How to diversify a SUP school’s offering to attract more paddlers to the sport?

With a bustling market space, running a SUP school that stands out can be challenging. Being faced not only with the competition but the “supermarket SUP board” boom and DIY approach to the sport, SUP school owners have to continuously diversify their offering to attract new audiences and retain existing users.

To draw from a SUP school experience, TotalSUP caught up with Daniel Wierzbicki, SUP Coach and Co-Founder of “SUPport – Better side of water”, a SUP providers operating in the south of Poland affiliated with Uone, a premium Polish stand-up paddleboarding and watersport brand specialising exclusively in inflatable boards.

Hi Daniel, welcome to TotalSUP! How did your passion for the sport turn into a SUP venture?

When we started paddleboarding a few years ago we discovered its huge potential as an outdoor activity for the entire family. Over time we decided to share our passion with others and the “SUPport – Better side of water” was born.

Who is your offer aimed at?

We know from experience that a relatively small number of users buy stand-up paddleboards to practise SUP as a sport and participate in SUP racing events. The vast majority of users paddles  recreationally. And this is the audience we in general cater to, the amateur and recreational paddlers.

We focus on activities that can be enjoyed by a whole family without that often unhealthy competitiveness. Of course, we start with basic training, so that everyone who wants to paddle  effectively acquires the skills needed to do that.

How has your SUP school offering expanded since its inception?

Our offering includes:

River SUP trips, we believe that’s the quintessence of the paddleboarding experience. The river currents make it easy to paddle, the obstacles require focus and the surrounding nature is stunning. This SUP experience culminates in gathering around a campfire.

SUP “rafting” trips on mountain rivers, Dunajec and Poprad (read about Dunajec River Gorge),  all year round as long as ice does not stop us. This SUP experience is combined with a hotel sleepover, a feast by the fire and further relaxing in a sauna or a hot tub.

We put a lot of emphasis on water safety and run life-saving and SUP self-rescue training.

Our flagship product is summer family camps. We get together for a week at a beautiful lake, with whole families learning all aspects of stand-up paddleboarding. We have separate activities for children who, in addition to SUP, get involved in creative activities while their parents participate in their own activities.

SUP Fiesta which is the end of the Summer family gathering at the Przeczyckie Lake, where we offer games and activities on the water, including mega SUP boards, SUP yoga and elements of competitive paddling but in the form of a SUP race for fun. We then enjoy the campfire and the sounds of live music until late at night. This year we gathered 160 participants.

You’ve added a new offering to your SUP school – Freestyle SUP – could you tell us more about it?

There are several layers to freestyle stand-up paddleboarding. First of all it’s the proficiency and spectacle that it offers. For many people, covering many kilometers during SUP training can seem  boring and freestyle tricks are fun, can serve as a cardio workout and are eye-catching.

Freestyle SUP also helps to improve board control and maintain balance. Mastering SUP skills that include walking on the deck, footwork, paddle work are critical in absolutely every aspect of paddle boarding – from withstanding wake created by a passing motorboat during a trip on the lake to white water paddling and competing (especially when battling the wash at the start of the race) and buoy turns.

Elements of Freestyle SUP are also a great addition to your regular training which I often include when paddleboarding with my daughters and we’re getting bored of paddling in a straight line 🙂

I believe that elements of freestyle should be an essential component of training to improve SUP  technique and become an individual SUP competition that could encourage young people to take up the sport.

You have a wide selection of Uone stand-up paddleboards in your quiver. How did that collaboration start?

I think it was two years ago when we found the announcement on Uone’s fanpage that the company  was looking for brand ambassadors. We had heard a lot about the quality of Uone stand-up paddleboards and their great approach to customer service, so we sent our application. Although the initial reply stated that they already had representatives in our area but we got the phone call from Hubert the next day and I found out that he liked our business and would like to work with us. A week later we met in person and since then we’ve had the pleasure of riding Uone boards and introducing them to our customers.

Daniel Wierzbicki, SUP Coach and Co-Founder of “SUPport – Better side of water”

What’s in your Uone quiver?

