Annabel Anderson: “I had the golden years of competition”

Voted “Paddler of the Decade” by SUP Racer in December 2019, Annabel Anderson did dominate SUP racing during an 8 year span the way no other woman athlete did. Since entering the world of SUP racing in 2010, the New Zealander never stopped to fascinate the onlookers winning the most competitive international races year after year (and in one particular case ahead of the men’s field), until a series of accidents and injuries – as well as the much-debated move to 14’ board – forced her to retire in 2018. Annabel Anderson has been very quiet on the SUP race front for the past 3 years, rebuilding her body and mental strength, and many of us have been wondering what she has been up to. We are very excited to catch up with one of the greatest SUP race athletes on the planet.

Hi Annabel, first of all, can you remind us of your top achievements in SUP Racing?

Female Athlete of the Decade
World #1 2012-2018 consecutively
ISA World Champion 2017 Distance + Technical
PPG Champion – Technical, Distance + Overall 2017
5x Carolina Cup Champion 2013-2017
BOP ‘Double/double’ Champion 2012 + 2013
2012 Overall winner Stand Up World Series Oleron, France

What achievement(s) are you most proud? and what are your best memories? your worst ones?

2012 Battle of the Paddle, I was a total outsider who didn’t come from paddling or surfing and I’d set the world alight all year. I paddled through most of the men’s field (they started 3mins in front of us) and won by over three and a half minutes. It was the only title other than Molokai 2 Oahu that really mattered. I’ll never forget the feeling of running up the sand to take the tape and winning the event that was the “All-Comers World Championships”. Equally significant and what I will always savour was the courage to make a stand for female athletes during Red Bull Heavy Water 2017 with the I Paddle for Equality campaign that led to equal opportunity and prize money for females. My consistency of results across all disciplines and ability to learn new skills quickly. I could literally do it all – downwind, flat, open ocean, surf and technical racing, short course and marathon distance with the highest levels of success.

For the memories, there are so many, but here are some that stand out as highlights:

• My first ever race – the Jever World Cup in Hamburg, Germany in 2010. I had never been on a race board, I got 2nd to Jenny Kalmbach and it planted the seed that maybe I might have some potential at this ‘paddling thing’.
• GoPro Mountain Games, Vail, CO 2017 where I spent three days competing across mountain biking, road cycling, trail running, and standup paddling. I was at a whole new level of ‘tapped out’ by the end of it.
• The downwind runs of Maui, Oahu, Hood River, Southern California, San Francisco Bay, Auckland, Sydney, Coffs Harbour, Western Australia, Bali, Thailand, Western and Southern France, and Spain. Paddling from Ibiza to Spain on a whim with Fred Bonef and Belar Diaz. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for but it seemed like a great idea and adventure at the time. Paddling across the Cook Strait of New Zealand and becoming the first female to do so.

Could you tell us why we haven’t seen more of you in the past 3 years? Are we ever going to see you SUP racing again?

First I hit my head when my pull-up bar blew out of the ceiling frame, then I crushed my thumb knuckle requiring intricate surgery, then I had a freak accident and skied off a cliff and fell 500 vertical metres and blew my body to smithereens.

What’s becoming of you? Where do you live? What’s your occupation? Could you describe your lifestyle and the sports you practice now?

I live in my hometown, the alpine resort of Lake Wanaka, New Zealand. I am doing a lot of what I did prior to paddling; as a marketing and communications consultant. I wear many different hats from marketing, communications, business strategy, digital marketing, writing, and corporate speaking. I also run luxury accommodation, run major events as well as coaching and mentoring athletes (in person and remotely online). Be sure to watch out for some announcements soon. I’m bringing back the Squad of Stoke for M2O 2021! We had such an incredible global community of paddlers make up our SOS (Squad of Stoke) last year who nailed virtual M2O that I’m bringing it back and have even more cool tricks up my sleeve for this year!

I make the most of the playground that I live in and you will find me making the most of the mountains, lakes and trails all year round paddling, foiling, wingfoiling, mountain biking, hiking and running. I also do a lot of yoga and have used it to rebuild my body following my accident in 2018. My body moves better than ever. It keeps me in one piece and allows me to take the hits and knocks that invariably come with many of the things I love to do. I also relish the mental side of yoga and it has been a regular part of my life since the age of 18.

 

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Reflecting on your career and how you’ve seen the sport evolve in the past 3 years, what’s your view on the current state of SUP racing and where do you think it’s heading?

The sport has become very fragmented since board lengths moved to 14’ and made it very hard to travel between continents with the majority of competition now taking place in Europe. Key SUP media have disappeared (and others like Total SUP have emerged) meaning that it’s been harder to find out what’s ‘going on’. I feel that the sport is in the re-building phase and it needs to find its identity to realize its next stage of potential. The ICF/ISA political dog fight has been adverse for the sport and the sport has suffered as a consequence. I truly hope that the political fighting can cease and that we can focus on the paddling and the athletes rather than power.

I observed your SUP technique very closely and I find it so powerful and flawless, according to you how important is technique in a SUP athlete’s performance as opposed to everything else?

SUP is a sport that is 1x part finesse, 1x part fitness, 1x strength endurance, 1x part technique and 1x part reading your environment. The technique is everything and you have to be fit enough to maintain technique when you are under high physical demand. Someone who has incredible technique and ‘feel’ of the water must have the physical conditioning to match their technique and likewise, someone who is fit must also have technique otherwise they will resemble an egg beater on high speed going nowhere. But if they can’t ‘read’ the water or their environment, they will always be playing ‘catch up’ in comparison to someone who can.

What’s your view on women’s Elite SUP racing in the past 3 years?

I had the golden years of competition. We had incredibly strong females that really ‘wanted’ it. This kept me pushing myself and raising the bar. I feel that this has been lacking since I stepped aside and that the female side of the sport is in a re-building phase. There are still talented athletes and females who have a lot of ‘potential’ but I think we have a way to go before we see the level and consistency of my performance replicated. Saying that – I am very much looking forward to seeing this happen as I think it’s exciting for the sport and for these individuals to start pushing the boundaries of possibility. I think we will also see a raft of new names start to appear and build their careers. They will be cross-over athletes from other sports who are already talented athletes who know how to train, prepare and compete.

Over the past three years, the athlete that has impressed me the most is Olivia Piana. There are a lot of promising girls coming out of Europe and I think we will see them flourish in 2021 given that the rest of the world will be largely unable to travel internationally and Europe will still likely hold major competitions this summer.

I am always torn about the 14’ board length debate. The best race is the one that everyone can turn up to. Downwind and long-distance events are suited to 14’ while technical and surf style events are suited to 12’6. Fundamentally the move to 14’ boards made international air travel extremely difficult and as a result, athletes need to be signed to brands which have international distribution. It effectively ended my career as I flew with my own custom boards. But hey, we might all move to SUP foil racing on 4’ boards and carbon-infused inflatables…. So who knows what the future might hold?! Whatever it is, I’m excited about it because the only constant is change and the Pandemic has proven that we must adapt and evolve.

To follow Annabel Anderson

Instagram: @annabelanderson
Website: www.annabel-anderson.com