| COLUMBUS, GA. (March 18, 2019) — Salt Life, one of today’s leading lifestyle apparel brands, in conjunction with the World Paddle Association (WPA) and Uptown Columbus RiverFest, proudly announces the 2019 Salt Life Columbus Cup on May 3 & 4, 2019, in Columbus, Georgia. The event will take place on the Chattahoochee River (90 miles south of Atlanta) three blocks from downtown Columbus. The paddle race will be part of the Columbus RiverFest, also presented by Salt Life, which brings together the local community to celebrate water activities and safety with two days of food, drink vendors and live entertainment at the Woodruff Park event site. Visit www.uptowncolumbusga.com for more details.
The 2019 Salt Life Columbus Cup’s Pro-Elite race will be sanctioned by the APP (Association of PaddleSurf Professionals) and points will count toward the 2019 APP World Tour. In addition, the Pro-Elite race will be conducted on inflatable stand-up paddle boards with the competitors navigating whitewater sections and finishing with a technical buoy course. The Pro-Elite race offers a total cash and prize purse of $32,000.The Pro-Elite competitors will also earn points toward qualifying for APP World Tour events that are only open to the top 32 men and women entries. Competitors will also be able to earn points through the WPA-Salt Life U.S. Championship Series which is an APP World Qualifying Series. Open and Juniors participants will again compete in a 3-mile course race at Woodruff Park and have the chance to be crowned “Open & Junior Paddler of the Year” at the season ending Pacific Paddle Games on October 12-13, 2019.
“We are extremely proud to be working with the APP World Tour where we host the APP World Tour event and the APP World Qualifying Series through the WPA-Salt Life U.S. Championship Series,” stated Byron Kurt, President of the World Paddle Association (WPA). Kurt continued, “Both the WPA’s and APP’s goal is to continue to provide the best events at the best venues while offering competitors two great series to participate with the most experienced SUP organizations in world.” The APP will offer top caliber races throughout the world and crown the 2019 APP World Champions, while the WPA manages the U.S. Championship Series and APP World Qualifying Series..
 “The APP is excited to be affiliated with one of the premier events in the US in 2019, the Salt Life Columbus Cup,” said Tristan Boxford, CEO of the APP World Tour. “This all inclusive event will provide an exciting showcase for the growth and development of the sport of Stand Up Paddling as it brings the unique region and its beautiful waterways into the spotlight, and hosts some of the very best athletes in the world. As a long-time supporter of the Salt Life Pacific Paddle Games, Salt Life continues to show its commitment to the sport and provide incredibly unique opportunities to participants from all walks of life and every level.”
Ross Horner, President and CEO of Uptown Columbus Inc., added, “Uptown Columbus Inc. is able to provide Riverfest free to the community through the generous support of partners like Salt Life. We are thrilled to continue that partnership with Salt Life for another year. They not only have elevated one of our most iconic events, but also bring the unique salty atmosphere that everyone enjoys!”
The 2019 Salt Life Columbus Cup Pro-Elite competitors, in conjunction with the APP World Tour, will enjoy the ease of board transportation through competing on inflatable boards in the rapids of the Chattahoochee River. Both Men’s and Women’s Pro-Elite participants will compete on inflatable boards of 14’ and under. The Salt Life Columbus Cup will offer $6,000 to the 1st place Men’s and Women’s Pro-Elite competitors and offer additional prize money through 5th place. Open and Juniors competitors will receive awards and prizes for the top three places in their board and age division. The top placing overall Open and Juniors competitors in each gender will earn free entry into the season-ending event to crown the “Open & Junior Paddler of the Year.”
Along with the Salt Life RiverFest activities on Friday and Saturday, SUP yoga clinics and classes will be offered along with Pro-Elite paddle clinics including 4x time World SUP Champion and 2018 Salt Life Columbus Cup Champion Connor Baxter on Friday, May 3, 2019.
For more event details, including race schedule, hotel discounts, transportation and other information regarding the Salt Life Columbus Cup, WPA-Salt Life Cup Series and the WPA-APP World Qualifying Series, go to: www.worldpaddleassociation.com, www.appworldtour.com, www.paddleguru.com, www.uptowncolumbusga.com and www.saltlife.com.
