SUP English Riviera Festival

31/08/2026

Family patriarch and well-known Torbay businessman survived two heart transplants

12/07/2026

One of the wonderful things about delivering the ICF SUP World Cup: English Riviera 2026 was seeing local businesses come together to support something bigger than themselves.

A huge thank you to Dr Button EMDR Training Ltd and Darren Button for generously loaning us their huge TV, which became an essential part of our athlete briefings at the Hampton by Hilton and our film evening. Support like this, often behind the scenes, makes a real difference to the success of major events.

Darren and the team are passionate paddleboarders themselves and understand something we’ve always believed: time on the water is good for you.

Whether it’s paddleboarding, swimming, rowing or simply sitting by the sea, blue spaces have an incredible ability to reduce stress, improve wellbeing and help us reconnect with ourselves and nature. It’s one of the reasons Above Water exists, to help more people enjoy the water safely and confidently.

Please take a moment to support Dr Button EMDR Training Ltd, specialists in EMDR training and psychological wellbeing. Their work helps people build resilience, overcome trauma and improve mental health, values that align so closely with everything we believe about the positive impact of the outdoors.

🌊 Thank you, Darren, for your generosity and support. We look forward to seeing you back on the water soon.

Dr Button EMDR Training Ltd
https://drbutton-emdrtraining.co.uk/

10/07/2026

Sounds the perfect way to upgrade your old suit?!?!

Dig out those wetsuits that no longer fit and give them a new life! 🌊♻️

The Above Water Charity Wetsuit Swap Shop & Sales is coming to the NEW Meadfoot Water Sports Hub (next to the café on Meadfoot Sea Road).

The ultimate recycling!

👧 Swap your wetsuit
• Child £10
• Adult £15

🛍️ Or buy one
• Child £20
• Adult £30

Whether your kids have outgrown theirs or you’ve upgraded, this is the perfect chance to keep quality wetsuits in use, save money and support the work of Above Water.

📍 Meadfoot Water Sports Hub
📅 Saturday 11 July | 10am-1pm
📅 Sunday 12 July | 3pm-6pm

See you this weekend! And please tag your friends and share this post so we can help as many families as possible.

Terms: Wetsuits must be like-for-like quality. We cannot accept low-quality supermarket suits. Swapped suits must be in at least 80% good condition. Above Water reserves the right to refuse any wetsuit.

08/07/2026

PODIUMS 🏆 |> DAY 3 of the ICF SUP World Cup x SUP English Riviera Festival concluded with LONG DISTANCE RACE 🏁 🏆 and an epic battle to the last stroke on open sea 🌊 💪💯

Here’s to ALL AMAZING ATHLETES crossing that finish line 🏁 proving us once again how great this sport and the community is 💯🫶

WOMEN OPEN - TOP 5

🥇Cecilia Pampinella 🇪🇸
🥈 Annabel Page 🇬🇧
🥉Skadi Langbein 🇩🇪
4.Emily Evans 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
5.Michelle Kimbler 🇸🇪

JUNIOR MEN

🥇Alfred Gregory 🇬🇧
🥈 Drew Barber 🇬🇧

MEN OPEN - TOP 5

🥇Manuel Hoyuela Rojas 🇪🇸
🥈Greg Limelette 🇫🇷 🇵🇹
🥉 Tommaso Pampinella 🇮🇹
4. Joe Jones 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿
5.Tom Moran 🇬🇧

WOMEN 40+ - TOP 5

🥇 Susanne Lier 🇨🇭
🥈 Louise Court 🇬🇧
🥉Gemma Palmer-Dighton 🇬🇧
4.Merle Wilson 🇬🇧
5. Helen Nightingale 🇬🇧

MEN 40+ - TOP 5

🥇 Padhraic O Connor 🇮🇪
🥈 Glen Sloss 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿
🥉Jonathan Sherwin 🇬🇧
4.Maurice Roberts 🇬🇧
5.Dave Scott 🇬🇧

WOMEN 50+ - TOP 5

🥇 Marie Buchanan 🇬🇧
🥈 Sara Oddera 🇮🇹
🥉Sonya Brotherton 🇬🇧
4.Sara Maxey 🇬🇧
5.Sarah Perkins 🇬🇧

MEN 50+ - TOP 5

🥇 Bruce Smith 🇬🇧
🥈 Sebastian Monserrat Orell 🇪🇸
🥉Denzil Williams 🇬🇧
4.Kiran Raval 🇬🇧
5.Paul Drake 🇬🇧



Planet Canoe Paddle UK Torbay Council The English Riviera Brendon Prince Adventures

08/07/2026

BLACKFISH PADDLES - OFFICIAL PADDLE PARTNER of the ICF SUP World Cup x SUP English Riviera Festival🇬🇧

Stoked to be backing an event that brings together everyone from the world’s best paddlers to weekend warriors 💯💪🫡

It’s been awesome seeing so many people get their hands on our gear - and even better seeing it head straight back into the paddling community through the prizes and raffles.

ICF Sprints Silver Medallist 🥈Michelle Kimbler 🇸🇪 put it best:

“The goodies are going straight to our SUP club members and community.”

That’s what it’s all about. Sharing the stoke, supporting local clubs & getting more people on the water. 🤙 That’s the kind of ripple effect we love to see 💯

Thank you for having us: Brendon Prince Adventures ⭐️ Planet Canoe ⭐️ Torbay Council ⭐️ The English Riviera ⭐️ Paddle UK

08/07/2026

The racing dust has settled, but the golden glow is still in the air 💫🏆✨

The SUP community is still buzzing after a historic weekend at the ICF SUP World Cup & SUP English Riviera Festival in Torquay.

Athletes from 15 countries came together for an unforgettable celebration of stand-up paddleboarding, with a packed programme of world-class racing, community activities and a thriving exhibitor village.

Now it's time to relive the highlights. Hear from Cecilia Pampinella 🇮🇹, Manuel Hoyuela Rojas 🇪🇸, Susanne Lier 🇨🇭, Marie Buchanan 🇬🇧, Tommaso Pampinella 🇮🇹, Emily Evans 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿, Bruce Smith 🇬🇧 and SUPjunkie.uk as they look back on an incredible weekend on and off the water.

Paddle UK Planet Canoe Brendon Prince Adventures Torbay Council The English Riviera

The inaugural ICF SUP World Cup in the UK is now part of history. Spearheaded by Brendon Prince - extreme adventurer, water safety and Blue Mind advocate, and holder of eight world records - with the backing of Paddle UK and local partners including the English Riviera BID Company, Torbay Council an...

02/07/2026

This weekend was a landmark moment for stand up paddleboarding in the UK.
Never before has an international SUP event taken place in this country and it delivered this level of energy, visibility and public engagement.
Hundreds of competitors. Over 100 volunteers. Thousands of spectators. A packed waterfront. A destination alive with sport, festival atmosphere and community pride.
The message is clear: when you put the right competition in the right location, people come.
The ICF SUP World Cup: English Riviera proved that SUP has serious commercial value. It can drive tourism, attract investment, support local business, inspire participation and give brands, destinations and governing bodies something powerful to stand behind.
This was not just a successful event.
It was proof of concept.
SUP belongs on the world stage, and this weekend the English Riviera showed exactly why.
.sup

01/07/2026

Saturday saw both the ICF technical races and the SUPer Festival technical and sprints races, making for a day of amazing paddling! The wind did make the races harder, but that didn’t stop the athletes!🌊🏅

30/06/2026

Friday kicked off the weekend with the ICF Sprint Heats and Finals where we saw some incredible talent on display!