Inside the APP World Tour’s Gran Canaria Pro-Am: Tristan Boxford on strengthening & diversifying SUP at its ocean roots

Now in its sixth year, the APP World Tour’s Gran Canaria Pro-Am is playing a vital role in growing SUP by strengthening its deep roots in surf culture. Taking place from 16 to 21 December on the stunning north shore of Gran Canaria, just off the bustling capital city of Las Palmas, the event unites the global SUP surfing community to celebrate the sport at its finest.

Supported by ocean athlete and windsurfing legend Björn Dunkerbeck – multiple world speed record holder and partner of the APP World Tour Gran Canaria Pro-Am – alongside the Island of Gran Canaria, its Tourism Board, and sport development initiatives, the event shines a spotlight on SUP’s authentic, diverse, and accessible nature. It provides an exceptional platform that blends high-performance surf disciplines with longboarding, all while celebrating the sport’s unique versatility.

We caught up with APP World Tour Boss and shredder Tristan Boxford to explore what makes SUP such a dynamic and evolving sport. A notion backed by legends like the GOAT himself Kai Lenny who champions SUP as one of the most versatile ocean-riding tools, pushing boundaries from small waves to giants, charging forward into a powerful new era – no looking back.

From left: Björn Dunkerbeck, Taka Inoue, Luchy Cosoleto and Tristan Boxford | Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024

Hi Tristan, welcome back to TotalSUP! The ISA SUP Worlds in Surf City El Salvador this year brought SUP ‘back to its surfing core’ according to many. How do you view this shift toward performance SUP surf and authentic wave riding?

I think it is great that the ISA were able to bring back surfing this year after its absence last year from their Worlds. However, I don’t think SUP has ever left its core and the APP (formerly the Stand-Up World Tour) has been running SUP Surf events since 2009 and crowning World Champions for SUP Surfing since the formal establishment of the Tour in 2010.

While there is less focus globally on the surfing discipline of SUP, we have continued to push to ensure opportunities for athletes from all over the world. There is no doubt that surf racing has always been the most spectacular to watch and is a great and very important part of the sport too, so it was great to see EL Salvador stepping up to host, as the sporting spectacle is always enhanced in the surf.

Regarding the mix of racing vs surfing, I honestly think everybody gets too caught up in the debate on where SUP belongs trying to put it in to a defined box in which it does not belong. Stand-up paddling has always been a unique form of board riding, and is without doubt the most accessible and inclusive form of surfing there is.

I think that the efforts made over the past years to split the sport into different parts, flat water and ocean, is a huge mistake and in fact has only served to limit the growth in the sport.

Tristan Boxford | Photo by Si Crowther

The original heyday of SUP was firmly rooted in surf culture and opened the doors for everyone to not only a sport, but a lifestyle choice. It was not about how they engaged with the sport, it was the fact that they were getting in the water to enjoy it, regardless of whether that be on flat water or ocean venues, leisure paddling, surfing, downwind, surf racing or even rapid river paddling.

All forms of SUP riding are fantastic, and SUP has always excelled in all conditions, that is the beauty of the sport – its versatility and appeal to people from so many different backgrounds and however they choose to ride.
Even within SUP surfing there is huge diversity, from the performance SUP surfing you will see at the Gran Canaria Pro-Am, to the ever growing SUP longboard division, but also the sport’s potential in big surf: Sebastian Gomez has been a champion of this over the past few years, charging some of the most epic barrels around the globe and taking on iconic big wave spots such as Peahi, El Buey and Puerto Escondido.

It is the most diverse surfing sport from small surf to giant: you only have to look at Kai Lenny who still regards SUP as one of the most versatile tools there is for riding in the ocean and is more passionate about it than ever, with his own line of boards now.

Tristan Boxford | Photo by Steve Sjuggerud

Your event is putting SUP surfing front and centre – do you think the sport could be naturally drifting back to its surf and ocean roots after years of racing being the main global focus?

Again we have been running the Tour since 2010 and SUP surfing remains an important part of the sport and any excitement around the discipline is fantastic and we of course welcome it. We have always championed the discipline and have seen World Champions come through the APP from Kai Lenny, Caio Vaz and Leco Salazar, to Sean Poynter, Poenaiki Raioha, Benoit Carpentier and Taka Inoue, while on the women’s side we saw the dominance of Izzi Gomez, the origins with Nicole Pacelli, the resurgence of Iballa Moreno, as well as the arrival of Luchy Cosoleto and the young Japanese talents, Kaede and Sakura Inoue.

We will continue to champion the discipline as we step into a new era for the Tour in 2026 and beyond, and work towards the return of a 3-event schedule for 2026 after several years of keeping things alive with our Gran Canaria Pro-Am, now in its 6th year.

Luchy Cosoleto | Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024

The APP World Tour events always drop some of the most insane footage in the sport, the kind that triggers instant FOMO for anyone watching. Gran Canaria is also one of the final stops of the season, where world titles are on the line. What makes this event such a must-watch and a must-participate stop, and how do you balance that high-stakes pressure with keeping it fun and welcoming for athletes and fans?

