For the fourth year in a row, many local paddleboarders will spend one balmy summer evening per week racing through Wrightsville Beach’s waterways during the Blockade Runner Beach Resort’s Sunset SUP Series.
Races are held every Thursday night starting June 4, Blockade Runner marketing manager Jackie Harlow said. Paddleboarders will meet at the hotel’s sound-side beach at 6 p.m. for a short paddling clinic led by professional paddleboarder April Zilg.
Each week, Harlow said, Zilg will chart a new racecourse and structure her clinic based on required skills and knowledge for that particular course.
At 6:30 p.m., the races begin.
Participants may choose to enter either the community division or the challenge division, Harlow said. The community and challenge races start at the same time but the more advanced challenge competitors race more laps of the course, she added.
Each week, paddlers earn points based on their finish order. At the end of the series, prizes are awarded based on point totals. There are two series: the first runs June 4 through July 2 and the second runs July 16 through Aug. 13. Every racer will also be entered in a weekly raffle.
Harlow said one difference in this year’s series is the incorporation of a kids’ race into the event every week.
“Last year, every other week we would do a kids’ race, but because of the popularity of that we’re going to do a kids’ race every week,” she said.
The age range for that division could be anywhere from 5 or 6 to 13 years old, she said, and the course will be short, she said, to keep the kids within sight.
The inclusive nature of the event, with the variety of ages and ability levels welcomed, should encourage a family atmosphere, she added.
“A lot of people know each other. … Everyone is going to come out and enjoy some time outside and on the water,” she said.
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