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Beach 'N Boards Fest Paddle Event 2023

3/12/2023

2 Comments

 

Kevin Woodin's perspective.

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​This event received some extraordinary feedback from all the participants, volunteers, spectators, and sponsors. We celebrated each and every win together, and that's an extraordinary accomplishment. We had a couple of new paddlers out there for their first or second time, and everyone gave them amazing support.

​When you find your tribe, Love them hard!✌️

​Click here for event results.
​
​A big thank you goes out to everyone involved in making this years event possible.

Beach N Boards Fest brought to you by Ron Jon Surf Shop. Mitch Varnes with Smooth Running. Danny Smith with Paddling Paradise and Paddle Sports League. Tim Pflieger with DC Adventure Center. Sunshine State Games. Cocoa Beach Aquatic Center. Webscorer.
The A-Team (because Timing Matters!)
Karren Watson, Manuela Woodin, and Pattie Kelley.
​So much work and fun goes into setting up events like this at remote locations. Especially the signature bow tie buoy course.
​This is the SUP Games! Built around the paddlers and the spectators.

Bringing everyone closer together and allowing the energy and enthusiasm to be highly contagious.
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​“It's our passionate belief that when people get together and make something amazing, useful, helpful, and inspiring, then we are reaching our full potential as HUMANS.”
-Paddle Sports League


Going any distance away, greater than a few miles, on the open water brings about uncontrollable factors. Most beginners and intermediate paddlers cannot catch the feedback loop of enjoying what they're doing and wanting to contribute more to it. SUP Games changes all that by brining everyone together for the entire adventure.
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​Ease and placement.

No board? No problem! All around boards and paddles provided. If you want to bring your own unique board and or paddle you can. Now, loading and unloading is simple and even more convenient for those that find it difficult and or impossible to attend paddling events away from their home.
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​YOU vs. The Clock!
Paddle, turn, and repeat. Few will know where they stand on the podium until after all three heats are completed and the times are added up for each paddler.
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​"Short, tech races like this are so fun to watch and cheer everyone on."
​-Seychelle SUP

​Spectator and beginner friendly.

The stadium style event brings spectators closer to the action in every paddle stroke and every turn. When you get to cheer on others and see their smile light up, that's a big deal. Spectators cheering on paddlers, paddlers cheering on paddlers, and everyone celebrating in the experience together!
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​Signature Bow Tie buoy course.

-200 Meters per lap
-6 Buoy turns per lap
-4 Laps, 800 meters, per heat
-3 Heats, 1.5 miles, and 72 buoy turns
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​Short and sweet, and a little sweaty too!
You have to think of this as a high intensity interval training (HIIT) workout, not a sprint. Is 1.5 miles too short or too long?
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​Did you attend this event? Let us and others know how it went for you.


“If you want to do something, don’t overthink it. Go for it. ”
​-Nedd Brockmann
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​What's Next?
SUP Games Orlando
by Water Wellness Orlando
Where? Grills Lakeside Orlando

When? Saturday, April 1, 2023 8:00 AM
- Click here for Event Registration
- Click here for the event Facebook page

​I'm in a state of gratitude for those who joined this extraordinary adventure of paddle fun and living full-on.

Aspire to paddle, paddle to Inspire 🤙 
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Good physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health is the community we keep within us and around us. The more we experience, the more we have to offer. We all have to do our individual part, to fall in love with the uncomfortable space of growth, development, and reward. With ease, placement, and togetherness- we can and will create a positive energy in our community that enriches and informs our body and mind of knowledge and feed our energetic and emotional wellbeing.

Together in Nature we can find sanity and purpose in witnessing the beauty around us, and participating with that beauty through engaging in our curiosity, wonder, and playfulness. With ease and placement, let's make more of this fun happen together.


Breath is Life. Rest is Growth. Eat to Live. Aspire to inspire. Try to fail. Hone your faculties. Engage in playfulness.

BE KIND to YOURSELF!
Avoid negative labels!
YOU ARE STRONG!
YOU GOT THIS!

