With great anticipation we are looking towards the APPs first SUP Surf event. The Surf Contest is organized by the windsurfing legend Bjoern Dunkerbeck. The first time was in 2018 and the 2nd time in 2019. Sadly after that the event got shut down due to Covid restrictions. Now we finally have the pandemic behind us and it is time to revamp the SUP Surf sport.
Ahead of the event we had the chance to send Björn some questions and have all the details below:
Aloha Björn,
Thanks for taking the time for the Stand Up Magazin. We are all looking forward to one of the biggest SUP Surf Contests in the World. Tell our readers a bit about the history of the event.
It all began when we started to SUP our self 10 Years ago , SUP perfect to get in the water when threes no wind , with or without waves , also the easiest way to get new water fun and sports people join our water kingdom so to say. We started the APP pro/am event in the Maspalomas and Mogan Gran Canaria and now for the 3 Year the Final of APP Wave in Las Plamas de Gran Canaria , the Capital off Gran Canaria whit 450.000 people living there the perfect Amphitheater for an event like this , also in Nov, Dec, Jan, Feb water around 20° Air 23-27° in the day and the summers don’t get much warmer so always great for out door sports in and of the water !
Now looking at this year: What can we expect of the event?
This year we have junior , men and women pro Long Board SUP , waves are normally great from 3 to 15 feet so perfect for SUP wave ! Stay tuned on our Instagram , Facebook please like them and share to help promote our sport and also help us get more exposure to make sure we can organize it NEXT year again , also there will be a live Stream during the event so please log in to check the action we do for all of you guys that can not make it to Gran Canaria
Great event we are all looking forward to it.
We just saw the level of performance at the ISA a few weeks ago it was pretty high and its dominated by a few longtime SUP Surfers. It is really great to see that these athletes are getting a platform via your event and the APP. Are there any young guns in the Canaries we should be paying attention to?
Yes every day new young guns are popping up that’s we always push for the Junior fleet to grow in SUP. Also in the Windsurf world cup PWA the we organize in July at Pozo Izquierdo , the future of or sport !
We are also seeing on the APP site that there will be a SUP Longboard division. It is quite coincidental that I just had a bigger conversation about the SUP Surfing in general with a friend of mine and he made a big point that the future of SUP Surfing lays in Longboard Style contests. Not guys on super small boards. His point was that in order to bring more people to the Sport we have to look at longboarding.
Well in the end its all about motivation and all performance so what makes you happy is whats go for you and the show must go on !
What is your take on the SUP Suring sport as a whole and did my friend make a good point there?
With SUP you can ride anything the wave dose not need to be perfect , outer reefs , beach breaks anything goes so only this opens up to 1000 time more ridable breaks anywhere
Thank you very much for your time we are looking forward following the event from the 19th – 27th of November.
Check out Björns’ watersport centers
This is the video from the first event in 2018
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The event starts on November 19th with a holding period until November 27th 2022
The event will be held at 2 possible spots depending the conditions
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El Lloret
Just round the point from the main event site: a high performance, right hand point break providing the best possible conditions for the World’s best. This venue is reserved for the later rounds of the Pro event providing the conditions allow it. The last two years (2018/2019) saw epic conditions for the final two days of competition for both years.
Las Canteras
In front of the main event site: a beach break with both lefts and rights: more mellow surf and this will be the venue for the Trials and opening rounds of the Main Event, the Juniors and the SUP longboard division. We might reserve the option to hold the final of the Pro Juniors at the alternate venue of El Lloret.
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The event in short
- The Gran Canaria Pro-Am takes place right on the waterfront of Gran Canaria’s capital City Las Palmas and its stunning beach front of Las Canteras
- All the way to the west end of Las Canteras, the venue provides a wide variety of conditions and a consistent playing field
- There will be a seven-day holding period between 20th November – 27th November to allow athletes to capitalise on the best surf through the holding period
- There will be a call by 8am each day and there will be 4 days of competition within the holding period
- There will be open trials: The winners of which will gain entry into the main event to compete against the best Stand Up Paddle Surfers in the world and go after the 25k prize purse
- There will also be an Under 18s category as well as a SUP Longboard category
Follow the APP Tour for details and web cast.