Stand-up paddleboard nationals in Sidney

You can’t miss stand-up paddleboarders as they increasingly dot the seascape off Island waters in a sport that began in Hawaii in the 1990s. The recent boom has the sport growing so fast that it is being considered for the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics.

But is it a surfing sport or paddling sport? Obviously a bit of both, which has resulted in an ongoing and epic off-water battle between the International Surfing Association and the International Canoe Federation to lay claim as the governing body for the burgeoning activity.

However they see themselves, as paddlers or surfers, the best in Canada will be performing off the Sidney waterfront Saturday and Sunday in the Canadian stand-up paddle-boarding championships. They fervently hope that in six years, the Canadian event will also serve at the national Olympic trials.

For now, they will have to content themselves with the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru, where both surfing and stand-up paddle-boarding make their debuts.

Also at stake this weekend are the national-team berths into the 2018 world stand-up paddleboarding championships in December in Brazil.

Although jurisdiction has not been finalized at the international level, there is little doubt about which way the sentiment leans in Canada. The national stand-up paddleboarding championships are being conducted by Surf Canada, which has its national headquarters in Victoria.

“Stand-up paddle-boarding is super accessible — most Canadians have access to a body of water — and the learning curve is easy,” Surf Canada president Dom Domic said.

Unlike surfing, which makes its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 and which in Canada is centred around Tofino, waves are not required for propulsion in standup paddle-boarding. That’s what the paddles are for.

Canadian converts to stand-up paddle-boarding include Olympic gold- and silver-medallist triathlete Simon Whitfield, on the waters around Greater Victoria, and Olympic gold- and silvermedallist canoeist Larry Cain, who trains on Lake Ontario.

The men’s and women’s 200metre sprints and 4K technical races are Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The 18K races go Sunday, beginning at 9:30 a.m.

It will be a full-on festival atmosphere at Beacon Park and the boardwalk area with music, vendor tents, food trucks, a kid zone and lessons and clinics.

“It’s not just about watching the athletes compete in the national championships. Newcomers can learn about the sport and how to do it themselves,” said Dan Tarnow, event director.