We are always looking at which athlete is the best and the strongest over the course of the year. We are wondering at the end of the year who is the World Champion and ask ourselves which race athletes have to go to in order to be considered world champion?

The SUP World Rankings also has a system in place to rank races. We talked about it with the inventor Tibor Hasulyo in the beginning of 2022 (Interview with Tibor) but today we like to take a closer look about the ranking system for races.

The unique thing about this ranking system is that races are ranked after the fact and not up front. This creates some advantages and disadvantages we would like to analyze but first we have to take a look at what factors are going into the race ranking.

Number of participants: 30%

This of course makes sense because the bigger a race is the more important it becomes, this of course is not the only factor because one might think what about a big race with no pros? This is is also a factor.

Number of TOP ranked participants: 30%

You want top athletes at your race in order for it to become relevant in the chase for the world title. At this time the SWR indexes overall participation and the pro participation at the same level.

Price money: 15%

Top athletes need to make money to support their career. If you want the top guys to show up they need to get paid or at least the the chance to win price money that covers their cost plus some extra. The amount of price money naturally goes into this calculation as well. The more they pay the better the ranking and more top people show up.

Number of participating nations: 25%

Makes sense, if you have only one nation compete you might call it a national or regional race. We need athletes from all over and since we do have most SUP races in Europe for a race organizers to accomplish international participation should not be a problem.

Post race ranking advantages and disadvantages

The good thing about that system is, that only the racers decide what race is important. The only thing a race organizer can do is finding good sponsors for a big price purse to attract top athletes. Another advantage is that there is no organization that can give the race a ranking and claim for it to be important prior to the race without having the backing from the racers.

The disadvantage for the racers is that they have to trust that the races they choose are the right ones and will receive the ranking needed in order to give the athlete a better ranking. A bit of a communication amongst the athletes here would be helpful. It would be good for the athletes to start their own association to decide which race they like to sanction.

Pre-race ranking can sell

One thing to consider is that if you organize a tour you have the power to give out rankings before the race. If you tie a race into an overall ranking with a big tour win, you then can force more participants into a high ranked race due to an over all title. This position will give a tour organizer leverage over the race organizer with price money, possible media coverage and payment for the race to carry the stars and label of the tour.

Bottom line is: You can now start selling stars and your tour logo in advance regardless of who is showing up. Price money is key in this concept, if you offer big money the best will follow the call. Pros will draw the attention of the media and that creates value for the sponsors.

Lets have a look at the races in 2022 with the best ranking by this system.

Race	Index	Starts	Country
ICF SUP World Championships Gdynia	20	*****	Poland

The ICF in Poland was by far the race with the most participants, the most pros, one of the best price money and most international participation. We do not need to discuss or ask if this race was the most important SUP event of 2022. It was!

Race	Index	Stars	Country
World SUP Festival Costa Blanca	18.45	*****	Spain

This was another big event in 2022 with a very big participation and a very nice price purse. As part of the EURO Tour it attracted many top athletes. This race will once again attract many athletes in 2023 with a price purse of EUR 12K and with a EURO Tour ranking of 6 Stars prior to the race.

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Nautic Paddle – Paris SUP Open	18.1	*****	France

The Paris race attracts many paddlers, most of them in the recreational space. In the past years the APP Tour has incorporated themselves into the race and with that attracted more pro racers. In relevancy this race does not fall far behind in the Index number.

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Gla Gla Race	16.15	****	France

The Gla Gla Race is a very popular race since the beginning and people from all over go to the Lake of Ancey every year. We can see a significant gap in the index number which must stem from the price money factor. Regardless the price money it is a very popular race for recreational racers as well as some French and other European pros.

Race	Index	Stars	Country
SUP 11-City Tour	13.39	***	Netherlands

The SUP 11 City is a race that come a bit as a surprise this far up in the ranking. It is a novelty race that unfortunately attracts very few pro athletes and the price money can be neglected. How ever it is one of the oldest races in the SUP world and attracts a big number of recreational paddlers. However to find this race this far up given the factors above comes a bit as a surprise.

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Ice Race Lake Thun	12.99	***	Switzerland

This race had a big break through this year as part of the ICF SUP World Cup and a big turn out of pros and recreational paddlers alike. The ICE race scores only 0.4 Points behind the 11 City, we must assume this has to do with the big amount of recreational paddlers in Holland. This ranking might raise the question about the 30% / 30% factor in pro and over all participation. Maybe a 25 / 35 would make more sense?

