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Paddleboard race series coming to town

Christopher Kamrani, The Park Record

Trent Hickman is bringing another summertime activity to a reservoir near you.

The creator and owner of PCSUP (Park City Stand Up Paddleboard) has organized the Pau Hana PCSUP Cup, a three-race paddleboard series scheduled to debut on Saturday, June 16, at Jordanelle Reservoir.

"I’m really excited to get it going and have a nice race series throughout the summer and have people grow into and to come out and watch and to have local athletes participating," Hickman said. "It’s simple: if you get something that can cut through the water pretty well, can cover some ground, you can also participate in race events."

He said year one is a year of "just trying to get the word out," but the race has "all the potential in the world."

"You come to Park City, and yes, we have beautiful mountain-bike trails and beautiful hills to ski on, but we also have a world-class spot with world-class views at Jordanelle," he said.

Races are scheduled for June 16, Aug. 11 and Sept. 8. The race format will feature elite men’s and women’s class races that will happen simultaneously, an open race for different age divisions, a surfboard race, a 12-and-under youth race, a 12-to-15 youth race, and a coed tandem event.

Hickman said he dreamed up the coed idea after trying it at a friend’s 40th birthday party.

"We will have six ‘Pau Hana,’ really big, easy stable boards for the coed tandem race," he said. "It’s going to be a lot of fun to watch. Couples falling in, hooting and hollering I’m the most excited for that race; it’s never been done."

Hickman began paddleboarding at Jordanelle a few years ago after some friends told him to give it a whirl. Since then, his career has taken off. Since he took up competitive racing, he finished fifth in the U.S. Championships in paddleboarding, won a race in San Francisco, Calif., finished second at the Battle of the Paddle in Hawaii, and won the gold medal at the Utah Summer Games. PCSUP enters its third year of operations this summer.

"You don’t have to live at the ocean to train and compete in stand-up paddleboarding," he said. "You can go and get really dialed at stand-up board at Jordanelle. You jump on it and you’re very comfortable."

Asked if he plans on participating in his own race in two weeks, Hickman laughed.

"Anyone can sign up for any race," he said. "That’s the truth and that’s the way it is with national races, except world championships. You can go race any category anywhere. I plan on participating. That being said, I’m not sure how much sleep I’ll get the night before, but I’m definitely going to go out there and race. It’s always such a good atmosphere.

"It’s a big part of why I wanted to do this. The local race scene is great and I’ll still travel for some races this summer, but it’s nice to have something to get people here motivated and out on the water."

For more information on the Pau Hana PCSUP Cup, visit http://www.pcsupcup.com .

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