Gran Canaria is a great venue and we have been fortunate enough to score epic waves over the years as well as historic performances from our international athletes. Our focus is always on putting on a spectacle and building an authentic and legitimate platform for the sport, while maintaining the spotlight on the sport’s unique accessibility.
We have an engaged audience that continues to grow and that has an appetite for the kind of dynamic content and spectacle we deliver.

Meanwhile we have introduced longboard SUP in addition to the performance surf disciplines over the past few years and this has gained a lot of traction, as well as the Junior division that has seen great participation levels which is always exciting as we look towards the future of the sport. This year, we have also introduced a masters division to ensure that we are catering to all levels and ages, while delivering the very best action from the World’s Best Athletes.

Gran Canaria has embraced longboard SUP with its own dedicated discipline. How important is this category for the identity and future of the event?

It has been an important addition to the format, and the dual venue in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria lends itself perfectly to hosting both: La Cicer, definitely more of a longboard style wave, more mellow and with flat sections that longboards can glide through while El Lloret is a performance right hand point break ideally suited to performance sup. I strongly believe in this discipline and have been excited to see how enthusiastic athletes and the general public have been about the introduction of this, from young to old.

Benoit Carpentier |Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024 Longboard Champion

The dual-venue format, La Cicer and El Lloret, has become a signature of the event. How does it help deliver the best possible conditions for each discipline?

The two venues provide the ideal conditions for both performance and longboard SUP, but also more accessible performance surfing for the Junior and Master divisions, with the point break at El Lloret proving quite intimidating at times, with the rock launch and performance nature of the wave.

It is a unique opportunity to take advantage of two completely different waves to provide opportunity for all participants and echo the diversity and inclusivity of the sport.

Kaede Inoue | Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024 Longboard Champion

Could you share a little sneak peek of who’s already confirmed for the event?

We have the reigning World Champions for performance SUP of Luchy Cosoleto and Taka Inoue, and for longboard SUP, Benoit Carpentier (previous performance World Champ too) and Kaede Inoue. We also have leading lights in the sport and primary contenders such as Sebastian Gomez and Vania Torres from Peru, local hero and former World Champ Iballa Moreno and the return of former contender and multiple times Kite surf World Champion Airton Cozzolino.

We are also awaiting final confirmation from the ever impressive Brazilian contingent of Luis Diniz, Leco Salazar, Wellington Reis, Leo Gimenes and Gabi Sztamfater among many others. We will be sharing athlete confirmations across socials @appworldtour in the lead up to the event, as well as on the site at www.appworldtour.com.

Taka Inoue | Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024

How do you envision the evolution of SUP surf and longboard in the next few years, and how will the APP World Tour help shape that future?

Having been in the sport since the very beginning, we have helped to shape the performance end of the sport from the outset. When we launched the Tour, boards were round nosed 9’ minimum for the most part and within a year, everything had changed, as the athletes’ performance levels went through the roof as did board design and performance shapes.

With the performance SUP discipline defining the leading edge of the sport at its most high performance, it has left plenty of room for the growth of longboard SUP that rounds out the complete nature of the sport perfectly: I see them working very much in harmony, with the ocean conditions calling what discipline is surfed on any given day.

More mellow wave with plenty of space call for long boarding while steep, fast and critical waves call for performance SUP, and the majority of the venues we will be visiting over the next few years will provide opportunity for both. We want to champion both disciplines, with performance SUP definitely driving the younger demographic’s interest more, while the longboard discipline appealing to a slightly more mature demographic. However, it is great to see the young Champions that are leading the charge across both, like the Inoue family (Taka, Kaede and Sakura), Benoit Carpentier and Leo Gimenes.

How have your local partners, especially Bjorn Dunkerbeck and the team in Gran Canaria, helped elevate the APP World Tour and water sports in general?”

We really want to highlight the unwavering support Gran Canaria has shown for the sport, led by our on-the-ground partners at Dunkerbeck Events, who have been driving its growth since 2018.

Björn Dunkerbeck has 43 World Titles, but more recently has dedicated himself to driving all forms of water sports forward, from his original passion windsurfing, to stand-up paddling and everything in between. His commitment is to see the sports flourish and for young athletes to have opportunity in these sports has been unwavering and vital for the sport’s continued development.

With Gran Canaria providing such a great year-round destination for all water sports, he has been able to highlight windsurfing in the summer through his Windsurf World Tour event and stand-up paddling in the winter through our event, showcasing the European ‘winter sun’ destination in all its glory.

We are thankful to Björn, and the Island of Gran Canaria, its Tourism Board and Sport development initiatives for their continued support for the sport of Stand Up Paddling and are excited for what the future has in store for the APP World Tour and the sport.

Luiz Diniz | Gran Canaria Pro-Am 2024

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