Steering the GBSUP National Series: Scott Warren’s vision for the future of SUP racing

The UK SUP racing scene has long been one of the most established in the sport, but to stay ahead, it needed a fresh approach. The challenge? Retaining top local talent, growing grassroots participation, and developing the junior division – all while strengthening key stakeholder partnerships.

From the very beginning, the GBSUP National Paddle Racing Series has been instrumental in unifying SUP and prone racing in Great Britain by launching a truly national series and is now set to achieve its next milestone.

With a successful 2024 season featuring international pros, Donato Freens, Arthur Arutkin and Bastian Grimm, alongside local powerhouses such as Blue Ewer, Ginnie Betts, Holly Pye, Emily Evans, and the rising SUP stars including Annabel Page and Hector Jessel, and with the high-energy backing of Black Project SUP, the series – under fresh and dynamic leadership – has set a new standard. With a sharp focus on its mission, GBSUP is now on track to expand its reach and rally the SUP community.

Photos by Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography

In the run up to the first event in the series, the Super 8 held in Oxford on 29 March,  TotalSUP caught up with Scott Warren, a well-known UK SUP racer, Race Director, Founder and Head Coach at Haywood Sports, who took the helm at GBSUP to discuss his journey, vision, and invitation for paddlers to Join the Future.

Photos by Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography

Hi Scotty, could you share the story behind how you came to lead the GBSUP series? What inspired you to take on this role?

Initially, I didn’t want to get involved! I always knew it would be a challenge, especially as a keen racer who competed for many years on the UK circuit. I could see how much work it would take to run, but I also saw the vision. By 2019, I had drifted away from full-time racing, and it wasn’t until post-COVID that I got involved.

A friend of mine, who ended up running the series, needed help to keep it alive in 2021, so he asked me to assist. The series was in danger of collapsing, which I couldn’t let happen. The UK has a long history of racing, and seeing it collapse would have been a real shame.

This also brings my race director journey full circle, as back in 2012, I started an initiative to join the first racing clubs together to create a more unified offering, the beginnings of a national series in the UK. In 2014, it came to life and had a successful run until COVID hit. That presented an opportunity to push forward, and that’s where the inspiration came—to develop and grow the series and see what could be achieved by doing things differently. I said I would only get involved if we aimed to develop and grow the series, not just repeat the previous model.

Photos by Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography

You’re a well-known SUP athlete and coach in the UK racing scene—what do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in taking the GBSUP series to the next level?

The industry has always ebbed and flowed over the years; new people come in, others drift away, but a core number of people remain, bringing stability. The biggest challenge right now is aligning everything in the UK, particularly among organisers and governing bodies, and presenting that in a way that paddlers can understand and ultimately buy into. Without those committed enthusiasts who invest in their hobby or sport, we wouldn’t be here, so it’s vital that as an industry, we look beyond our own self-gain and support them, building longevity in our strategies and approach.

Most of the racers currently on the UK scene are relatively new to the sport, with the majority only paddling for less than five years. The opportunity is to give them more than they have experienced before through better events, higher standards, and room to grow or develop into the sport and its many diverse areas.

I’m also seeing a general willingness for collaboration from stakeholders, such as local councils, who are now open to the idea of hosting a SUP race or event. By working with these stakeholders, we will automatically open doors for more support, bigger events, and the ability to confidently host the largest SUP events on the planet.

Photos by Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography

As we gear up for the first event of the series on March 29 in Oxford, there’s a strong focus on Novice Fleets, making the sport more accessible to newcomers (Challenge Tour, Novice Juniors, Adult Novice 1km). Could you tell us more about it?

We have always been good at providing for the racers. We know that inside out as a team behind GBSUP, as we all race and still compete when we can. There have always been opportunities for novice paddlers to give racing a go, but it has never been the main focus. Now that we have reached a good point with the competitive elements of GBSUP, it was time to shift focus and grow the novice and junior offerings.

This year, we want to bridge the gap between recreational paddlers and ways to get into the sport, so each event will bring novice and junior activations to inspire them to take part and hopefully return. We are working not only on our own offerings but also putting together new partnerships with governing bodies, local communities, and organisations like AquaPaddle to bring together our offerings and show our recreational paddlers, novices, and juniors what they can get involved in. By having more activation-based activities available, we hope to show that the gap from social paddling to giving it a go and inspiring our newcomers to progress is actually really easy to bridge.

Photos by Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography

Building on that, how does GBSUP plan to identify and nurture young paddling talent, ensuring a clear pathway from grassroots participation to international competition?