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Busan SUP Open APP World Tour	12	***	South Korea

This APP Tour race also appears further up in the rankings than we would expect. The race had mostly Korean paddlers with a very small field of pros. On an international scale we at the Stand Up Magazin are ranking this race far less relevant than the SWR algorithms do. However, there must have been enough price money or participants for this race to score higher than the Carolina Cup.

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Carolina Cup	11.9	***	USA

The Carolina Cup is one of the biggest races in the world but on the score board by the SWR it falls 0.1 points behind the Busan SUP Race by the APP Tour. We do find this surprising and can only guess that this must have to do with the lack of international participation or price money.

Here are the rest of the SWR ranked races of 2022

Race	Index	Stars	Country
Alicante SUP Open	11.36	***	Spain
EUROSUP 2022	10.56	**	Denmark
APP London SUP Open	10.55	**	Great Britain
Loopa SUP ICF World Cup	10.37	**	Hungary
ISA World SUP & Paddleboard Championship	10.26	**	Puerto Rico
Zavidovo SUP challenge	10.08	**	Russia
Port Adriano SUP Race	9.97	**	Spain
Vendée Gliss Event	9.79	**	France
Saquarema Aloha Spirit Festival	9.46	**	Brazil
Aloha Spirit Festival Angra Dos Reis	9.42	**	Brazil
Gran Carrera del Mediterráneo SUP Race	9.33	**	Spain
Agios Nikolaos on SUP	9.07	**	Greece
Lyon Paddle Show Race	8.79	**	France
SIC Gorge Challenge 2022	8.44	**	USA
The Lake Rocks Festival	8.38	**	Austria
Madeira Island SUP Challenge	8.36	**	Portugal
SUP the Creek 2022	8.34	**	Great Britain
APP World Tour Santa Monica	8.3	**	USA
III SUP Challenge Cabo de Palos	8.29	**	Spain
ICF World Cup Oklahoma	8.24	**	USA
Nordhausen SUP Race	8.1	**	Germany
Namur SUP Race	8.05	**	Belgium

Conclusion

Numbers never lie, if you can work out an numeric / algorithmic system that ranks races and athletes then you can’t argue about it. The question now will be who do we carry this further. Can this be a foundation for a solid world ranking without dispute? Could be get athletes to agree to follow one tour and consolidate the pro races into a unified and marketable tour?

We do not need to look far, every sport has a tour spectators can follow and trust to see the best competing against each other. If spectators can trust they can follow a tour and see the same athletes compete in different venues and a following will be created. Now you have a story to sell, but consistency is key. As of right now we do not have international consistency in the sport so this ranking system is quantifying the performance of athletes and measures the relevancy of a race.

Just like the athletes performance, a relevancy of a race can change year by year. Lets filter out the races that remain relevant consistently.

The SUP World Ranking has updated its list of the top 100 Stand Up Paddleboard (SUP) athletes with a new version.

What does the TOP 100 list mean? Why was it created?

SWR has reached a major milestone with the creation of the TOP 100 list. It took four years of systematic work, hundreds of races and thousands of riders from all over the world to produce the TOP 100.

We have worked very hard to provide a realistic picture of the SUP riders based on real values, adapted to statistical theories and mathematical foundations. With all the «World Champions» announced by different organisations and race organisers, it is very difficult to find the best rider of the year.

The SWR ranking awards riders in 3 different categories throughout the year. Each year in January, riders start with a clean slate, and by the end of December, the Long Distance, Technical and Sprint World Rankings are established.

These lists are a good indication of which riders have been the most successful and active in each category in a given year, but to get a complex picture where we can summarise the results of all three categories, we had to create new formulas and tables.

How did the TOP 100 list come about ?

Our aim was to create a Perpetual Ranking that would take into account the results of all SWR-registered races in the world, regardless of the 3 different categories, on a pro-rata basis.

Another important aspect in the development of the formula was the preference for quality over quantity.
Therefore, only the top 10 results of all riders in a given year are taken into account (regardless of whether the rider competed in a long distance, technical or sprint race).

The year 2022 is the first year when the TOP 100 list will be published. In the following years, we will always add the results to the previous year’s scores. This way, a real Perpetual SUP Ranking List will be created.

TOP 100

Another important information is that the top 20 male and female athletes on the top 100 list will determine the points available for competitions in the following year, which will influence the value of the event (number of stars).

What other innovations will there be on the SWR website in 2023?

In 2023, the ULTRA DISTANCE SUP WORLD RANKING will begin, supported by the Belgian SUP Tour as a naming sponsor. The rules of this will also be published on our website soon.

