The first SUP to attempt Devizes to Westminster: Emily King
Longtime SUP racer Emily King joins Paddlecast to talk about why she's signed up to be one of the first stand up paddleboarders to race the Devizes to Westminster this weekend. In its more than seven decades of history, 2025 is the first year the DW has allowed SUPs to race. Emily, along with Paddy McCormack, will be one of the "SUP Pioneers". She'll paddle nearly 125 miles from Devizes to central London over four days, and her experience will shape the future of DW.Hosts Betsy and Billy ask Emily about her motivation, training, how she's applying learnings from her attempt at the Thames 200 Ultra last year, and what this means for the future of SUP in longstanding ultra paddling races like the DW.After Betsy and Billy's interview with Emily, stick around to hear what happened at the biggest international paddling races over the last couple of weeks, and hear our Paddlecast predictions for who will win the upcoming Battle for Hercules in Malaga (SUP) and the South African singles and doubles championships (surfksi).Thank you to our sponsors for making Paddlecast possible. Check out Tango Charlie Lights at https://tangocharlielights.com.auEmily King on Paddlecast: The first SUP to attempt the Devizes to Westminster00:29 Introducing Emily King03:30 Emily’s motivation for doing DW06:3: Is this a chance for SUP to prove itself to DW?08:17 What about the race’s time limits, how is Emily approaching these?09:26 Emily attempted the Thames 200 Ultra last year (streamed and covered by Paddler Media), how did that experience affect her approach to DW (which has 50% the same course)?16:14 Emily’s approach to training for the DW stages race (feat. kneepads)29:28 Paddy McCormack will be the second SUP racing DW, will Emily and Paddy race together? How does their approach differ?32:47 Emily’s expected race time (or as much of the secret information as she’s willing to share!)33:28 Betsy & Billy debrief on the Emily King conversation: Billy overcoming his “SUP scepticism”, and if this year is successful, could tandem SUP be the key to unlock a non-stop DW option for SUPs?Paddling News: Race Recaps37:50 SUP Twelve Race Recap: repeat wins for Tanja Ecker / PJ Simmons, 3rd place for newcomer from Costa Rica Carlo Arias, and a great DW “warm up” for Emily King who finished in 2nd place40:45 Spring SUP Race Recap: rise of the junior and recently junior women, why Csillag Kocsis’ winning streak is even more impressive than it looks, and Andrey Kraytor’s insane 100m sprint that broke the 20 second barrier (can it be considered a new World Record??)45:49 Amsterdam Waterland Marathon Race Recap47:27 Australia Marathon Nationals Race Results47:51 South Africa World Games Selection Race ResultsPaddling News: Race Previews49:28 SUP Battle for Hercules in Malaga50:31 South African Surfski Championships & Freedom Paddle (South African Doubles Surfski Championships)54:52 PADDLECAST CORRECTION. On the last Paddling News episode, we talked about the recent and current greats of GB marathon kayakers and between Lizzie Broughton and James Russell, missed out on the incredible Lani Belcher. Lani has phenomenal paddling results in marathon (and sprint), and it’s well worth learning more about her paddling career:https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/canoeing/41216261https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lani_Belcherhttps://www.canoeicf.com/athlete/lani-belcher
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The DW Race Preview Episode
It’s here. We couldn’t wait until Monday to drop this one: the Paddlecast Preview of Devizes to Westminster 2025. DW is England’s most iconic race that runs every Easter Weekend and finishes in central London in front of Parliament. 125 miles, 77 portages, from Saturday starts all the way through the night until Sunday morning.If you’ve been following Paddle Daily’s coverage of the Waterside and Thameside Series this season, you already know the racing is going to be tight. Last Sunday, two of the top three crews finished the 34 miles Waterside D race just 7 seconds apart. But over 125 miles, there’s a lot that can go wrong. How close will the racing really be by the time these crews reach Westminster? And which crew do Billy and Betsy think will take the win?Listen for:What makes this year’s DW uniqueTop 3 crews: pros, cons, and how would Paddlecast assign the odds if we were bettingNext 5 crews: who’s racing, who entered as a surprise last minute entry, and how will these crews performCanadian doubles: who’s racing, and why the race has suddenly gotten much tighter than expectedLeave a comment: who do you think will win this year’s DW? Are Billy and Betsy way off the mark? Why?Thank you to our sponsors for making Paddlecast possible. Check out Tango Charlie Lights at https://tangocharlielights.com.auAnd here’s a few links where you can learn more about what we discussed in the episode:2024 DW Race Recap including Anoushka / Tom’s post-race interview: https://paddledaily.com/2024/05/01/2024-dw-winners-from-in-the-mix-to-a-mixed-win/About DW: https://supracer.com/the-ultra-that-finishes-in-front-of-parliament-englands-most-brutal-paddling-race/DW Official Site: https://www.dwrace.co.uk/Ausable River Canoe Marathon: https://www.youtube.com/@AuSableMarathon/featuredEdd Dobson / Mike Rees-Clark’s Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/edward-dobson-1If you enjoyed the episode, please subscribe to Paddlecast and leave a review. If Paddlecast isn’t enough paddling chat for you, you can also follow:https://www.youtube.com/@paddlermediahttps://www.instagram.com/paddledailyhttps://www.instagram.com/supracerhttps://supracer.comhttps://paddledaily.comhttps://www.instagram.com/billylikeskayaking
