Surfing Australia is excited to announce the three surfers who will represent Australia at the 2024 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Copenhagen, Denmark next month.
Kobe Schulz (Mermaid Beach, QLD) will be competing at the ISA event for the first time.
An Australian Prone Distance Champion in 2023, Schulz said he was extremely proud and grateful to be representing his country.
“It is an opportunity that most athletes dream of growing up. So I feel very lucky. I have been board paddling from a young age in the sport of surf life saving. More recently I have taken to the long distance prone board paddling which fits in well with my full time job as a Project Manager. I would love to continue competing against some of the best paddlers in the world, travel to new places and have fun along the way.”
Richard Finlay-Jones (Merewether, NSW) competed at the event in El Salvador last year.
Finlay-Jones is a seasoned competitor who helped co-found the Newcastle SUP Club.
“I was lucky enough to be invited to join team Australia in El Salvador in 2019, and competed in SUP surfing, prone technical race, prone marathon race and team relay race. To my great surprise I managed a top 10 finish in my paddle events. In Copenhagen, I’m Looking forward to paddling in a special and exciting new location with a whole bunch of new like-minded paddlers who will definitely make me feel old and slow.”
Michael Booth (Carine, WA) is Team Australia’s most experienced SUP athlete having twice won the ISA Distance Race in 2016 in Fiji and 2018 in China.
“Copenhagen is one of my favourite cities in the world and I have a lot of friends there. So, it’s going to be fun paddling and seeing all of them. For me there’s a bit of missed opportunity as I raced there in 2017 with sinusitis which rendered me unable to compete to my full potential. I’m looking forward to getting on the start line and performing at full fitness.”
Surfing Australia National High Performance Director, Kate Wilcomes said: “We wish the three athletes the best of luck at the 2024 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship in Copenhagen, we know you’ll do us proud. Unfortunately, this year the ISA will not be running SUP Surfing events but we hope to see it return to the schedule in the future.”
2024 ISA World SUP and Paddleboard Championship – Team Australia:
Kobe Schulz (Mermaid Beach, QLD) Prone Distance Racing Men
Richard Finlay-Jones (Merewether, NSW) Prone Techincal Racing Men
Michael Booth (Carine, WA) SUP Distance Racing Men, SUP Technical Racing Men, SUP Sprint Racing Men
More information, please visit the ISA event website.
Participation
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