A new innovation is the Active Partner Program, which helps and promotes the work of competition organizers and events. We welcome applications at the email address race@supworldranking.com.
There will also be some changes in the evaluation of competitions. Instead of awarding points based on the top 10 female athletes, we will award points based on the presence of the top 20 athletes.

We welcome applications from all competition organizers to include their competition in the 2023 Event Calendar. We wish all SUP fans a Happy, Peaceful and Successful New Year.

See you at the starting line next year.

The SUP World Ranking generates event classifications based on mathematics and the Ultra Distance will be the big news for next year

Our sport does not stop growing and it seems that it has no limits either. Ingenuity is already part of Stand Up Paddle and we have verified it with the people of the SUP World Ranking, which is based on mathematics and statistics, they generate a classification with the results of Stand Up Paddle competitions throughout the world.

A system (here you can find out how it works), which you may or may not agree with, but it is really peculiar and motivating for competitors and organizers from all over the world. For this reason, we have shared with you some SWR news for next year and how 2022 is going for them.

What innovations and changes are planned for the SWR system in 2023?

We will further develop our existing system and launch the ULTRA DISTANCE SUP WORLD RANKING.

 We are adding 3 new features to our existing system to provide website visitors with even more information about the races and the competitors. With the increasing number and quality of races in 2022, it will allow us to start producing a TOP 100 men’s and women’s All-Time ranking from 2023. Changes are coming to the women’s points system and new search modules will be added to the Event Calendar. You can find detailed information about these improvements here.

Can you tell us about the ULTRA DISTANCE (UD) ranking?

For years, the idea of including one of the most evolving types of racing in the list has been maturing – ULTRA DISTANCE racing. Last year Vincent Claeskens from Belgium, owner of the Belgian SUP tour, approached me to develop the details of the ULTRA ranking.

There were a lot of questions that could influence the creation of a fair ranking based on real values. The length of the race distances, the number of race days, the number of participants, the parameters of the board, and I could list a lot of factors that influence the ranking.

For many months I consulted with my mathematician friend, a professor, and tried to optimise the variable elements on the basis of various statistical calculations to ensure that the ULTRA performances could be measured together.

What parameters will determine the registration rules for ULTRA DISTANCE races ?

• The Ultra Distance starts from 32 kilometres.
• Only 14′ categories will be scored (if the number of unlimited board riders in the races increases we will make a separate ranking for them)
• The minimum number of participants is 15 (girls and boys together)
• The TOP 20 competitors will be scored in both categories male/female (no minimum number of entries)
• Only races where the riders are equipped with GPS tracking systems will be counted.
• Separate rankings for single-day and multi-day races (SINGLE- STAGE men /SINGLE-STAGE women and MULTI-STAGE men / MULTI-STAGE women)
• In races where there is a results announcement every day and the distance exceeds 32 km (such as SUP 11 City Tour) the daily results will be put on the SINGLE-STAGE list and the final results will be put on the MULTI-STAGE list on day 5.
• At the end of the year, the scores of the 2 type ranked competitors will be added up and a champion will be announced. Of course, separately for girls and boys.
• In the first year, 3 factors determine the points value of the competition: 1 total number of competitors, 2 number of nations,3 prize money.

Why is 32 km the base distance for the ULTRA DISTANCE?

We started from ultra running, where 50km is the smallest ULTRA distance. A professional runner can complete this in about 4 minutes per km, so it takes approximately 200 minutes to complete the distance. If we look at the performance of pro SUP paddlers, they can paddle an average of around 6 minutes per kilometre, so they can cover around 32-33 kilometres in the same time. So this is where we draw the line and from here upwards all distances are considered ULTRA DISTANCE like in athletics.

How are the developments going ?

I’m delighted that Vincent is not just an idea man on the ULTRA DISTANCE project. At the end of September we signed a cooperation agreement and in 2023 the Belgian SUP Tour will be the title sponsor of the ULTRA DISTANCE SUP WORLD RANKING (UDSWR).This agreement will help the development and also promote the Ultra races.

What are your objectives in launching UDSWR?

If you look at the last 15-20 years of the sporting world, the trends are clear. Recreational sports have seen a huge development and within this, all ultra endurance or extreme performance sports are developing faster than the classic sports that have been competing in the Olympics for the last 40-60 years. SUP is no exception. In the last 5 years, the number of UD distance SUP races has doubled and the number of competitors is also growing rapidly. With the launch of the UDSWR, our main aim is to promote UD racing!

