ICF SUP Rule Changes

Race to the finish line in and out of the water

The ICF got the SUP and other paddle communities a nice Christmas gift: Rule changes and announcements that raised some eyebrows including ours.

In their statement from December 25th (Who works on Christmas Day?) they are announcing a ONE Design Class for Juniors amongst other new rules:

“Athletes taking part in the junior events at the World Championships must race in the one-design ICF SUP board 14. 

This will make the sport more accessible for juniors due to reduced costs for equipment. This way, they can arrive at the venue with their paddles and not worry about equipment transportation. “

Csillag Kocsis father Miklos questioned the announcement on Facebook the following way:

One-design board ? Designed for who ? Height, weight, technique ? They tried this to replace F1. The result…

He earned a lot support from the community: The owner of Lightcorp SUP and the SUP Alps Trophy, Gerd Weisener called it the biggest Bullshit ever. Right behind him is Rudy van Haven, race director of the Lake Rocks Festival calling it “Next ICF Bullshit”.

I little more moderate was Sarah Thornely from SUPjunkie: “This is definitely not going to be a popular decision with the Juniors.”

A very valid point came from Oliver Tusche a German SUP youth promoter in Berlin: “What’s the point now? Does the ICF provide the boards? Who pays for that?”

We at the Stand Up Magazin are asking the same questions and also point out that the idea of a One-Design-Class in SUP is not new. It has been tried by Naish years ago with the N1SCO Class and BIC tried it as well. Spoiler alert: They did not last very long.

Will competitive juniors be interested in racing on a ONE-Design board? Does it make sense to force them onto a board they have never used all year? Imagine if Cecilia Pampinella or Csillag Kocsis had been required to compete in Sarasota on a board they hadn’t paddled all year. And who exactly is producing these boards, and how will they be shipped for one-time use at the ICF SUP World Championships?

While the idea of encouraging more juniors to join the sport is undoubtedly a noble one, we are not convinced that a ONE-Design class is the solution. (We will reach out to the ICF for further clarification.)

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ICF Rule Book 2025

The One Design Class was not the only announcement that did not sit well with some people. The ICF published an 81 page rule book with some interesting points. Paco Freens had the time to read all 81 pages and made some interesting discoveries and voiced his frustration accordingly.

4.1.1 – Distances (page 28)
There will be no limit of the length of course for National and International Competitions. For Continental Championships, World Ranking Competitions, World Cups and World Championships, the recommended distances are:
4.1.1.a – Sprint – up to 250m;
4.1.1.b – Long Distance – between 5km and 35km;
4.1.1.c – Technical Race – between 800m and 5km.

Page 39 – 8.1.2 – Competition courses must be decided in advance where possible and published at least three (3) weeks before the competition.

Paco Freens found clear words:

It is beyond imagination that the ICF is not able to define standardized disciplines, with specifics about distances and course formats for SUP World Championships communicated well in advance.

As the 2025 rules stand, e.g. the Long Distance discipline can be anywhere between 5 and 35 kilometers in distance (a variance of 600%…!?) and is advised to be declared at least 3 weeks in advance (…!?).

Why does our world federation think it is okay to tell SUP athletes a few weeks in advance how to prepare? Does it do the same for any other canoe discipline under it’s umbrella..?

Why not:

• A. Set strict parameters for distances per discipline
• B. Allow for a bandwidth (5-15%) for deviation to allow for location/weather specific circumstances
• C. Declare the envisioned exact distance 3 weeks in advance.
• D. Allow race organizers flexibility to change course and distance last minute only within set parameters only in case of unexpected events.

In short, it is not okay to tell professional athletes 3 weeks in advance a distance race is only X.

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We completely agree with Paco. Declaring a long-distance race to be anywhere between 5km and 35km raises serious questions about whether the ICF understands our sport at all. (They still refer to our craft as “boats”.) Having covered SUP for many years, we know that a long-distance race has traditionally been around 15km, give or take a few kilometers or miles. A 5km “long-distance” race could be completed in 20 minutes, while a 35km race would take well over two hours.

Sprint races up to 250m can be accepted, even though it was the ICF who recently shortened the sprint course from 200m to 100m. Why not simply stick to one standard, like the 100m course, which proved so popular in Sarasota?

Similarly, defining a technical race as being between 800m and 5km is once again too broad of a spectrum. The ISA seems to prefer longer technical races, as we’ve seen repeatedly, with heats lasting up to 20 minutes. While 800m technical races are fine, the sport would benefit from consistency—why not just stick with this standard?

Point 8.1.2 would be completely unnecessary if we could once and for all decide on standard distances and formats for race courses. Giving athletes just three weeks’ notice to learn how their racecourse will be laid out is far too short.

For those who missed it, we discussed this issue a few months ago and are now wondering if it’s time to make another video to ensure our message reaches everyone.

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