Battle of The Paddle October 3rd and 4th, 2009. Doheny State Beach, Dana Point, CA
Aloha,
The first day of competition was really fun! Everyone was surprised on the amount of people that entered and also the waves that were steadily increasing. The boards that the majority of competitors used are very fast in the flats and catch the smallest of swell easily, so when the waves started to pick up, the competition became much more difficult, especially when there were obstacles such as huge boards flying at you sideways in the waves from people falling and kelp that will get tangled on your fin! These are the things that makes the Battle of the Paddle so fun and challenging!
Battle of The Paddle October 3rd and 4th, 2009. Doheny State Beach, Dana Point, CA
Perfect example of the "dominos effect". Once one goes down, they all go down, including the people in front of them!
This race is not called the Battle of the Paddle for no reason!
Some of these sets were very difficult to go through on a 12 foot hollow SUP board, and it must have been even harder for the adults who were on the 18 foot boards.
The hectic start of the Elite division.
As you can see, the start line was pretty big!
Coming into the finish in 1st place for the open age 12'6" class!
Congrats to my friend and training partner Slater Trout who took home 2nd in the Battle! Good job Braddah Slater!
As well congratulation to my friends from Talia Gangini and Connor Baxter who finished great in this difficult competition!
It is great to be able to compete around the would with all my friends!
I hope to see all the same faces and more next year!
I was stoked on my 1st place finish in the long distance 14' class and also 1st place in the open age 12'6" class! The races were fun and very exciting! In the Elite division I got taken out many times by many boards, and ended up not finishing how I wanted. In the end I got to take home two Firsts and stories to tell with every scar and bruise!
Mahalo nui loa to all the organizers and sponsors that made the Battle of the Paddle such a great event! And as well mahalos to all the athletes who competed in the event!
Also another big THANKS to Starboard and Brian Szymanski who shaped awesome boards for me and a few other Starboard team riders to use.
Now I am off to the 30th annual TWMC Ghost Rider Enduro in the Mojave dessert. This is a 115 mile dirt-bike enduro dessert race that I am going to be competing in with my dad and Brother, Matty Schweitzer.
Aloha and Mahalo,
Zane Kekoa Schweitzer
Good job Zane, sounds like a fantastic event. Great pics as well. We're proud of you. Hope to hear more about the Enduro. Be careful! Love you, Grandpa Ron & Devon
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Congratulations on your two first and surviving the rest Zane. Your report above is excellent and i admire your humble approach and the thanks you bestowed on Brian. You're too cool to fool. Aloha from home base maui. Also be careful in the motocross. Good luck to you dad and matty. Mystery Bob
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Braaaaaaa what's up!?? roger talking to ya..!! how you bin? nice website man! it's very nice, amanda and me are planning to go to maui in december 2010..... so be prepared man!!! talk to you later dude!!
oh yeah.....the ladies from amsterdam wanted me to say hello to you...hahahaha lol
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Hey lil'dude! What's up! Looks like your doing great! 1ste place! Congrats! How's Connor? tell him I said Hi!
Love n'Hugs from Holland!
Amanda
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