We pretty much have or had the opportunity to test all Uone models. We don’t just have race boards because competing is not our priority 🙂 Currently, our quiver consists of the Super 11.6, a very versatile board for people who are starting their adventure with SUP.

Uone Traveler 11,6 in my opinion is another great board, very versatile for recreation, for paddling on the lake, but it is also performs well on faster rivers and there are a lot of them in our area. It’s also my wife’s favourite board.

Next up is the Uone Voyager 12.6 (read the board review here), this is actually my favourite board and I choose it most often for training and for shorter and longer trips.

We also have the Uone Wanderer 13.2 iSUP board (read the board review here) designed for longer expeditions but it’s also suitable for paddling on lakes and for intensive training. It is worth mentioning that Michał Szczepanik (Co-founder of SUPport) reached the semi-finals of the Technical Race at the ICF Worlds in Gdynia last year to the astonishment of the commentators, because he was the only one competing on an inflatable board.

Based on your experience, which Uone boards are recommended for beginners and for more advanced riders? And why?

I wouldn’t divide it into the beginner and advanced categories and I wouldn’t let my board choice depend on it. There used to be a strong assumption that beginners should start with a stable, all-round board and then choose a longer and narrower one after gaining more confidence and SUP skills. What we have discovered, is that a well-guided beginner can very quickly acquire those skills.

A lot also depends on the user’s height and weight. That’s why we put beginners on a touring board right away. Traveler 11.6 and Voyager 12.6 work very well here as stable boards that give great comfort for fast paddling.

What’s nice about Uone’s offer is that they also have boards in the lower price range. This is a series of SUPer 10.6 and 11.6 boards and we know that many of our customers have bought these boards and are very satisfied with their choices. The will be a 12.6 length added in 2024, so there will be even more to choose from.

What do you think is missing on the Polish SUP scene?

In our opinion, there is a lack of dedicated events promoting amateur stand-up paddleboarding. What we mean is a type of SUP festivals bringing together people who simply like this kind of physical activity. Where you can have fun with other SUP enthusiasts. An event where you can experience SUP as a watersport and test different boards.

The many events currently held in Poland are focused on the competitive side of the sport and although the number of participants is increasing each year, it’s still a niche audience for a country with a population of 40 million people.

In many cases, there is also a lack of awareness and information about what SUP as a sport is and  what benefits but also risks it brings.

With the growing popularity of this sport, low-quality budget boards sold in supermarkets have also appeared. A lot of people buy such equipment and then they share negative reviews that you can’t paddle on it. And this can be the case when a user who weighs 100 kg, buys a board suitable for children because it was cheap. So, first of all, education.

Another extremely important issue is the board safety. Awareness of the risks of water and how to deal with them. There are not many water safety and self-rescue courses Poland. I know a lot of people who have been paddling for a long time and haven’t fallen into the water yet. For many of them, this situation can end badly due to the inability to get back on their board.

You mentioned the lack of dedicated formats for recreational paddlers at SUP racing events. Is there interest in the high-performance side of SUP?

The challenge is that many recreational paddlers are not encouraged or feel skilled enough to take part in SUP races. For this reason, events where you can participate in fun SUP race formats are important. This experience can encourage and motivate recreational paddlers to take part in “real” SUP racing competitions organized by sports clubs and associations.

And the interest in the high-performance side of SUP is constantly growing and more and more participants are showing up at racing competitions.

In your opinion, what will drive the sport of stand-up paddleboarding in Poland?

In my opinion, it will depend on factors such as good promotion of the discipline, synchronising activities delivered by the Polish SUP community and diversifying the offer that will cover all aspects of the sport. Also the focus on working with children and young people is crucial because it’s them with the potential of becoming future SUP champions.

To find out more about Uone, visit www.u1.net.pl and follow the brand on Instagram and Facebook

If would like to become business partners and part of the „uhlan” SUP family, get in touch with Hubert Tobis via email uone@road24.pl or telephone +48 600 934 216

To find out more about SUPport, visit lepszastronawody.pl and follow the brand on Instagram and Facebook

*Images courtesy of SUPport and Uone