About Salt Life:
Salt Life is an authentic and aspirational lifestyle brand that embraces those who love the ocean and everything associated with living the “Salt Life.” Founded in 2003 by four avid watermen from Jacksonville Beach, Florida, the Salt Life brand has widespread appeal with ocean enthusiasts worldwide. From fishing, diving and surfing, to beach fun and sun-soaked relaxation, the Salt Life brand says, “I live the Salt Life.” Numerous professional athletes, sportsmen and other ambassadors in the fishing, surfing, diving, rock, pop and country music worlds have an alliance with the brand through cross-marketing partnerships. Learn more about Team Salt Life here. Salt Life is the preferred lifestyle brand of outdoor and fishing legends like Peter Miller, Captain Jimmy Nelson, Luiza Barros, Captain Don Dingman, Erin Osborne and more. The brand is also visible in areas across the media, sports and popular culture landscapes, including music videos, national tour sponsorships, fishing and outdoors-related television shows, professional auto-racing events and Salt Life’s popular YouTube channel.
From its first merchandise offerings in 2006, Salt Life has grown with distribution in surf shops, specialty stores, department stores and sporting goods retailers. Salt Life products are also available to consumers at www.saltlife.com and at Salt Life’s various branded retail stores, including locations in Huntington Beach and San Clemente, California, Columbus, Georgia, and Daytona Beach and Tampa, Florida. The brand’s flagship store is located in Jacksonville Beach, Florida, where the term “Salt Life” was coined over 15 years ago. The Salt Life brand is committed to supporting conservation efforts by contributing to various organizations through Salt Life Gives Back. Learn more here.
Salt Life, LLC is an operating subsidiary of Delta Apparel, Inc. (NYSE American: DLA). Salt Life’s corporate office is located in Columbus, Georgia and its distribution center is located to Fayetteville, North Carolina.
About Delta Apparel, Inc.:
Delta Apparel, Inc., along with its operating subsidiaries, Salt Life, LLC, M. J. Soffe, LLC, and DTG2Go, LLC, is an international design, marketing, manufacturing, and sourcing company that features a diverse portfolio of core activewear and lifestyle apparel and related accessory products. The Company specializes in selling casual and athletic products through a variety of distribution channels and distribution tiers, including department stores, mid and mass channels, e-retailers, sporting goods and outdoor retailers, independent and specialty stores, and the U.S. military. The Company’s products are also made available direct-to-consumer at its branded retail stores and on its websites at www.saltlife.com, www.coastapparel.com, www.soffe.com and www.deltaapparel.com. The Company’s operations are located throughout the United States, Honduras, El Salvador, and Mexico, and it employs approximately 7,800 people worldwide. Additional information about the Company is available at www.deltaapparelinc.com.
About WPA:
Since 2009, the mission of the WPA is to provide a comprehensive voice, fair and equal access and organizational structure to stand up paddling (SUP) and paddle sports and its participants in a manner that benefits the collective paddling community.
About APP World Tour:
Since 2010, the APP World Tour has been the Official Professional World Championship Tour for the Sport of Paddlesurfing (also known as SUP / Stand Up Paddling / Paddleboarding), officially sanctioned by the IOC recognized Federation for Surfing Sports, the ISA (International Surfing Association). Re-branded in 2017 as the APP World Tour (previously known as the Stand Up World Tour and Stand Up World Series), the APP’s focus is to showcase the World’s best athletes in major and iconic markets across the globe, while providing unique mass participation opportunities and delivering Urban Beach Lifestyle Festivals that celebrate the sport and its environment through its @citypaddlefestival approach.
About Uptown Columbus, Inc.:
Uptown Columbus, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that facilitates and coordinates economic revitalization throughout the Uptown area. Uptown Columbus is dedicated primarily to the revitalization of all areas of Uptown Columbus into a model city where people desire to work, live, shop, dine and explore educational opportunities.
For more information about the Salt Life Columbus Cup, RiverFest, Uptown Columbus and events, contact:
Becca Zajac
becca@uptowncolumbusga.com
Byron Kurt
byron@worldpaddleassociation.com
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