Mumbai: World’s best stand-up Paddlers, including the world number two Spanish duo of Fernando Perez (Men’s) and Esperanza Barreras (Women’s) along with Bianca Toncelli, reigning SUP Junior Champion, and reigning national champion Sekar Patchai are all set to showcase a thrilling competition at the country’s first-ever International Stand-Up Paddling event, India Paddle Festival.
The three-day stand-up paddling extravaganza is sanctioned by The Association of PaddleSurf Professionals World Tour (APP) – the official professional world championship tour for the sport of stand-up paddling. The India Paddle Festival will be hosted at the pristine Sasihithulu beach in Mangalore from 8 to 10 March 2024 while India’s first international stand-up paddling competition is being organised by the Surfing Swami Foundation and is presented by Karnataka Government.
Bollywood celebrities - Suniel Shetty, Shilpa Shetty and Pooja Hegde have come on board as the Ambassadors and Festival Hyper Booster for the India Paddle Festival. The event has also received strong support from the country’s top athletes like Indian cricketer KL Rahul and reigning world no.1 men’s doubles shuttler Chirag Shetty.
The inaugural India Paddle Festival will see a total of 45 stand-up paddlers from across the world competing in four categories – Men’s Open, Women’s Open, Junior U-16 Boys, and Girls.
The India Paddle Festival will be a mix of sports, cultural and entertainment, the details which were announced at a press conference held in the city on 8 March, which was attended by APP World Tour CEO Tristan Boxford, Surfing Swami Foundation chairman Dhananjaya Shetty.
Ambassador of the event, Bollywood superstar Suniel Shetty said, “Big shout to Team Mantra (Mantra Surf Club), all the officials, and Goodwill Ambassador KL Rahul, and for bringing the fastest growing water sport to our shores. This is a great step, looking forward to many such events in Namma Mangaluru, the very best spot in the country for surfing and other water sports. Best wishes to all the athletes, participants, and organizers for making this event a great success.” - https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4LLW9bsUit/?igsh=cGl2enJhaXo4eG1o
Event ambassador and Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty said, “Congratulations to the Mantra team on hosting the first ever International Stand-Up Paddle Championship in India. This is the 1st step towards promoting the world's fastest-growing water sport here in Namma Mangaluru, and it is a matter of great pride that it is happening in our city.”
Bollywood actress Pooja Hegde, festival hyper booster, said “I am very happy to say that India’s first international Stand-up Paddle Festival is happening in our city, my city Mangaluru. It is genuinely a matter of immense pride and honour. Good luck to all the contestants and I hope they enjoy the yummy Mangalorean food and the untouched beauties of Mangaluru that are our beaches.” -
Speaking on the event, APP World Tour CEO Tristan Boxford said, “It’s amazing to be here at the India Paddle Festival in Mangalore, India’s first ever International Stand-up Paddling event. We already have established ourselves across Europe, Americas, Asia, the Pacific and Middle East, and now we are looking at India as the next big growth market for the sport. We have been discussing with Surfing Swami and Mantra Surf School for many years now about the opportunity to bring something here and finally we are embarking on this adventure together.”
He further added, “Sasihisthilu is such a beautiful beach and a venue for Stand-up Paddling. And I hope to witness some intense competition over the weekend. We've got athletes from Denmark, Hungary, Spain, Korea, Indonesia, all over the world to Thailand. We also have some top-class athletes like, Christian Anderson (Denmark) and world no. 2, Fernando Perez from Spain while on the women's side, world no. 2 Esperanza Barreras is one of the fastest women in the world.”
Day one commenced with a Yoga session, followed by a Community/Pro SUP Paddle session. The main event on the same day will be the Juniors Race, scheduled for the evening. The crowd will be entertained with the screening of It Is This, In Search of the Storm and Powerstar, which is part of the film festival that will be conducted on all three days of the event. The heats and finals of the technical races for both men and women will be held on Day 2. The main attraction of the India Paddle Festival, the sprint races, will be held on the final day along with the finals of the community race.
The Association of PaddleSurf Professionals World Tour (APP) announced its entry in India with the country’s first-ever International Stand-Up Paddling championship last month. The India Paddle Festival will be the first step in an exciting new development journey for the organization as a significant growth of the sport in the region over the coming years. Presented by Karnataka Tourism, organised by the Surfing Swami Foundation, the India Paddle Festival will welcome a selection of top athletes from the APP World Tour, as well as other aspiring professionals from the region.
