SUP Germany once again honored outstanding achievements by athletes in the German SUP sport at this year’s boot.
Why sports awards are important
Sports awards play a central role in the culture of all sports. They not only recognize sporting achievements, but also commitment, fairness and passion. Awards tell stories, make role models visible and create shared values that shape a sport and pass it on across generations.
Awards are particularly important for young athletes. They create motivation, provide orientation and show young athletes that training, discipline and perseverance are worthwhile. When achievements are recognized, tangible goals and real prospects within the sport are created.
Sports awards are therefore much more than trophies or titles. They strengthen the sense of community, promote identification and make a decisive contribution to ensuring that a sport grows, remains alive and secures its future.
Carsten Kurmis is one of the greatest role models in SUP sports and water sports in general in Germany. He was honored by the GSUPA with a SUP Achievement Award. Carsten has been involved in SUP since day one and has inspired many people for the sport with his work and friendly manner. For us, his award was more than deserved – if not long overdue. Unfortunately, Carsten was not at boot in person. As he said in the video interview, it was the first time in 15 years that he wasn’t there. Illias accepted his award on his behalf.
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Two very special athletes received an award in the junior category: Jojo Karst and Benyam Bossak. Both are very passionate SUP juniors with great potential to make it onto international podiums one day.
In 2025, Benyam already made it to 14th place in the SUP World Rankings. He made it onto the podium twice at the SUP Baltic Festival, as well as at the Czech SUP Finals. That is an outstanding achievement. As far as the SWR is concerned, Jojo still has some catching up to do, but her performances in Germany are absolutely impressive.
The “Event of the Year” title went to the SUP Cup Nordhausen. The EuroTour event initiated by Susanne Lier is an integral part of the German SUP circus. Susanne is a pioneer of the SUP sport and has been involved for at least as long as Carsten Kurmis.
The “SUP Base of the Year” award went to the Foerdekeks team with Tanja and Guido Miranda. The two are passionate about the SUP sport and support the SUP community wherever possible. Tanja invests a lot of time and energy in the sport and, as the organizer of the sprat race, impressively demonstrated how much passion she puts into the SUP sport.
However, the GSUPA has not forgotten the supergroms and for the first time also honored the youngest with an award. For the first time, an award went to this age group. We congratulate Neo Linus Knorr and Selin Caliskan on their great achievements in 2025.
Just like the GSUPA, Stand Up Magazine upholds the culture of our sport. SUP culture thrives on community. Become a supporter of Stand Up Magazine today.
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