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Paddling news you need to know: the 2025 season is ramping up
Paddlecast may be on a bi-weekly schedule, but with a plethora of paddling news from around the world, a fresh episode was a must. Billy and Betsy cover recent and upcoming races from their unique features (“the washing machine” and possibly the smoothest portage in Europe) to top contenders for national championships and World Games to the new European SUP League that starts in just a few weeks. Coverage includes:Marathon Racing: Waterlands Marathon preview, GB assessment race results, and South African marathon assessment racing for the 2025 World Games teamSurfski Racing: Preview of the Breizh Ocean Race on the coast of France, where the reigning men’s world champion will be racingSUP Racing: Newly announced European SUP League from the European Surfing Federation, and the upcoming “backyard ultra” style SUP TwelveDescent Racing: Slaney Descent Race in Ireland results, and a preview of the Spey Challenge in Scotland with “the washing machine”Sprint Racing: South African sprint championships preview with the country’s 2024 Olympians racing on home turfThank you to our sponsors for making Paddlecast possible. Check out Tango Charlie Lights at https://tangocharlielights.com.auIf you want to learn more about some of the races mentioned in the episode, check them out here:Waterlands Marathon: https://amsterdamcanoemarathon.com/GB Assessment Race Results: https://entries.canoemarathon.org.uk/results/races/2025/k1c1-marathon-assessment-race-norwich#race-sfk1 Paddle South Africa marathon and sprint races: https://www.canoesa.org.za/calendar/ Breizh Ocean Race: https://breizhoceanrace.fr/en/la-course/ Flash Gordan’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gordanharbrecht/European SUP League: https://standupmagazin.com/en/2025/03/european-sup-league-launched/ SUP Twelve: https://brendonprince.com/pages/suptwelve-2025 Please subscribe to Paddlecast and leave a comment or a review. If Paddlecast isn’t enough paddling chat for you, you can also follow:https://www.youtube.com/@paddlermediahttps://www.instagram.com/paddledailyhttps://www.instagram.com/supracerhttps://supracer.comhttps://paddledaily.comhttps://www.instagram.com/billylikeskayaking
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Trailer: Paddlecast is back!
Welcome to the new Paddlecast, hosted by Betsy and Billy.
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Paddlecast is back: introductions & paddling news from around the world
In the first episode of Paddlecast since 2020, new co-hosts Betsy and Billy introduce themselves and share paddling news from around the world. The new Paddlecast will continue to cover stand up paddleboard racing as part of the core mission of SUP Racer, but will also cover canoe and kayak racing including marathon canoe and surfski. Betsy and Billy have a Venn diagram of paddling enthusiasms that covers it all (nearly).In future episodes, Betsy and Billy will speak with paddlers who are pushing the limits: their own limits, and the limits of paddlesports. In this first episode of the relaunched Paddlecast, Betsy and Billy talk about:What's the most exciting paddling racing and formats happening right now, across SUP, marathon canoe/kayak, and descent racing?Which of the big names will be racing at the Spring SUP Race in Italy, and what events should you be watching at the Spring SUP Race?Did you see that video with the insane river conditions in South Africa? What's the Umkomaas, and what made this year's edition so epic?What is the Devizes to Westminster (DW), and why has every fan of the race been talking about the top boats non-stop for the last four weeks?If you enjoyed the first episode, subscribe to Paddlecast! Leave a review, a comment, or send a message.Thank you to our sponsors for making Paddlecast possible. Check out Tango Charlie Lights at https://tangocharlielights.com.auIf you want to learn more about some of the races and videos mentioned in the episode, check them out here:Spring SUP Race, Italy, 3-6 April: https://www.instagram.com/spring_sup_raceSTIHL Umkomaas Canoe: https://www.instagram.com/umkocanoeThat wild footage of the Umko from Tom Luzmore's Umkomaas: https://www.instagram.com/p/DHOVZQZqqAHWhat is the Devizes to Westminster race: https://supracer.com/the-ultra-that-finishes-in-front-of-parliament-englands-most-brutal-paddling-raceWhat's the history of mixed crews winning the DW: https://paddledaily.com/2024/02/19/dw-2024-top-teams-introducing-anoushka-tomFor more paddling chat, follow:https://www.youtube.com/@paddlermediahttps://www.instagram.com/paddledailyhttps://www.instagram.com/supracerhttps://supracer.comhttps://paddledaily.comhttps://www.instagram.com/billylikeskayaking
On Paddlecast, hosts Betsy and Billy talk to paddlers who are pushing the limits. Paddlers who are pushing their own limits, and pushing the limits of paddlesports.
Paddlecast was started by SUP Racer founder Chris Parker in 2020. Since then, Betsy took over SUP Racer from Chris and founded Paddler Media, which provides independent media coverage of not only SUP racing but also canoe and kayak racing including marathon, sprint, and ultra distance racing. Follow @paddledaily @supracer and @billylikeskayaking on social media for even more paddlesports chat.
South Africa