer, and 2 minutes later, almost hit the safety boat – both having been in my blind spots. Sadly, due to an external error, I was pulled off the water after just 1 circuit, with only a fraction of the course stored in my memory.
The afternoon saw the start of the racing, with the SUP men’s technical race heats going first. First to represent Scotland was Glen, and as he shot off towards his first 
buoy turn, everyone on the beach could hear that the Tartan Army were there. Jonathon was on after Glen, followed by Alison and then Angela. Each of our 
paddlers put in a Herculean effort, but we were up against the best in the world. Athletes who had been competing at this level for many years. This was our first year at this level, and although they didn’t win their races, neither did they give up their positions without a fight.
Photos courtesy of Sean Evans, Pablo Jimenez, Pablo Franco, Maja Ecker & Thomas, Team AA and Sweetfart Photography.
