July 11, 2015, Weymouth, England—N1SCO racing took center stage on Weymouth Beach on the south coast of England last Saturday. The N1SCO Nationals kicked off the two week Dorset festival for Sport and Wellbeing. Hundreds of spectators, already flocking to Weymouth for a seafood event that week, gathered to watch the spectacle from the boardwalk above. This gave a grandstand view of the 67 competitors who had travelled from all over the UK and even Ireland to battle for the title of National Championship.

Racing began from a glorious white sandy beach with flat waist-deep water, making even the most nervous novice confident to compete for the first time alongside those vying for the National Title. Age and experience level varied, with paddlers as young as 10 years old up to those in their 60’s.

Competitors challenged each other to three race disciplines throughout the day including sprint, mid distance and long distance races. Defending men’s champion, Ben Fisher from Plymouth, defended his title despite fierce competition. In the Women’s fleet, Joanne Hamilton-Vale from Hampshire, took the title having recently returned from competing in World class events in America and Europe. Weymouth Sailing Olympic hopeful Sophie Weguelin provided stiff competition, even taking the win in the Mid distance race having only last year taken up SUP for physical training. A fleet of juniors also took to the water impressing the crowds with their smiles and seemingly tireless energy.

David Hughes who travelled five and half hours to compete commented, “The yardstick for all SUP events in the UK. The best event so far this season.” Throughout the day, local SUP training company Adventure-4-All provided water safety cover and provided tester sessions for those new to the sport. Working at full capacity between races, over 100 people were given an introduction to the sport for the first time in near perfect conditions with waist deep warm water and blue skies.

A packed days racing was finished with a prize giving on the beach before the evening social where paddlers got together to enjoy pizza and local Dorset Cider in a harbor side restaurant.

Overall Results over all three disciplines:

Men
1st Ben Fisher
2nd George Cromwell-Brown
3rd Tim Paul

Women
1st Joanne Hamilton-Vale
2nd Sophie Weguelin
3rd Jennifer Manning

Junior
1st Ben Pye
2nd Sam Anstey
3rd Reid Russell

Further information about N1SCO racing in the UK can be found at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/UK-Naish-NISCO-126-Air-board-and-race-circuit/619293311451796

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