✌️ 🌱 🙏 🧠 🙌 🌍 🤙 ❤️ 💪
#Breathe #Think #Move #Diet
#LIVEITBEAWESOME
#Smiles4Miles
2 Comments

Paddle Sports League Winter Challenge 2023

1/7/2023

1 Comment

 
​What an extraordinary paddling event and display of camaraderie, athleticism and exuberance.
Kevin Woodin’s Perspective
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Photos by George Campbell
The early start of the 10 miler was followed up by the noontime start of the 5K (3.1 miles), and last was the 200 meter sprint. It was a blast paddling on the all around surf stand up paddle board (SUP).
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Photos by George Campbell
10 miles + 3.1 miles on a Surf SUP? Yes, why not. 
We need to understand, we can, and should, be our best no matter the type of craft we're paddling. Many get confused because we make conclusions about what is and isn't fast, and what is and isn't performance worthy. Some of us tend to form similar conclusions about ourselves. SMILES 4 MILES! It's all about paddling your own race. Surf SUPs are not just for paddling in the ocean and surfing waves. I was fortunate to have the right conditions for the 10 miler that gave me a bit of advantage over some of the narrower 14' race boards. I honestly didn't expect that to happen. I embraced whatever the environment threw at me. Paddling well in any/all conditions comes down to the paddlers skills and the type of craft they're most comfortable paddling in those varying conditions. And for those that also paddled in all three events, congratulations on your extraordinary accomplishments. I believe the journey is more important than the destination. The small things are the big things. Everyone should feel included and this is what our paddling community needs.
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell

Set the context for a joyful and exuberant YOU.​

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Photos by George Campbell
The easiest way we can find our tribe is by moving towards self-actualization rather than self-image actualization. I only hope that together we search within ourselves for honest self-expression. Let us stress less about the things and focus more on Life. As I get older, having this mindset allows me to focus more on who I am now and not be so hard on comparing myself to who I was. I know this will ring true for so many other athletes that are facing their own unforeseeable lessons of Life. I encourage everyone to read the book 'The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck' by Mark Manson. Life is all about embracing the aging process and being comfortable with being different and caring about something more important than adversity. There's a lot of people out there struggling to stay in the game without falling victim to their own physical and mental tethers. Continue to engage in playfulness. Continue to hone your WHY so you can find your way. Don't wait for someone else to be kind first. Don't wait for better circumstances or for someone to change. Just be kind to yourself and others, because you never know how much you or someone needs it. That's all I'm doing to try and enjoy this extraordinary Life. GRATITUDE is the best attitude, KINDNESS is bliss, and EMPATHY is the best trajectory.
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Photos by George Campbell
Congratulations to everyone that came out to engage in playfulness together. “When you find your tribe, love them hard", this is something you can only truly experience by being here.
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Special thank yous go out to @Danny Smith, @Karren Watson, @Paddling Paradise staff, @Manuela Woodin, @Pattie Kelly, @Tim Pflieger, and @George Campbell for all your efforts in organizing this amazing event.
Check out all the amazing super high resolution photos taken by @George Campbell.​ Click here
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George Campbell

10 Mile Distance Event Recap

10 mile results click here
For my Strava details click here
Paddling the surf sup was super rewarding. The level of mental and physical effort to keep moving forward challenged me. It takes a strong mindset to paddle a surf SUP board, with limited glide, into headwinds for several miles. You just have to remember that you'll always lose first to your mind and then the body follows. I'm grateful for my years of endurance running that callused my mind for times like these. The down winder portion was worth the uphill struggle. The surf sup performed amazingly well catching most of the bumps. I didn’t expect it to outperform some of the 14’ race boards like it did. Big shoutout to all the paddlers that accomplished this distance event. And another shoutout to @GSCampbell, our photographer extraordinaire, for driving over to the turnaround point to capture so many wonderful pictures, and also showcasing some of our amazing local wildlife.
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell

5K(3.1 miles) Distance Event Recap

5K results click here
For my Strava details click here
A wonderful 3 loop course made this event so much more engaging for spectators, paddlers could cheer on fellow paddlers, and I even gave out some high fives 🖐️ for power 💥 ups in the 3rd and final lap when you knew everyone was paddling hard for the finish. 
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell
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Photos by George Campbell

200 Meter Sprint Event Recap

200 meter sprint results here -
Round 1 results click here
Round 2 results click here
Go left! No, your other left! 😂. There was a little confusion on the left or was it the right side dock finish. It was still a blast to go all out. And we loved it so much we decided to do it twice ✌️. So 400 meters then? LOL.

I decided to demo the SIC XRS 14' x 22" race board but it was still no match for Kat P and Mark Hewitt. And even slow on my Second attempt, LOL. Click the results above to see the details.
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Photos by George Campbell

So what's next?

SUP Games 2 on February 4th.
SUP Games 2 on February 4th. I'm looking forward to this, especially now that we've opened it up to include 14' and under race SUPs in a separate division. How will it go? Who will show up?

