GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS™ have today officially confirmed that participants at last weekend’s SUP Armada event have set a new World Record!  The charity event, held on the 22nd August at Queen Mother Reservoir, brought together SUP boarders from across the country to attempt to break the existing record of 254 paddle boarders, set on Hayling Island last year.

It’s Official! 264 Paddle Boarders break Guinness World Record at the SUP Armada – BSUPA play key role

After a three hour attempt, 264 participants successfully completed the 1 mile course, beating the previous record by 10 and achieving the GUINNESS World Records title for ‘The Largest Parade of Paddleboarders’.

See short video here   SUP ARMADA FILM (Courtesy of Blue Juice Media)

With massive input from BSUPA trainers Andy Gratwick and Simon Bassett the event ran without a hitch. As usual the Easyriders crew provided the encouragement and safety back-up in challenging windy conditions.

BSUPA’s Andy Gratwick, owner of Easyriders, provided a team of volunteer instructors to run the taster sessions and support the event as a whole. He said, ‘I think one of the most rewarding parts of the day for us was to have so many people trying SUP for the first time. We had 86 people, including 15 kids, complete taster sessions – and then successfully go on to be part of the World Record attempt. It just shows how accessible SUP boarding is, and why it’s such a fast growing sport.’

The SUP Armada event was well supported by the industry, with major brands exhibiting all the latest gear and creating a SUP Village next to the water.

3 charities were also supported on the day, youth charity Snow-Camp, the Andrew Simpson Foundation and The Big Stand – each supporting disadvantaged youth through snowsports, sailing and SUP. So far over £3,500 has been raised and more funds are still coming in.

Seven year old Laird Dawson was one of the youngest participants, and was proud to have paddled around the whole course alongside his Dad. ‘I really wanted to be a World Record breaker’ he said, ‘and I would love to take the certificate into school to show my friends!’

‘Even my Mum got involved,’ said Dan Charlish ‘and she has never done anything like this before! She nipped off with a friend and got a taster session without telling anybody, and then just went for it. She took a long time to get round, and had to be helped out of the water at the end, but she was over the moon to be a record breaker!’

The SUP Armada will return next year, and organisers may look at developing the event into a weekend SUP festival if there is demand.