We believe it is important to have a set of rules that are accepted by both race organisers and competitors , which will provide a framework for the work in the coming years. I believe that a quantified comparison of races and competitors will create a healthy competitive environment that will move SUP forward.

I look forward to hearing from sports professionals and race organisers who have ideas or opinions about UD tournaments to write to me at race@supworldrankig.com so that we can discuss your ideas.

What trends do you see based on SWR 2022 data ?

There are still 3 months of the year left (and an ISA SUP World Championship ), but there is a clear upward trend in the numbers. We have already evaluated nearly 140 races which will exceed 2021, with the average number of competitors at events increasing.

The number of children and junior competitions is increasing. The number of European competitions clearly leads the statistics. French and Spanish dominance is strong, but Denmark, England, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium are also doing well in terms of statistical numbers.

Which country or continent could be the surprise factor in 2023?

The rise of the Asian region is clearly visible. Japan has been strong in recent years, but South Korea, Thailand and China are also making huge strides. Indonesia, Taiwan and Singapore are also gaining ground.

I wouldn’t be surprised if one of these countries hosts the ICF or ISA SUP World Championships in 2023. However, America is also starting to find its feet again and hopefully we will soon see another big compatitions, like in 2012-17 events in California or Hawaii.

How will sponsorship and partnerships evolve in 2023?

As a result of the growth in the number of views on our website and our systematic work, we will continue to work with existing sponsors in 2023. Of course, we are looking for new relationships with companies who want to sell their products on the global SUP market, and SUP enthusiasts who visit our website are the target customers for them. 

We can also offer different types of partner programs to rowing clubs, SUP Associations and SUP race organizers, which are mutually beneficial for both parties. This autumn we have launched a donation line, also, where individuals can support our work and development here.

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SWR / Photos: Up Suping. John Carter . @georgiasphoto

In 2023, SWR will add 3 new features to its service to give visitors of the website even more information about the competitions and riders.

1, TOP 100 men/women ranking

2, Changes in the women’s points system

3, Search for countries in the Event Calendar

1, With the increasing number and quality of competitions in 2022, will allow us to start producing TOP 100 men & women rankings from 2023.

The TOP 100 women’s and men’s rankings will be based on the total points scored by riders in the previous year’s long distance, technical and sprint events.

– If a competitor scores points in all three types of competition, the total of these points determines their performance for the year.

– If he/she has only competed in two types of races (e.g. long-distance and technical), the points from those races are added together.

– The scores are summed up in the first week of January each year.

– In 2024, the world ranking points will be added to the 2023 numbers, and so the scores will increase each year.

– Of course, we will continue to use the long distance, technical and sprint rankings as the benchmarks (which will start from zero each year).

2, Women’s rankings are a sensitive issue. Our aim is to create a fair and real values-based scoring system that does not discriminate and takes into account the interests of both men and women.

A few weeks ago we launched a poll on whether to increase the rating for women from 10 to 20.

Here you can see the results from 14 July.

A larger number of voters voted to keep the 10 system (which allows us to evaluate more women’s races )

We would  like to see an increase in the number of female competitors and the value of the competitions, so we are changing the scoring system from 2023.

– We will still evaluate the top 10 women, but when calculating the points for the races , we will evaluate the TOP 20 participants.

– Thus, the presence of the top 20 women in the 2022 TOP 100 women’s rankings in the events will be an extra value . Their value will be equal to the value of the TOP 20 male.

Of course, if in 2023 we see a trend that the number of female athletes in the elite category reaches or exceeds 20, we will change the ranking system again.

3, From 2023  the Event Calendar provides the opportunity to categorize events by country. This will make the list of events within countries more visible and help competitors from neighbouring countries to select their competitions.

We will also use separate colours to indicate races that have been held , races that have not been held and races that have been held but cannot be evaluated due to low numbers.

After the last video about the lack of a SUP ranking system, it is time to take a closer look the SUP World Rankings put in place by Tibor Hasulyo (yes the father of the Hasulyo brothers). We all knew the ranking was out there but somehow did not really get any traction up until recently. Now people are more and more looking towards Tibors’ ranking system and it was time for the Stand Up Magazin to reach out to Tibor to get a clear picture. We found it particularly interesting on how the race ranking system is being calculated and in fact you can even do this your self if you are a race organizer.

Since last year, both parties have established a close relationship combining information and calendar of events, especially from Spain. We are passionate about Stand Up Paddle , and we also love competition. And the SWR has a very special format where events and competitors from all over the world have an incentive to be even more recognized in the wonderful world of SUP Race.