For details and registration click here
​

To see the full list of SUP Games, 10 Event Series, this year,
Click here
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"You Can't Say, You Can't Play" -Vivian Gussin Paley

3 - 2 - 1 - PADDLES UP!

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Photos by George Campbell
Maintain a healthy and strong body and mind so you can Enjoy Your Life NOW! Having a capable body, an emotional resilient mind, and happier life should matter most if it doesn't already. Let your Life sit in the driver seat and tell your identity and ego to sit there quietly in the backseat.
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Photos by George Campbell
If we can learn to stay deeply connected to the occupant it will guide us towards taking best care of our own vessel, others, and this planet. We truly are a culmination of all our decisions. What our consciousness is intensely focused on is what we will manifest in our life and in the world around us. Thoughts follow actions, and you attract more of what we become. PERSPECTIVE. It really doesn’t matter what’s fast, strong, first, second, or third, just show up and do YOUR BEST every day. 1.01%.

NOW is the time to bring together an ecologically and spiritually conscious population to create a massive impact for the benefit of all life on Earth. Together creating a conscious planet. To become LOVE, HAPPINESS, and make the world a little less cruel and heartless. Together everyone achieves more! GO TEAM HUMANISM!

It's an honor to be among such accomplished individuals and to be able to present my perspective before you all. Thank you and see you at the next event, SUP Games 2 on February 4th.
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Photos by George Campbell
Best,
Kevin
​
Breath is Life. Rest is Growth. Eat to Live. Aspire to inspire. Try to fail. Hone your faculties. Engage in playfulness.


BE KIND to YOURSELF!
Avoid negative labels!
YOU ARE STRONG!
YOU GOT THIS!

🌱 🙏 🧠 🙌 🌍 🤙 ❤️ 💪
#LIVEITBEAWESOME
1 Comment

Key West Paddle Classic 2022 on a Surf SUP style board

12/6/2022

2 Comments

 
I did the Key West Paddle Classic 2022 on a Surf SUP style board. The same boards we are using for the www.supgames.org. It's not the board, It's the paddler. Just remember to BE selfish with your health and SELFLESS with everything else. The ego is never satisfied. The life within you is the only real thing. When you win in Life, you're living the life of your dreams, achieving your goals, and being content with where you're at every day.
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Kevin Woodin's Perspective.

​Congrats to Conrad Charles (2nd place), Danny Smith (3rd place), and Chris Baker (4th place) who also paddled on Surf SUP boards. "It always seems impossible until it's done." -Nelson Mandela

BIG shoutout to our support crew Manuela Esposito Woodin (Wifey), Karren Watson, Kari Paul, and Tony Paul who joined this extraordinary weekend experience. When you find your tribe, Love them hard!
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Congrats to all the paddlers who participated, tides and winds were definitely unfavorable. May we all look at this as a success or a lesson, but never a failure. What did you learn? Every situation is an opportunity. Either we harvest wellbeing, or suffering – it is our choice. "The mind adapts and converts to its own purposes the obstacle to our acting. The impediment to action advances action. What stands in the way becomes the way." -Marcus Aurelius, Meditations

Thank you to all the event staff, water & land safety support, volunteers, and sponsors that made it possible.
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The Key West Paddle Classic challenged my emotional resilience, testing my ability to respond to stressful and unexpected situations and crises. I heard this paddle event was tough, I just didn't expect it to actually challenge me the entire way, LOL. Events like this are won and lost in the mind. The hard parts were met with even harder parts. The last few miles, which I call The Zombie Miles, reminded me of "hitting the wall" in my early marathon days as a distance runner. Maintain a vibrant and resilient body and mind so you can rescue yourself from any pain, difficulty, and or suffering along the way. Because it’s not a matter of if, but more a matter of when. "If you focus on the hurt, you will continue to suffer. If you focus on the lesson, you will continue to grow." -Brian Weiner. This is exactly what the Stoics meant when they said that events were objective but our opinions about them were not. The conditions of this paddle event were not good or bad, they just were. It's not what happens. It's how You bear it.

And to Runners that don't paddle, yet LOL.
​If you're only a runner, then this would be like running on a treadmill street trying to move forward for 8+ miles, strong winds blowing against you, the entire treadmill wobbling in all directions, and invisible forces pushing and pulling when you least expected. Yep!
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WHY? WHAT? HOW?

Why did I keep going? Yesterday’s shower isn’t going to keep me clean today, LOL. Life will always challenge me. Once I let the past miles decide how I experience the present ones, I destroy Life not fully lived yet. It's the only one I got. Yes, sometimes I fall into moments of darkness, and that's ok, but I don't Live there, I keep moving forward. Read my BIG FIVE below.

