Congrats to the 2014 WPA champs for Region 12: DFW Surf’s Nate Richard first in 14 class and Tyler Marshall first in 12’6. These guys completely dominated this years race lineup that mainly included races in Texas, but also sanctioned races within Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana. Noteably, Nate took first place in the 6 mile downriver race, the SUP Cup, in Bastrop and seventh overall at the Big River Regional 13 miler in Louisiana. When asked about the secret to this year’s success, Nate would like to thank his beard. Have you seen this thing? Meanwhile DFW Surf founder, Tyler Marshall, focused a lot his energy on introducing more individuals into the racing scene. “The race scene is really starting to bloom, especially in the Texas area. Stay tuned for more athletes getting on board and more sanctioned races. For 2015 we are going to sanction our 6th annual Grape Paddle through the WPA and we are happy to have Casey Gotcher on board as the new regional director.”
These guys, along with Galveston’s Joe Cerdas, have been leading the way for region 12 SUP racing for years, yet outside of the Texas SUP racing scene there is a bigger playing field and athletes like Danny Ching and Chase Kosterlitz are nearly impossible to catch. “There is a huge difference between athletes that succeed locally and international athletes who train every day of the week. At this point it might be nearly impossible to catch up to some of these guys, but the great part is that there is hope for the average racer and different divisions in each race. Not only is SUP racing inviting for anyone and everyone, there are so many races to choose from,” says Tyler. Nate and Tyler went on to compete in the WPA Championships in St. Pete Beach, Florida last week against some of the bigger names in the industry and placed top 20 in both races; Tyler fourth in class in the 12’6 distance race. “With more training, focus and diet, the goal for 2015 is to travel to more races internationally,” says Nate. “The key is technique and dialing in your equipment and race preparation. For 2015 we will be offering more clinics and private lessons for new SUP racers throughout region 12.”