Alamitos Bay Stand Up Paddleboard Race a Success

 

August 29th was the first “official” Alamitos Stand-Up paddle board race and according to Matty Mitchell, the event organizer, “It was a great success!”  

There were 64 people entered..more women than men!  According to Mitchell the women seem to do better than the guys because they don’t try to “muscle” the boards and, consequently,  the seem to get a better flow through the water. Matty said that even though it is a relatively new exercise in Southern California it started long ago in Hawaii.  

Recent  technology in boards has made big boards that one can stand on that only weigh 25 lbs. Prices for boards can vary from $800 for a regular stand-up to as much as $2,500 for an 18 footer.

The race was a three mile tour around the bay and the women’s trophy was won by Shelly Stazis and  the men’s category  was won by local Chiropractor Tom Gallagher. (I forgot to ask who came in first?

For a video of the beginning of the race go to: http://vimeo.com/6374873