The 2023 SIC Maui SUP Racing Team Revealed

International SUP, FOIL & Wing Foil brand SIC has revealed its SUP Race Team for 2023. While two young SUP racers, Rai Taguchi (he is currently assessing offers from various brands) and Bodie Von Allmen (recruited by team NSP), are no longer part of SIC’s Global Team after years of being nurtured by the historic Hawaiian brand, SIC has consolidated its team with the addition of two more than promising young athletes: new European Sprint Champion and 2-time World Championships silver medalist Caroline Küntzel from Denmark and one of France’s top talents, 18-year-old, Ethan Bry – although he is currently on a 1-year break from any SUP race competition and should resume to international SUP racing in the 2nd part of the year. Caroline and Ethan, but also 17-year-old Campbell Carter who is promoted to the Global Team from the SIC Youth program, join a strong and experienced international composed of 2019 APP World Tour champion Seychelle who is coming back to the international racing scene as a mom, Jade Howson, Rika Okuaki, Ludovic Teulade, David Leao, Ryohei Yoshida, under the team management of Tamas “Tommy” Buday. Let’s meet the 2023 SIC team!

Caroline Küntzel – DENMARK

Age: 20
Live in: Klitmoller, Denmark

Caroline grew up in Denmark Cold Hawaii, watching her dad do all kinds surf sports, But as a kid, she wasn’t feeling comfortable in the ocean herself. Instead, she grew up doing many other sports, like biking, swimming, climbing, fitness and rhythmic gymnastics. When she was 15 years old, she watched the ISA Worlds in SUP when it was hosted in Denmark.

The passion and skill of these SUP athletes inspired her to start. Soon she began SUP surfing every day after school, taking the bus with her boards. Her passion grew and the Danish cold winter became her happy place. Caroline is now an all-waterwoman and she loves to learn and explore limits within watersports.

Top Achievements: 
– Gold medalist in Women’s 200m Sprint, at the European Championship 2022
– Silver medalist in Women’s 200m Sprint, at ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championship 2022
– Silver medalist in Women’s 1000m Technical Race, at ICF SUP World Championship 2022
– Overall and Sprint Women’s Champion, at APP World Tour in Busan 2022
– 3rd place Women’s Sprint, at APP World Tour in London 2022
– 2nd place Women’s Technical Race, at World SUP Festival 2022
– 1st place in Women’s Pro Division, at Euro Tour in Hvide Sande 2021
– 3rd place in Women’s pro 10km technical race, at Euro Tour in Zandvoort 2019
– Bronze medalist in Junior girl’s technical race, at ISA SUP and Paddleboard World Championship 2018
– 3x Danish Champion Women’s Racing overall.

Ethan Bry – FRANCE

Age: 18

Ethan grew up and still lives on one of Brittany and France’s most beautiful peninsulas, the Presqu’ile de Crozon. Its “cruciform” tip makes it a magnificent playground for expressing yourself on the water any and every way you want. Living so close to the sea, Ethan has become a true master of all. He’s non-stop, changing sports for whatever the weather conditions may be. Surf, SUP foil, surf foil, prone, windsurf, wing foil, and a bit of Mountain Biking allows him to burn off energy. But it’s Foil, SUP Race, and SUP Downwind where he best expresses himself.

“Being on the water makes me feel like my real self. It’s the perfect wake-up every day. It’s an addiction!”

At just 18 years old, he’s already a big success on the international scene. Ethan got into SUP at an early age, thanks to his dad, but he got serious about paddling five years ago when he began training with his coach Amaury Dormet and riding at and for the Crozon Waterman Club. Over the last two years on the Euro Tour (the top European Circuit), Ethan had some impressive results. Especially his 3rd place in Majorca and 6th in Alicante. His favorite competition is Downwind. “It’s full-on. Anything can and does happen. Especially if someone has a fall, you have to read and ride the waves and swell.”

This year promises to be intense for Ethan as he takes on the added challenge of starting medical school while pursuing a racing career. All the same, he’s expecting to be out for at least one serious session every week. We can’t wait to see him back in competitive action in the second part of 2023, but also to share in all his future downwind adventures!

