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September 14, 2017

Two events, Battle of the Bay & Pacific Paddle Games to crown the WST-Salt Life Cup Champions!

DANA POINT, CA — Salt Life Apparel, in association with the World Paddle Association’s season long World SUP Tour and the Salt Life Cup comes down to the final two events to crown the 2017 WST-Salt Life Cup champions, Battle of the Bay and the Pacific Paddle Games.  The Salt Life Cup is a season-long accumulation of points earned through WST events with Titouan Puyo holding the lead over Travis Grant and Mo Freitas in third place with the top five in striking distance in the Men’s division and April Zilg holding a slim lead over arguably the top paddler in the world, Annabel Anderson in the Women’s division.

If Las Vegas were doing the odds, the top five competitors in both the Men’s and Women’s divisions have a good chance to be crowned the 2017 WST-Salt Life Cup Champion, all depending who chooses to compete in the final regular season event at the Battle of the Bay on September 23rd at Crissy Field in San Francisco, CA.  The Battle of the Bay, being a 5-star points event with 5,000 points going to the winner (based on a two race finish), the top competitors in the world can either help secure the title or position themselves higher in the standings prior to the season finale, the Pacific Paddle Games on September 30th & October 1st at Doheny State Beach, CA.  In addition to the points being given at the Battle of the Bay, 1,000 bonus points will given to the competitor who earns the most points in the WST West Region events (see the below West Region events).

 

The 2017 WST season finale, the Pacific Paddle Games will offer 10,000 points to the winner that can either catapult someone from behind to take away the title or allow the top competitors to maintain their positions.  Since all of the points to crown the WST champion will be only offered in the Men’s and Women’s Pro Technical race with preliminary heats to determine the finals (top 16 competitors advancing), one mistake by a competitor could mean losing hold of the WST title.  While some competitors will choose to take the weekend off at the Battle of the Bay, it could cost them ground in the standings or gain ground.  Titouan maintians a 2,900 point lead over Travis Grant in second and a 4,122 lead over Mo Freitas in third place.  If Titouan and Travis decide not to compete at the Battle of the Bay and Mo competes and takes first, he would take over the lead from Titouan.  Likewise with the Women, April Zilg has a slim adjusted 400 point lead over Annabel Anderson and a 2,700 point lead over Fiona Wylde in third place.  With both Annabel and Fiona having one more points event each to add to their total before the final event, it will be interesting to see who will show up and compete at the Battle of the Bay prior to the Pacific Paddle Games.  The current standings as of 8/21/17 are listed below.

Go to www.paddleguru.com to register for the Battle of the Bay and more information and http://ppg.supthemag.com/registration/ to register for the Pacific Paddle Games.  Both events do NOT have race day registration, so register now.

Current standings (click to open):

Mens Elite WST Points standings_8 21 17                               Womens Elite WST Points standings_8 21 17

 

Salt Life Bonus Money (Men & Women)

1st:    $3,000

2nd:  $1,000

3rd:   $500

WST Overview

The top 3 WST events plus the tour finale (PPG) points in the Elite-Pro division will determine the 2017 WST Champions.  A competitor may compete in as many events as they want in the Elite-Pro division as their lowest single event points earned would be dropped and replaced by a higher point value from another race during the year.  Elite-Pro competitors may also earn 1,000 bonus points by winning the overall series in each of the three regions, West, East and Asia WST regional series (see below schedule).  To qualify for the Salt Life bonus money and crowned the WST Champion, Elite-Pro competitors must compete in the WST finale at the Pacific Paddle Games on September 29th – October 1, 2017.  For more information and standings, go to www.worldpaddleassociation.com.

2017 WST Event Schedule/Ranking

  • April 8th Rincon Beach Boy                                      Puerto Rico, PR                               5 Star- EAST
  • April 22th Carolina Cup                                             Wrightsville Beach, NC                 6 Star- EAST
  • June 3rd WPA Championships                                 Columbus, GA                                 4 Star- EAST
  • June 24th Turtle Bay Challenge                                Oahu, HI                                            4 Star- WEST
  • July 8th Canadian Championships                          Toronto, CN                                     4 Star- EAST
  • Aug 19th Columbia Gorge Challenge                       Hood River, OR                               6 Star- WEST
  • Sept 23th Battle of the Bay                                         San Francisco, CA                           5 Star- WEST
  • Sept 30th Pacific Paddle Games-Finale       Dana Point, CA                                Finale                                          

2018 Points events

  • *Oct 14th Japan SUP Cup                                   Japan                                                 5 Star- ASIA
  • *Oct 21st Korea SUP Cup                                   Busan, Korea                                    4 Star- ASIA

Event Points Rankings

4 Star-                  4,000 points breakdown

5 Star-                  5,000 points breakdown

6 Star-                  6,000 points breakdown

Finale-                  10,000 points breakdown

Region Bonus     1,000 points to the overall winner of the West, East or Asia regional series

WST Points breakdown:      WST Points breakdown_2017

 

For more information, email info@worldpaddleassociation.com

About the WPA

The WPA goal is to provide a comprehensive voice, fair and equal access and organizational structure to the sport of Stand Up Paddling (SUP) and paddle sports with rules, guidelines and instruction to best serve its participants in a manner that benefits the collective paddling community.  Established in 2009.