Pacific Paddle Games 2018: Tyler Bashor Dazzles in Doheny!

Last weekends Pacific Paddle Games (PPG) was one not to forget. It was the season finale for the Paddle League and the Pro athletes were out in force to stake a claim in the Dana Point sand. However not only were the Pro athletes out in force but the Junior Pro and Grom paddlers were well represented and put on some epic displays. The significance of the PPG is that it finds itself in the epicentre of paddling talent, with perfect year round paddle conditions.

One such burgeoning talent to emerge from this hot bed is local Laguna Niguel boy Tyler Bashor, who came 1st in the Junior Pro Technical race, after an epic dog fight with the other two Junior Pro racers Keoni Sulpice and Guilhermo Cunha, this was a contest that produced one of the most memorable moments of the weekend. Tyler an Infinity rider came through the ranks in The Paddle Academy, a group of young paddlers coached in Doheny.   TotalSUP talks to Tyler Bashor about his emtional victory at the weekend.

Hi Tyler, great finish last weekend! Can you take us through the race?

This race has been my major goal for the past couple of years, I had never really done super well in any of the previous events, so this time I really wanted to perform the best I could. In the technical race I had the hole shot going into the first buoy. Throughout the race the other 2 racers and I exchanged 1st 2nd and 3rd place several times. Then just before the hammer buoy I fell off on a wave which then moved me back into 3rd position. At that point although difficult I had somewhat accepted the fact that I would finish 3rd.

Photo Credit: ONIT.pro

Then just as I was rounding the last buoy I saw that the two other competitors,  Keoni Sulpice and Guilhermo Cunh had not been able to catch a wave. So at this point I became hopeful as I had just seen a fresh set building up just as I was coming into the surf zone. So I caught a wave and I figured it was still not enough to catch up to first position, but as I could see I was closing ground, so at this point I kept hoping and hoping for a run on the beach to the finish line!

What does it feel like to win in your back yard?

Photo Credit: ONIT.pro

Winning the tech race in my hometown was the most memorable thing I have ever done!  I had my friends, family and so many people cheering.  I could hear the beach erupt every time something exciting happened in the race. I can’t even emotionally begin to describe the feeling when I won. After I ran into the finish where my family, coach, friends, and team were there to cheer me on which was just something else. I don’t know if it is the best finish ever at the PPG just because of all the amazing performances over the years, from such hyper competitive racers.

Has competing internationally helped you in this season?

Photo Credit: TotalSUP

The racers in the junior pro are great racers. Every year we see the sport’s youth as a whole move forward, for example this year we saw Rai and Guillermo who had amazing performances as well as Keoni, a great all around racer. Its been my first year travelling outside of California, for the most part to places for the APP tour in England and New York.  I feel these races have really helped developed my racing experience, which is an extremely large portion of the sport.

Can you tell us about your life in California?

Photo Credit: ONIT.pro

For myself, I’m just a normal sixteen year old kid. I go to high school, train as much as possible,  fit in time for hanging out and surfing when I can. I ride for Infinity but the team has been like a family to me ever since I jumped on a board, being super supportive and just embracing me. I paddle with The Paddle Academy (TPA) around 3 times a week. I also train at the gym a couple times a week,  either run, swim, surf, or any kind of workout for that matter whenever I have the time. TPA I guess I could say is like a third family, Mike Eisert, our coach, has really brought our team together gathering kids from different ages and areas helping us create amazing friendships!

Photo Credit: TotalSUP

Missed the PPG last weekend? Don’t worry here are the Top 10 (plus 1) key moments of the action!

Tyler Bashor took 1st place in our key moments for his momentous achievement in clawing back victory in the face of defeat!