Champion sees big scope for new sport

Top Aussie paddler and Battle of the Paddle champion Travis Grant is on Rarotonga to promote stand up paddling, the fastest-growing water sport in the world.

Its exploding in the world and it just makes sense for it to come here, Grant said yesterday at Muri lagoon.

Stand up paddling enthusiast Charlotte Piho invited Grant to be part of Walk on Water Week at Muri, and the 28-year-old didnt hesitate to agree. He has been to Rarotonga before as an oe vaka paddler most recently he was here for Vaka Eiva 2009 but never to promote stand up paddling.

Grant is running stand up paddling clinics at Muri all week, and taking them to Aitutaki this weekend.

This is a good place to learn (stand up paddling), he said, gesturing toward the lagoon. For one, its beautiful. The water is shallow and clear you can paddle around the coral heads. It hasnt got waves but its better to learn and picturesque.

He says Rarotonga might be a good venue for stand up paddling yoga retreats, a new take on yoga that involves posing on a stand up board.

Stand up paddling is still a young sport, and only started gaining speed about five years ago. Grant, who has been paddling outrigger canoes since he was 16, didnt get into it until about three years ago. A long-time surfer from the Gold Coast, he says he enjoys stand up paddling because it combines his two favourite sports.

The surfing is unreal, its like surfing with a balance beam...and you can use your paddle to break your fall, he said.

Grant hasnt abandoned oe vaka, either. He keeps up with his outrigger training, builds canoes for a living and plans to be back in November for Vaka Eiva.

Im running two sports one sitting, one standing, he said. I find most of the top stand up guys are ex-outrigger (paddlers) because theyve learned the technique and its exactly the same, just standing up.

He says stand up paddling is a great head-to-toe workout, as it works legs, core, back, shoulders and arms, and hes maintaining his training regimen while hes on Rarotonga.

Just a few months ago Grant beat paddling champion Danny Ching in the Battle of the Paddle challenge in Hawaii, which he yesterday described as a torturous race.

The battle starts on the beach. Paddlers have to race in and out through the surf, back and forth about 20 times, and around a maze of buoys. In between laps they have to tackle some beach runs.

Its spectator-friendly but its a very, very hard race. Youve got to know how to surf, paddle and run its hard to win because you could get taken out by a board or a wave. Its the big thing in stand up at the moment.

Grant tries his hand at the next Battle of the Paddle in September at Dana Point, California. His sponsors include C4, Patagonia and Maui Jim.