The first part is to actually put that pathway on paper and present it. That way, younger paddlers and their parents can understand just how easy it is to get started. We are very lucky in the UK as we have so much going on at a club, school, or social level, never mind the number of events coming to life, so there is plenty of opportunity for young paddlers to get started. That said, the biggest challenge is the accessibility relating to expensive kit.

We don’t yet have the depth of Surf Lifesaving clubs, for example, who have built up their club kit over time, enabling them to have multiple boards available to their younger members. We are looking to lead the way in connecting the dots between some fantastic organisations like Northern SUP Race Team, Oxford SUP, and Mersey Island SUP, who are already moving forward with junior initiatives. We will work alongside them to support their activities and be a voice into the governing bodies to open up further support and, of course, put that into practice at our events and through our next strategy: Join the Future.

Photo by Si Crowther

What strategies do you plan to implement to strengthen the UK’s paddlers’ presence on the global stage while keeping the pros and local talent engaged in both domestic and international competitions?

Our next strategy, Join the Future, is all about what’s next for SUP competition in the UK. A key part of that is being able to deliver a more connected ecosystem of UK events, increased standards, and building on a very solid base which we already have. Within the strategy, we have some really cool areas we are looking to develop to not only make the on-water activities even better but to increase the engagement off the water for our paddlers and spectators.

We are looking at ways to bring in technology to enhance the overall experience and, in return, elevate the events to new heights. We also have a goal to increase our international standing as a nation, ensuring our best paddlers get the recognition they deserve. We are involved in the team selections and also the running of international events such as the Pride Games in 2027, being held in Cardiff.

We also have opportunities with new venues and partners, so we can look at European and international events and championships. The Join the Future strategy takes us from 2026 to 2030, so it’s set to be an exciting time in the UK SUP scene.

Photo by Si Crowther

What role do partnerships with brands, sponsors, and industry stakeholders play in the future development of SUP and Prone racing in the UK and the GBSUP series itself?

A huge part of what we do and what has happened before, especially with industry partners and sponsors. Without their support over the years, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve what we have so far. Our partners, as a collective, support us in many ways, from turning up to events to discussing the future initiatives we are looking to implement. For the future, their involvement will be vital to ensure we are offering the most complete package for all of our paddlers.

We must continue to build our relationships and enable collaborative working so we can openly discuss the future endeavours we are looking to facilitate. We understand the foundations, so it’s now about networking, opening doors, and ultimately moving forward as a collective for the good of the sport.

Where do you see British SUP and Prone racing in the next five years, and what are the biggest challenges and opportunities ahead?

It’s a really interesting time for UK paddling and, in particular, racing and competition. While the market is now heavily recreational-based, it’s the progressive elements of the sports which get the marketing and promotion in return for being the inspirational aspirations for the recreational paddlers.

I think the next five years will showcase some of the best events we have seen in the UK. We can expect events to have more activities, attracting a wider audience, and new innovations through the use of technology to drive engagement of the spectators and the paddlers.

The biggest challenge we have in the UK, however, is the sheer number of stakeholders at a senior level. We aren’t just dealing with a single country and therefore a single or a couple of governing entities. We have multiple home nations within the British Isles, and with that comes multiple governing bodies across the ISA and ICF pathways. Not only that, there are other stakeholders from the training and education side who are actively involved in our sport.

The challenge will therefore be trying to get the industry and our paddlers aligned, moving in a single direction for the good of the sport. There are so many competitive SUP races in the UK at the moment, there is a real risk of dilution, so being comfortable with what we can and should be delivering and having the proper governance and tools for growth is key to the stability of our sports. SUP and Prone are still underdeveloped in the UK because of the changing market, so I see the next five years as the time to stabilise the industry and then move forward.

Photo by SUPjunkie 

Thank you for your insights Scott – I’m looking forward to catching up with you in Oxford!

Upcoming 2025 Black Project GBSUP National Paddle Racing Series events:

29 March, GBSUP National Series, The Super 8, Oxford

17 May, GBSUP National Series, Llandegfed Pursuit, Pontypool, Wales

28 June, Battle of the Bay, Christchurch

6 July, Beadnell Bay, Northumberland

19 July, Liverpool Docks

23 August, Big Dippa, Whitley Bay

18 October, SUP the Creek, Salcombe

To find out more about the GBSUP National Race Series, visit gbsup.co.uk

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Follow Scott on Instagram 

*Photos courtesy of Amanda Roberts, P3T Photography; Explore GBSUP event gallery here