Who won the biggest Price Money
6 Weeks – 7 Races across Europe – €64,500
With “The Lake Rocks” SUP Festival, we ended a 6-week-long SUP Tour across the Atlantic and the Mediterranean Sea that started with the Battle for Hercules back at the end of April, beginning of May. These 6 weeks were most likely the busiest 6 weeks in SUP Race History. We never had this many high-profile races back to back for such a period. We do not remember seeing this much prize money being paid out in such a short amount of time. The last 6 weeks were the time to be in Europe and compete to showcase strength and to make some money.
We would not be the Stand Up Magazin if we did not run the numbers over the last 6 weeks to see who walked away with the most money. Shuri Araki pretty much maxed out on prize earnings available; he won every race he competed in, and if he would have been at the Battle for Hercules and The Lake Rocks, he would have made even more money. Shuri went back to Japan with €8,175, which is a quarter of the entire prize money that was available. Needless to say, Shrimpy had a pretty lucrative month in Spain and also showcased his superior dominance.
Donato Freens did not have it too bad either, he earned €5200 in price money, that is still almost twice as much as the next earner Aaron Sanchez., who only earned € 200.- more than Arthur Arutkin.
Over all there were 19 men who split €32’250.-. This chart highlights nicely who grabbed the lion share of the price money and who are the dominant forces in male SUP Racing right now.
Among the women, the prize money was distributed a bit differently. Two athletes stood out, with three others close behind in earnings. The clear standouts were, of course, Esperanza Barreras and Marie Carmen Rivera—currently the two dominant forces in women’s Stand Up Paddling. From a financial perspective, Espe made a smart move by competing at the lucrative Lake Rocks Festival after failing to get the big win in Barcelona (€12,000.- 5* Event) where she faced only one serious challenger: Csillag Kocsis. Csillag was quite fortunate herself, securing a strong payday in Austria that significantly boosted her overall earnings.
Behind the top performers, we find Duna Gordillo € 4625.-, Alba Frey € 3850.- and Csillag Kocsis €3750.-. Watching all the races it is also clear that these 5 women are for sure the best of the best right now.
This chart illustrates clearly how Marie Carmen and Espe won almost half of the entire € 32’250.-.
Three quarters of the price money went to 4 ladies, that is pretty significant.
While we are deeply grateful that our sport and its key athletes are able to receive financial recognition for their performances, it’s important to put this into perspective. The highest prize money awarded was at the EURO TOUR in Barcelona, where Marie Carmen Rivera earned €2,600.- on one go. In Austria Espe earned €2,450 where she made up for her mediocre earnings in Barcelona (4.) and Csillag earned €2,500 in Austria in multiple disciplines. She never competed in Barcelona. However, when factoring in the costs of travel, accommodation, and daily expenses, the real question becomes: what’s left at the bottom line? Is there any meaningful profit after covering food, shelter, and transportation?
We believe there is likely some money left over—but is it enough to live on? Most definitely not. At best, it’s a bit of pocket money. No one can sustain a livelihood on this level of prize money alone. Even in Shrimpy’s case, where he earned over €8,000, the costs of traveling from Japan to Europe and spending a month in Spain likely left him with slim margins.
This is the unfortunate reality. Even after covering 15 years of competitive SUP racing, it remains virtually impossible to make a living solely from the sport. Some athletes supplement their income through coaching or sponsorships, but overall, the financial landscape is bleak. To break even, many would need to live out of their vehicles, eat the cheapest food available, and rely on family support.
We could write an entire book on how disheartening this situation is—and how the sport continues to lose talented athletes due to the lack of financial sustainability. The same applies to Stand Up Magazin. The limited revenue we receive from advertisers is far from sufficient to support full-time operations. We also lack the volume of online subscriptions and community support needed to grow the platform into its full potential.
At some point, many of us must face the hard truth: most of us are hobbyists, not professionals. We do what we do out of passion for the sport, while juggling other jobs to make ends meet.
Do you agree with our words? Do you want to help us not only surviving but also growing and doing more for the sport? Then it is time to think about supporting us with an online subscription.
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