Top achievements:
2022
– SUP Euro Tour Ranking: 7th (from 3 completed races out of 13)
– 4th Gran Canaria PRO22 – Euro Tour (technical race)
– 6th World SUP Festival Costa Blanca – Euro Tour (long distance)
– 3rd Port Adriano SUP Race – Euro Tour (long distance)
– 1st at the Morbihan Paddle Trophy – Leg of the French Cup 2022
– 1st at the Kelt Ocean Race (Downwind)
2021
– 1st Technical Race – French Championship leg in Lacanau
– SUP Euro Tour Ranking: 9th (from 3completed races out of 14)
– 4th French National Championships SUP Race (long distance)
– 4th Vendée Gliss (long distance)
– 2nd Agios Nikolaos On SUP
– 5th Nordhausen SUP Race

Seychelle – USA

Age: 34
Lives in: Melbourne Beach, Florida

Seychelle is a world-class athlete, coach, and now also a mom. A trailblazer, a rebel, a health nut, and a manifestness. She is a highly decorated standup paddle athlete, World Champion, endurance paddler, and Guinness World Record holder, A certified Nutrition Coach, Personal Trainer, Yoga Instructor, and licensed USCG Master. She coaches athletes to feel powerful, connected, and balanced in their paddle and life pursuits.

Seychelle was born and raised in the Florida Keys with a deep love for the ocean and travel. Competitive by nature, she never did what was expected of her and rarely did what she was told. Her journey to greatness has been nothing short of a rollercoaster as all great stories must be. In her programs she coaches women to increase their self-knowledge, intuition, self-care, and grace in their athletic journey.

Seychelle currently resides in Melbourne Beach with her Husband, son, and dog. She loves the ocean, the beach, being in nature, surfing, paddling, relaxing, preparing healthy food, nourishing her body, dancing, sunshine, learning, expanding, living her best life, and experiencing bliss.

Top Achievements:

– 2019 APP Standup Paddle World Champion
– Guinness World Record – 24-hour Greatest Distance SUP
– 3 x SEA Paddle NYC Champion
– 3 x SUP 11 City Tour
– Grand Champion 3 x Chattajack Champion
– Certified – Health Coach, Nutrition Coach, Personal Trainer, Yoga Instructor
– USCG Licensed – Master

Jade Howson – USA

Age: 18
Lives in: Laguna Beach, California

Jade’s love for the ocean began in her hometown, Laguna Beach, California, at a very young age. She grew up swimming, surfing, diving, and paddling all along the southern California coast. As a child, Jade competed in many different sports. At the age of 7, her father, Robert Howson, introduced her to SUP, and Battle of the Paddle at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point, California, became her first SUP race. Shortly after, Jade began training with her coach, Mike Eisert, and his training group, The Paddle Academy.

When Jade began high school, she entirely dedicated her time to paddling and was fortunate to travel around the world and compete against some of the top women in the sport. Her favorite type of race is the sprint and technical race. When she is not paddling, she enjoys playing the ukulele, guitar, and base, surfing, free diving, spending time with friends, and baking.  Jade attends the University of Hawaii at Manoa with a major in Marine Biology. When she is home, you can also find her working at her family’s surf shop, Harbour Surfboards.

Top Achievements: 
– Gold Medalist in the Women’s 200m Sprint at the ISA Sup and Paddleboard Championships, 2019
– Gold Medalist in the Junior Technical race at the ISA Sup and Paddleboard Championships, 2019
– Gold Medalist in the Junior Technical race at the ISA Sup and Paddleboard Championships, 2018
– Combined Junior champion at the Pacific Paddle Games, 2018
– M2M Womens 14’ Champion, 2018
– 3rd place in the Elite Women’s division at the Carolina Cup, 2019

Rika Okuaki

Age: 29
Live in: Zamami island , Okinawa, Japan

Ever since she was a little girl, Rika has loved the ocean and dreamed of being a lifeguard. When she entered her university, she joined the lifesaver club, fulfilling her dream. After graduating from school, Rika moved to Zamami Island, where she worked as a SUP, kayak, snorkeling, and yoga instructor.

Rika fell in love with paddling after taking a paddleboard class at her home beach, which hosted the Kerama Blue Cup in 2017.

Top Achievements: 
– 2019 Japan Cup. Long Distance 3rd, Technical 2nd and Overall 2nd.
– 2019 All Japan Championships. Long Distance 2nd, Technical 1st and Overall 1st.
– 2019 ISA World Championships. Long Distance 3rd and Technical 3rd.
– 2021 Carolina Cup. Long Distance 3rd and Surf Sprint 2nd.
– 2022 ICF SUP World Championships. Long Distance 11th, Technical 5th and Sprint 11th.
– 2022 All Japan Championships. Long Distance 1st and Technical 1st.