What did I hope achieve? Enjoying the process of playing and practicing at the edge of my ability. Breathe, Paddle, Repeat. It's really about being my best, not the best. There’s no destination. Life’s about my perceptions and attitude while traveling through it. Smiles 4 Miles. Just like mountains have always been an inspiration for seekers of all sorts. The Peak signifies fulfillment. May you know the peak of your being.
“Happiness is the byproduct of doing meaningful things, not an end to be pursued.” – Rich Roll

How did I make it? Never allowing myself to mourn over a zombie mindset. "Whatever you fight, you strengthen, and what you resist, persists." -Eckhart Tolle.
"Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you're climbing it." -Andy Rooney
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The BIG FIVE for honing my skills

Are you in mourning over your zombie Life? When did you begin to value health as a commodity, erring on the side of cheap versus quality, convenience versus efficacy, isolation versus connection. "And so it goes for you and whatever interminable period lays ahead. It’s not good or bad, it’s an experience. What will you make of it? Will you be in it? That’s what counts. That’s what matters. That is what you control." -Daily Stoic
“The things you think about determine the quality of your mind, your energies take on the color of your thoughts.” -Marcus Aurelius

The BIG FIVE for honing my skills.
1) Master your Breath,
2) Captain your Mind,
3) Move with Less Friction,
4) Recenter yourself and Focus,
5) Flow to Grow and …
Keep Moving Forward!
Or backward yet forward! YOU GOT THIS!
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​Aspire to paddle. Paddle to inspire.

​Doing. Learning. Sharing. Communicaring. Adapting. Growing. Until you expire. What really determines how we live our lives? Rethink that conclusion. An Active Intelligence, no conclusions. You are response-able for the life you want. You are part of the ingredients in your whole diet. Your should be liberating your Life, not restricting or enslaving it.
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Create more reasons to MOVE. Humans grow by observation and involvement. Human beings are missing a whole lot of life, simply because they are indoors most of the time. We should be wandering outdoors, so that the mind might be nourished and refreshed by the open air and deep breathing.

Somebody who loves to keep learning and enjoying the process is always consciously playing and growing.
Consciousness is like sunlight. When it is on, it reveals everything. And without playfulness, you shall not know what it means to be conscious.
We’re a culmination of all our decisions. What our consciousness is intensely focused on is what we will manifest in our life and in the world around us.
Your thoughts follow your actions, and you attract more of what we become.
It's easier to act your way into a new way of thinking than to think your way into a new way of acting.
The life within you is the only real thing – everything else is just a projection.
A person who is a friend to themselves is an aid to all life.
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"This is such a brief life – why waste your time on things that are not worthwhile. The problem is not our intelligence but our unconscious, compulsive behavior. It is time we create a Conscious Planet.” -Sadhguru

Breath is Life. Rest is Growth. Eat to Live. Aspire to inspire. Try to fail. Hone your faculties. Engage in playfulness.

BE KIND to YOURSELF!
Avoid negative labels!
YOU ARE STRONG!
YOU GOT THIS!

🌱 🙏 🧠 🙌 🌍 🤙 ❤️ 💪
#LIVEITBEAWESOME
2 Comments

Video didn't work....just a nice picture today

10/6/2022

1 Comment

 
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1 Comment

We have a little surprise

9/28/2022

0 Comments

 
Paddlers Perspective
Tribe
We have a surprise!
We are working on a 10 event series starting in 2023 
Best 8 out of 10 results will be counted.
These events will be wherever anyone would like to host.
This will be an ARC All-Round-Class board event. 
We have been following the One Design Class events from our and other sports for many years and feel this ARC format can work well because of the amount of those boards all over the world

Some Tribes are stuck, they embrace the status quo, we love those tribes too. We feel this ARC movement is thrilling and it’s the work of many people. This Tribe is seeking to help the SUP community take a few steps back, embrace the masses, assist it in moving forward and get unstuck.
New rule?
If you want to grow, you need to find new tribe members who are willing to join in and believe in what the tribe is doing. Guess what? The new tribe members are looking for something new and different… maybe a change in the way things are being done. The new new is the way it was done in the past, but we moved way too fast to where we are today.  Well stepping back in time a few years and really listening to what some very smart people were saying.

