Kai & Connor battle it out in Japan / Stand Up World Series

In a dramatic Final heat here at stop #2 of the 2015 Stand Up World Series, Kai Lenny (Naish) digs deep and resets himself mid way through to find a window of opportunity while rounding the final buoy to take the win in the sprint racing component of the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro. Once round the buoy, he accelerated to move into second past the World Rankings leader Connor Baxter (Starboard), then past Casper to move into first and take victory on this final day of action.

A win in today’s sprints, combined with his second place finish yesterday secured the 2x World Champion the coveted Overall Event Title at the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro in Japan, the second stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series.

Kai’s win today moves him into the Top spot alongside Connor Baxter, with a win a piece at the mid way point of the 2015 season. This means that the Title Race is intensifying massively going into the next stop at Surf City USA later this month. Make sure to check out the highlights from the epic final day of racing and stay tuned for the build up to the next stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series taking place at the US Open of Stand Up Paddling on the 2nd – 4th October at www.watermanleague.com

After that epic final battle of the day, Connor Baxter (Starboard) was forced to settle for 3rd in the sprints and 2nd overall for the event, a result that keeps him in the top spot, but forces him to share it with arch rival Kai Lenny (Naish) coming into the next stop in Surf City USA, the US Open of Stand Up Paddling.

Connor had a great start in the final, battling for the lead with Casper Steinfath who led around the first buoy and into the second. However, Connor was able to get a great line around the inside buoy, pushing Casper wide and allowing him to take the lead, a lead that he would keep until the final buoy, as the two Naish team mates were able to pass underneath him and maintain the advantage through to the finish line.

Despite the disappointment of not taking the win in today’s sprint racing, Connor is still in the top spot and the battle will pick back up once again in just a few weeks time at the US Open of Stand Up Paddling in Huntington Beach. Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the next stop on both the Stand Up World Series and Tour at www.watermanleague.com

Finishing in 2nd in today’s sprint racing was the recently crowned European Champion, Casper Steinfath (Naish), putting on an impressive performance amid the World Class line up. Celebrating his birthday here in Japan, the Viking was able to dig deep when it counted, making his move along with Kai Lenny (Naish), by taking the inside line on the final buoy to take the lead coming into the home stretch.

While Kai was able to overtake, Casper once again showed how dangerous he is on the World Series, particularly in the sprint racing, securing 3rd overall for the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro here in Japan and propelling him to 4th overall in the Overall World Rankings at the year’s midway point.

Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the next event in Surf City USA Huntington Beach, the 2015 US Open of Stand Up Paddling at www.watermanleague.com

Candice Appleby (Infinity) continues her dominant roll on this year’s Stand up World Series notching up another win in today’s Sprint Racing, which combined with her win in the long distance yesterday secures her the Overall Event win at the 2015 Victoria Cup Hayama Pro Japan. Candice approached each of her heats methodically, taking the lead early and maintaining it through the finish to take the sprint racing win ahead of a stiff field of competition.

Coming into the next event in Surf City USA later this month Candice is looking in a solid position with just one more win required for her to secure the World Title in 2015. However, it will not be an easy road, as the World’s best will be on hand and all vying to take down the yellow jersey at the next dramatic stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Championship Series. Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the US Open of Stand Up Paddling by going to www.watermanleague.com

Manca Notar (Naish) stepped up in today’s sprint racing, with her eyes on the prize and determined to challenge Candice Appleby (Infinity) for the top spot. While she wasn’t able to catch Candice, she did manage to secure a close second in the sprint racing and get the edge on the 2nd place finisher for yesterday’s sprint racing, Fiona Wylde (Starboard) to move up into 2nd place overall at this all important 2nd stop on the 2015 Stand Up World Series.

With a 3rd place in Barcelona and now a 2nd place here in Japan, Manca is setting herself up for a solid overall finish for the 2015 season and establishing herself as one of the names to beat. Make sure to check out the highlights and stay tuned for the build up to the next stop in Huntington Beach at www.watermanleague.com

Fiona Wylde (Starboard) put on a valiant performance in today’s sprint racing, battling with Angela Jackson from Australia right up until the beach, where she stumbled, unfortunately for Fiona, letting Angela slip ahead of her to secure 3rd place in today’s racing. This meant that Fiona had to settle for 4th, which combined with her 2nd place finish from yesterday’s long distance left her in 3rd place overall for the event.

While this is still an impressive result and a podium finish, Fiona is hungry for results and is one of the most competitive athletes on Tour. This will only fuel her further coming into the next event in Huntington later this month.

Make sure to stay tuned for the highlights from today’s action and for build up to the next event at www.watermanleague.com

The Victoria Cup Hayama Pro Japan, stop #2 of the 2015 Stand up World Series provided the perfect platform for the world’s best to showcase World Championship Racing at its very best. It also successfully nurtured the seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike in a celebration of the exponential growth that the sport is seeing locally here in Japan.

The Japanese welcome is like no other, and a big thank you goes out to all our partners, the City of Hayama and Zushi and the presinct of Kanagawa for hosting such a maginficent event. A big thank you also to our event partners, who stepped up in 2015 to upgrade this prestigious Asian stop on the World Series and make it everything it has been. We can’t wait to come back in 2016, when the World Series will return to the land of the Rising Sun for the next edition of the World Series in Japan.

Meanwhile, with one more day of the event still to go, the athletes will now trade their high performance race boards in for entry level equipment and a mentorship role, as Japan’s youth are embraced through the unique Na Kama Kai Youth Program taking place tomorrow here at the Victoria Cup Hayama Pro Japan. Na Kama Kai’s mission is to provide unique Ocean Sports and education opportunities for youth, a message that the Waterman League not only wholeheartdely supports, but endeavors to take to all four corners of the world through its World Championship platform.

We are proud to have Na Kama Kai’s founder Duane DeSoto himself here in Japan to lead this youth program here in conjunction with with the world’s very best athletes. Beyond the youth program, still to come is an entry level 3km race that will be the final battle of this year’s closes what has been a specatcular event in every sense. We look forward to welcoming the new crop of enthusiasts in for an unforgettable experience.