Stand-up paddleboarding making a splash in summer

Urban dwellers in China are taking up paddleboarding to beat the sweltering summer heat and get closer to nature as COVID-19 restrictions limit their chances to go on long-haul trips.

"If I can't go to Sanya, the moat will be my Garden of Eden," so goes a social media post, as cited by Chinese news portal Jiemian.

The author was hoping to replace a trip to Sanya, a beach destination in South China's Hainan province, with a stand-up paddleboarding, or SUP, experience in their own city. The once-obscure water sport is making a splash this summer in the country's urban areas.

"SUP gets us closer to nature and enables us to investigate the city we live in from different angles," a Beijing-based member of an online group of more than 400 SUP enthusiasts was quoted as saying by People's Daily.

"Water sports are exceptionally hot this year," a staff member at Beijing's Chaoyang Park told Beijing Business Today.

"Water sports used to be a relatively niche area, with most of the participants being members of sports clubs. Lately, the number of nonmembers participating in water sports has been on the rise and some of them joined a club after just one water sports experience," said the worker.

Zhang Yiheng, an associate professor at the School of Physical Education, China University of Geosciences, told China Central Television that they were planning to set up a SUP team and launch courses to get more students involved.

The sport's popularity has boosted the sales of paddling gear. Luo Li, an executive with the China water sports section of French sports equipment retailer Decathlon, told Beijing Business Today in late July that the sales volume of paddleboards had jumped by 145 percent year-on-year, and that of accessories had surged by more than 200 percent.

One of the reasons that SUP has become trendy in China is that people are increasingly exploring ways to have a getaway locally due to travel restrictions that come with COVID-19 flare-ups.

Gu Huimin, a professor with the School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University, told Beijing Business Today that COVID-19 has changed people's lifestyles. This has quickened the popularization of niche sports such as SUP and Frisbee.

SUP is also easier to learn compared with some other water sports. And like camping, SUP provides scenic backdrops for those wishing to share photos on social media.

Safety is always a top priority for any sport. Water sports bases in urban parks are a suitable place for people to start SUP, recommended San Qi, an executive with Quye, a base for SUP and kayaking in Beijing.

San told China Tourism News that water sports bases in urban parks are safer than the public waters in cities because there are designated areas for paddleboarders, water level indicators and well-maintained equipment. Base operators also remove waterweeds and provide safety patrols and emergency rescue services.

Beijing Water Authority "does not encourage" water sports on public waters in the city due to inadequate rescue services and potential safety hazards, China Tourism News reported.

But the institution has been working to develop leisure resources around urban rivers and lakes to provide residents with more places for recreation.

In 2020, kayaking was allowed in the core area of Bayi Lake in Beijing. The lake's width, flow rate and surrounding environment are deemed suitable for the sport, China Tourism News reported.

In July, China released a set of trial rules to regulate surfing and SUP training services for the public. It lays out requirements on both trainers and trainees, and specifies flow rates, the depth of water and the distance a paddleboarder should maintain from docks.

Wang Xueli, director of Tsinghua University's Center for Development of Sports Industry, told People's Daily that emerging sports are fast gaining traction but they are still in their infancy.

She suggested authorities actively support and guide the development of emerging sports by, for example, encouraging the hosting of competitions and providing support to relevant social organizations. This would "lay a foundation for the orderly and sustainable development of the industry".