SUP Magazine has announced it will not hold the 2019 Pacific Paddle Games (PPG).
Despite its decision to no longer produce the event, SUP Magazine is reportedly working with its sanctioning partner, the Association of Paddlesurf Professionals (APP), and California State Parks to explore options to bring PPG back in 2020.
As a result of this decision, the APP was reluctantly forced to withdraw the PPG from the line-up for the 2019 season. However, the APP World Tour is working closely with the new management of SUP Magazine to ensure the future of the PPG and is committed to working on the return of this prestigious event for the 2020 season.
From SUP the Mag’s new editor, Dave Shively:
Operating an event at the scale of the PPG is no small task. There are serious hours logged and dollars committed to bring it to life. The stakeholder brands, within and closely aligned with the standup paddling industry, who helped present the PPG were the first to know and hear that this choice was not made lightly. It was a choice based on strategic changes at SUP Magazine and the Adventure Sports Network group (our parent company) following the recent sale to American Media, Inc. What does the larger future for SUP hold? It’s no secret that standup paddling as an outdoor industry segment is slowing down at best, and in decline at worst. You could measure that in reduced numbers of open class racers at last year’s PPG, but you wouldn’t guess that from the energy on the water, or from the level of elite competition. While the initial boom that fueled SUP’s rise may have subsided in North America, there are positive signs of sustained growth internationally. For anecdotal evidence, again, look no further than last year’s PPG, with the most internationally diverse roster to date, or perhaps you enjoyed the comments popping up from every paddling corner of the planet.
The Pacific Paddle Games enjoyed a four year run from 2015 to 2018. The event was widely heralded as the culmination of the SUP racing season and served as an annual fall gathering for the SUP community.
#DanaPoint #PacificPaddleGames #StandupPaddling #SUPRacing
