Sometimes it’s not the places that make a trip special, it’s the people.
I can’t think of a better example of this than my visits to Key West, where I am always so warmly welcomed by the Lazy Dog girls, who travel to plenty of events in Florida and beyond, and are always my #1 supporters (besides my mom, of course ;) ) on the beach. On the weekend of February 8 & 9, they invited me down to the Lazy Dog Paddle Fest to give a kids clinic, host a presentation on the youth movement in SUP, and, of course, race! My mom and I flew down to Key West Friday night with a bunch of extra kid size Quickblade paddles in anticipation of my clinic the next day.
I couldn’t be happier with how it went! I had about 15 kids who were all super stoked on paddling! During introductions I always ask what their favorite thing about SUP is, and more often than not, most of the kids reflect on how much they enjoy the experience of just being in the water and observing all of the ocean’s biodiversity. That gives me a lot of hope for the state of our world ocean in generations to come. The clinic included paddling basics, skills, turns, and even fun relay races! I ended up exceeding my 2 hours (oops) because the kids and I were having so much fun!
Later I gave my presentation on the youth movement in SUP. I went back through the archives of a lot of different events to analyze under 18 numbers, and the statistics I came up with showed both staggering growth and surprising disparity between the West coast and the East coast. The symposium got a rave reception and I’m pleased to announce that I’ll be collaborating with Distressed Mullet’s John Beausang to make the Carolina Cup Junior Race into a really fun and dynamic event. The Lazy Dog girls said I really inspired and motivated the kids down there to paddle, so I’m stoked!! They have a lot of talent and a great venue to paddle from, so there’s most definitely a lot of potential there.
The next day was the Bone Island race! Luckily, my friends the Navarro Family were able to let me borrow a Bark board (thanks Milla & Dekai!) so I didn’t have to ship or fly with my own board. I had a great race and ended up in first place! The field wasn’t super deep, but I actually ended up in 5th overall, and of course Key West always presents the usual challenges; wind and heat, plus the added challenge of having to swim around a boat halfway through the course! But I went fast and had a ton of fun. After a quick stop at the Southernmost Point of the US to take cheesy tourist pictures with the Navarros, my mom and I were dropped off at the airport so we could head home.
What a crazy fun whirlwind weekend! Huge thanks to the Lazy Dog girls for hosting me, and for always supporting me so much!! Also thanks to my mom, the Navarros, and my sponsors; Ocean CREST Alliance, Maui Jim, Quickblade Paddles, Bark Paddleboards, Mi Ola, Suncoast Surf Shop, Sweet Waterwear, SUP Race Fins, and Coach Mike’s Training Center. Couldn’t do it without you!
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