Ludovic Teulade – FRANCE

Age: 26
Lives in: Lacanau, Marseille, Geneva

Born in land-locked Paris, the French capital, Ludo was perhaps not destined to live on and from the ocean! With both his parents being sports teachers, Ludo had the chance to try various different activities, a lot of swimming, skiing and skateboarding, and a lot of traveling, especially to the Atlantic coast, to surf small waves and have fun in the shore-break! It was later on, staying at his grandfather’s in Marseille, that Ludo, along with his brother Jeremy (already a total windsurf addict !) first saw and discovered SUP. The brothers’ passion for their new shared activity grew fast, especially wave surfing and downwind.

It was a win-win situation, the boys loved the physical side of paddling and the unique sensation of gliding over the water on an SUP. The resulting endorphins made for an intoxicating cocktail!

Top achievements: 
– 5th place 2022 GlaGla Race
– 2nd 2021 Nautic Paris- Double French champion
– Multiple Euro Tour podium
– Multiple Alpines lakes tour and french cup winner
– Glagla Race champion 2019
– Tentative biggest downwind ever – Maestral project 2019
– 2nd waterman Tahiti  tour 2019

David Leao – BRAZIL

Age: 19

Sports had always been a part of David Leao’s DNA. At the age of three, David followed in his father and brother’s footsteps and perused the sport of Judo, where his father was a master. This ultimately is where his competitive drive began.
Born on the south coast of Bahia, Brazil, David spent much of his life on the island with his grandparents soaking up the culture surrounded by sea and nature. This is where David’s passion for paddleboard racing was born.

Top Achievements: 
– 2019 Champion Aloha Spirit Festival
– 2019 Champion Europe Junior
– 2019 Second Place Pro-Junior Caroline Cup
– 2018 Second place- Pacific Paddle Games Pro-Junior
– 2018 Vice-Brazilian Championship Sprints

Ryohei Yoshida – JAPAN

Age: 41

Ryohei Yoshida was born in Yamagata, Japan. His father is a restaurant owner, and his mother is a farmer. As a child, Ryohei loved baseball. After a shoulder injury during a high school game, he could no longer play, so he joined a surf lifesaving club and started paddling for rehabilitation.

Fast-forward four years later, Ryohei won the All Japan Surf Lifesaving Championship two years in a row. In 2010, Ryohei started Stand Up Paddling and went on to win the 2016 Japan SUP championship. In 2017 Ryohei was selected on the Japan National Team, which participated in the ISA Games in Denmark. He also won the first Asia SUP Tour in 2019.

Top Achievements:
– 3rd All Japan Championship, 2022
-1st 200m Sprint Japan Selection, 2022
-1st Asia SUP Tour, 2019
-1st All Japan Championship, 2016

Campbell Carter – USA

Age: 17
Live in: Wilmington, North Carolina

Campbell is from Wilmington NC and calls Wrightsville Beach his second home. It is Wrightsville Beach where he trains multiple water sport disciplines. Starting sup racing at 10, he has gone on to enjoy sup surfing, surfing, outrigger canoe, wing foiling or anything salty and he eventually wants to try big wave surfing. Campbell has competed on his high school swim team for the past 4 years.

Between SUP/Surf training and swim, he also enjoys CrossFit, skateboarding, and mountain biking. Campbell shares his passion for the water by working summers at Wrightsville SUP.

He is a member of the Wrightsville Beach Jr Elite Team, SIC Maui Jr Team, Wrightsville SUP team, Stand Up Journal team, Salt Life team, and Blackproject sup team. One of Campbell’s main goals is to go to the Olympics in 2028 for stand up paddling. Some other goals Campbell has is to promote a healthy lifestyle through outdoor activity whether it be adventures on SUP or any water or land activity. He is also a strong advocate for keeping the ocean clean. He has been with SIC since 2018 and enjoys the leadership and team cohesiveness it has to offer, in addition to the amazing equipment they offer.

Top achievements: 
– 2022 Carolina Pro-Am SUP –  Longboard – 3rd /Pro-Am SUP Pro 19 – 2nd / Men’s Open – 2nd
– 2022 Carolina Cup –  Junior – 1st / Elite Men’s – 17th
– 2022 ISA Trials –  Jr Tech – 1st / Men’s Tech 2nd
– 2022 APP Santa Monica –  Men’s Distance – 12th /  Men’s Sprints – 9th
– 2022 SIC Gorge Paddle Challenge Downwind –  Elite Men’s – 11th / Sprints Elite Men’s – 4th
– 2022 ISA SUP World Championship –  Jr Tech 3rd Bronze /  3rd Team USA overall
– 2021 Carolina Cup –  Jr Graveyard –1st / Men’s overall -15th / Juniors Overall –  1st
– 2021 SIC Gorge Paddle Challenge – 1st Jr Tech / 2nd Jr Downwind

Team Manager Tommy Buday – Canada

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