12 Towers RACE recap from another Perspective..
12 Towers for Normal SUP race people!! The Heart of our Sport
So what does that mean "12 Towers for normal people" you might ask? We'll in this write up we won't talk about the pro's or who finished first but more about what an event like this does for the local paddling community and the paddlers who paddle for fun and their own personal goals.
Events like the 12 Towers bring the paddling communities together, it gives a means to why so many get up at 5am and train all year round. It gives people that goal to push for and in a lot of cases it's a good chance to step outside the comfort zone of everyday life. All around Australia and even the world there are training groups where normal everyday people get up at the crack of dawn to push their bodies to the limit and it's events like the 12 Towers that are a big part of the motivation to keep doing this.
So the 12 Towers is a real event that yes does attract some very good riders but this is not why this event has been around for 9 years it has been around for 9 years because of the all inclusive side where every body is made to feel at home from the start of the event right though until well after it has finished. Having companies like The Paddle League and SUPracer are also what is going to help build this event into something even bigger as it heads for its 10th year anniversary in 2021.
In 2020 two new disciplines were brought in to play with the return of the BOP and from all reports from the paddlers who competed and watched this was a great success. It threw up some challenges but also gave everyone who is new to the sport a glimpse at what was once the biggest and most talked about thing in SUP. Definitely there will be many more people now getting back into training this side getting ready for the next BOP style race.
Next up was the foil muster, this was a new concept and with foiling really still in the early days this was a chance to get foilers from all around Australia together just to have a crazy fun downwind run along the Gold Coast strip. Conditions were perfect with 25 knots of SE wind and everyone was welcome and with 18 people at the start from some first timers to the wind foilers and the SUP foilers this was really a highlight for those that entered. Just the excitement level at the finish was enough to keep people buzzing for days!!
With the final event of the weekend being the long distance race and over 200 people on the start line this was always going to be fun. While many of the top paddlers took off most of the field just settled in to a pace and enjoyed a real gold coast downwind run. For many the run was super fun and bumps were caught the whole way, for others it was a challenge and was why they signed up. It was to push their comfort level higher than normal and for many this is part of the fun. It's races like this that keep us pushing to get better and help's us take those small steps in training it also helps us set new goals of improving in following years and to make sure you beat the person that you might have been battling with this year.
Making the event 3 days really brought back the fun side on and off the water for many and whether you were making new friends or just catching up with old it was the same result was had by all at the end of the week end and that MASSIVE fun was had by all.
Must say a big thanks to everyone that helped make this event what is as it takes many thankless hours to get races like this up and going and the more support we all show the better off we will be as a sport long into the future.
Also a huge thanks to the Paddle league and SUPracer as they have lifted the level once again with the live feed and the after event write ups and pictures. It is unreal to see nearly every person that entered getting in some pic at some point.
Until next year!! for the 10th Anniversary 12 Towers. So what is stopping you from coming Down Under for 12 Towers 2021? Awesome Location to hang out for couple of weeks, Surf, Sup, Foiling and Summer time
ALL PICS by The Paddle League - Georgia Schofield