A consistent sea breeze, clean waters and a wad of prize money will draw a number of the world’s best stand-up paddle boarders to Mandurah to race in the King of the Cut this weekend.
The race, which is Australia’s fastest stand-up paddle event, will pit a number of top talents against each other in a dash from the Dawesville Cut to Secret Harbour.
Event manager and Stand Up Paddle WA vice president Roger Goodwin said racers had marked the King of the Cut on their calendar some time ago.
“The pristine waters around the Peel region and the prize pool make this a really attractive race for paddlers,” he said.
“About 70 per cent of the field is made up of people coming from outside WA which is huge for a paddle event.
“The consistent sea breeze makes for perfect runners so it’s a great race to be a part of.”
The race will attract eight of the world’s top 10 paddlers, including newly-crowned world champ Michael Booth, seven-time champion ironwoman Karla Gilbert and Olympic gold medallist and women’s national marathon stand-up paddle champion Belinda Stowell-Brett.
The total prize pool of $17,350 makes the King of the Cut Australia’s richest paddle event.
Goodwin said the race attracted a number of younger riders.
“The sport as a whole is starting to reach out to more and more young people as time goes on,” he said.
“Our aim is to bring people together through a social atmosphere.”
The race will be ran on either Saturday, December 3 or Sunday, December 4 depending on which day offers better weather.
Forecasts are favouring the race to be ran on Sunday.
For more information about the race visit kingofthecut.com or supwa.com.au
Justin Rake
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
Sports journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media.