“SUP is a new sport, it’s a unique sport and it has a proud heritage in the world of surfing. I believe we have to keep our boards looking something like surfboards, and NOT like canoes. Even if it means we’re going a little bit slower, I very strongly believe it’s for the good of the sport. If you want to go as fast as possible on the water, you’re in the wrong sport already.”
Jim Terrell Quickblade Paddles 2013


This Tribe perspective doesn’t want to take anything away from the sport we want to add to the sport. 
What we are adding with ARC events is

  • ARC boards are simply 10 to 11’6 planning style boards that have a minimum width of 30 inches
  • Short course style events, ¼ to ½ mile laps
  • Competitors and spectators are all involved due to proximity 
  • Closer connection to more of the paddle community (more ARC boards than any other style)
  • Easier access to boards for new tribe members to join in on all tribe activities (most rental outfitters have these boards) 
  • Lower cost of entry into the tribe whether buying new or used 
  • Easier for retail locations to assist tribe members in picking boards. (most retail locations have these boards
  • Easier for all brands to get tribe members on their brand (most brands have these boards.
As a Tribe we can all make this happen to grow our sport of Stand Up Paddleboarding

​
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0 Comments

What happened at this years event was a landmark success!

9/26/2022

1 Comment

 
Sunshine State Games All Around Class Standup Paddleboard (SUP) Event, presented by Amazon International Beach Games - 09/24/2022
Kevin Woodin's Perspective

What happened at this years event was a landmark success!

How can I summarize this event? EASE, PLACEMENT, TOGETHERNESS, and INCLUSIVITY.
This event received some extraordinary feedback from all the participants, volunteers, spectators, and sponsors. We celebrated each and every win together, and that's an extraordinary accomplishment. We had a couple of new paddlers out there for their first or second time, and everyone gave them amazing support. The event emphasized on the all around board class (SUP Surf/planing hull design), time trial format (staggered start), short course (with easy/moderate turns), two laps, three heats, and the entire event was fully visible from shore. Every paddler was center stage. All paddlers of different skill levels had the opportunity to claim a podium finish on an equal playing field. It all came down to your best, not the best. The winners were determined by the lowest total time of the combined heats.

Even experienced paddlers had to dig a little deeper. Some took advantage in the distance between turns. Some had the advantage in the turns. Some favored the tail winds. Others did better in the head winds. Some went out to hard, and some to slow. Some just enjoyed being part of the amazing community experience and fantastic Florida weather. After each heat the paddlers had a short break before starting again. Some of the newer paddlers took this time to ask more experienced paddlers for some tips, and then made some changes in the next heat. Some paddlers switched boards because this event brought together a wide range of all around class board brands, shapes, and sizes to choose from. All the connectedness and conversations were truly amazing. The fun was just non stop until the very end.
Event results here

A big thank you goes out to everyone involved in making this years event possible.
Event organizers: Danny Smith, Karren Watson, and Mitch Varnes.
Event support and volunteers: JD Smith, Daniel Patala, Pattie Kelley, Jeri Bergen, Manuela Woodin, Leah Cortez, Sharon Robinson, Anastasia McCauley, Vicky Stanevich, and Cyndy Seifert.
Business partners: Paddling Paradise, Paddle Sports League (PSL), Fin Box Lock, Sunshine State Games presented by Amazon, and Smooth Running.

SUP Life encourages people to fall in love with the uncomfortable space of growth, development, and reward together. With ease, placement, togetherness, and inclusivity, we hone our skills of power, stamina, paced effort, balance, flexibility, strength, and allow movement to reward the body, mind, emotions, and Life energies. We need to create a positive energy in our community that enriches and informs our body and mind of knowledge and feed our energetic and emotional wellbeing. Together in Nature we can find sanity and purpose in witnessing the beauty around us, and participating with that beauty through engaging in our curiosity, wonder, and playfulness. With ease and placement, let's make more of this fun happen together!

WHEN YOU FIND YOUR TRIBE, LOVE THEM HARD!

2023 All Around Board Class Event Series COMING SOON!
We are already hard at work planning a series of 10 events for 2023. We want to work with other organizers to host multiple locations. The format remains the same, but we'll add a half-that for the new paddlers. Get ready to share more good vibes!
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Paddle Sports League Facebook Page
Paddle Sports League Events

Appreciate all the Love, Love all the support,
Kevin

The power and control of everything you are is right there in every breath.
BE KIND to YOURSELF!
Avoid negative labels!
YOU ARE STRONG!
YOU GOT THIS!

🌱 🙏 🧠 🙌 🌍 🤙 ❤️ 💪
#LIVEITBEAWESOME
1 Comment

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