Water sports season 2026 with Carsten Kurmis

Carsten Kurmis is practically a local on Stand Up Magazine. We’ve been exchanging ideas and talking about the stoke of SUP and water sports and, of course, the state of the industry for a good 16 years. Unfortunately, neither Carsten nor I were at boot in January and so missed our discussions. But now we want to make up for it with a short interview.

Aloha Carsten, many thanks for your time. It’s a real shame that we haven’t seen each other this year, but who knows, hopefully we’ll be able to meet in Switzerland this summer. In the meantime, let’s talk briefly about the last few months and how we’re looking ahead to summer 2026.

Yes hi Mike, it was quite special this year, the first time not to be at Boot since I started working for Starboard. It’s always great to meet interesting people and friends from all over the world who you haven’t seen for a long time, as well as the new products. Like you, who I now only meet once a year.

You were on Fuerte in January and accepted the GSUPA Lifetime Award from there. Congratulations, this is well deserved. You do a lot for our sports and have been a SUP athlete since the very beginning. But let’s talk a bit about Fuerte. The island is the Hawaii of Europe and many of our readers go there. Unfortunately, I’ve never been there myself. Which water sport were you mainly involved in?

Oh Mike, you really have to make up for that. Fuerte, or the Canary Islands in general, are a beautiful place. I was there over 30 years ago, mainly for surfing back then. This year I was there for the first time with my converted Iveco. This gave me the opportunity to take all my toys with me. They were:

2 x wave rider, 2 x SUP shortboard, 1x SUP longboard, 1 x wingboard, 1 x pumpboard and 3 wings.

So I had something for every condition and was able to do something on the water and test products every day.

That sounds really great. The Canary Islands are also something of a test laboratory for many water sports. What trends have you observed there?

Yes, what the stand up paddlers were 10 years ago, the wingers and foilers on the water are today, gliding over the water like colorful butterflies.

The Parawinger is a new addition.

And on days with little wind, it’s now also the e-foilers. As a SUPer, I’m no longer the first on the Hate Pyramid in the lineup.

That sounds like a lot of people. How is it all distributed there?

Yes, that was one reason why I didn’t come to Fuerte in the last few years, it was just too crowded for me to surf. But foiling makes it easier to get away from the crowded spots and just go to a spot further out.

I’m trying to find a parallel to Maui here. Do many people still kite and windsurf there?

Of course, there are also lots of kiters on the island, but luckily they have their own spots. I see windsurfers either taking beginner courses in light winds or the pros in strong winds.

Ah, that’s quite interesting. Almost like Maui. But now back to Germany and current events. The SUP season is coming up, then we have some wing festivals. What does your schedule look like this year? Where will customers get to see you and Starboard?

We are ready! We’re on the road every weekend and with several different sports.

And as I unfortunately can’t clone myself (not yet), I won’t be at the Foilfestival on Fehmarn this year as the German SUP Championship and “fastest Paddler” are taking place in Eckernförde on the same weekend. SUP Alps Trophy is also on the program.

You can find all other dates here on our Starboard page

Very cool you’re also going to Faaker See at Lake Rocks this year. I always find it very interesting how many people talk SUP to death and the industry is complaining. In contrast, more than 750 SUP enthusiasts follow the call of the SUP Alps Trophy. How do you explain that?

Well, how can you explain that? I think you have to differentiate between the exceptional situation in 2020/21 where everyone has simply found something to do via SUP. And those who practice stand-up paddling as a real sport. The boom as a leisure activity has gone down because, on the one hand, everyone has one and you can do several activities again.

And of course the Alps Trophy has managed to generate attractive events where top athletes and hobby racers compete.

I’m particularly looking forward to Lake Faak, as I haven’t been able to be there in recent years due to scheduling conflicts. And this year there will be even more international riders in addition to our national riders. I’m especially looking forward to seeing Shrimpy again in Europe, I last met him at the World Championships in El Salvador.

It’s interesting what you’re saying and it’s cool to see how many middle-aged people have taken up SUP as a sport. You also said something about Zurich, so maybe we’ll see you there. We see the ESL stepping on the gas this year. The APP seems to have disappeared and the EURO TOUR is weakening. Are we seeing an old cycle turning here?

You could be right about the cycle, I think it’s a wave movement… up for some and down for others. It’s always good when there’s not just one because then everyone has to make an effort to be at the front. Let’s see how the season goes. In any case, I’m also looking forward to Zurich. I haven’t been there for a long time.

What about product highlights from Starboard in 2026? Is something new coming up?

Of course, which sport do we want to start with? While we’re on the subject of the Alps Tropy and raceboards, there will be lots of us on the now red Blitz (Allstar).

I saw the Twintip SUP Surfboard is making waves and you have team riders in Bali at the big SUP Surf Contest.

Oh yes, sorry, almost forgot. My current favorite SUP wave quiver. This thing is so much fun, whether in small waves super agile and snappy in the turn, or in bigger knockers, fast to accelerate and mega on the edge for carving.

What can be expected in the SUP Race area?

This year we will see new colors for the raceboards for the first time. So far we have had blue boards with a red nose, but in 2026 we will see the Allstar gliding over the water in red!!! Watch out…

Is there any news from the foil and wing area?

Starboard is now launching a new line of wings under its own name. There is the Source as an up-and-comer and the Viva as an all-rounder.

I tested them extensively on Fuerte and am thrilled. A new era in wings!

Recently, Starboard still doesn’t do parawing? Thoughts?

For the time being, we have concentrated fully on the Wings. It’s important to be at the forefront and not just put a product on the market to be there. There are already too many of those. Starboard’s motto is that the product has to be “outstanding”. Just like all our products are labeled “Quality + Innovation”.

Thank you Carsten, I know it’s always a lot, the two of us could do an hour-long podcast, there’s so much to talk about.