N1SCO European Championships – A Great Success

June 10th & 11th saw 100 Naish One paddlers from 8 countries including one die hard competitor from Japan race at the N1SCO European Championships in Swanage, UK. Taka took the 22 hour commute from Tokyo to race on the sheltered waters of Swanage Bay, nestled in a beautiful valley on the UK’s South coast.

Competitors ranged from 10 years of age through to 69 years young and from first time racers through family cruisers to trained SUP athletes vying for the title. Regardless of paddling experience smiles were all around as new friendships were made as tales of racing were shared on the beach and in the N1SCO Beach Bar. Racing followed the N1SCO format with three race disciplines: Sprint, Mid distance and a Long distance race on the Sunday with guest appearance of local pirate Slack Sparrow. Saturday evening saw the racers and their families sit down to a social dinner in the beach bar overlooking the waters of the bay with free beer from event sponsor Whitstable Bay before enjoying live music and the atmosphere of the towns yearly Fish Festival.

Attention now moves to the final UK N1SCO Championships of the year at Bray Lake on the 8th July for the N1SCO Inland Championships which expects to welcome a sell out fleet once again to enjoy the N1SCO race format.

Pics by Mark Ellis, Mark Price, Jayne Lake, Ian Grey