The Times published a clickbait-style post mocking paddleboarding and paddleboarders in late August. I wrote to the editor, hoping to address some of the points brought up by the writer of the article. It has been about 35 days since I wrote the letter, so its safe to say they aren't going to publish it. Fortunately, I have this blog where I can share my thoughts and feelings. Here is the letter I wrote to the Times.
I am writing about a recent feature in the Times about paddleboarding https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/paddleboarding-is-not-a-sport-its-just-a-really-oarful-hobby-kj9jf6fwx on Sunday 29th August 2021 which seemed like clickbait initially but there are some important points I would like to address. If you choose not to publish this letter, I will post it on my personal blog.
While Ed Cummings is right to comment on the unprepared members of the public who own a paddleboard, rock up on their local beach (or one 300miles away) without adequate preparation and end up at the mercy of the RNLI, I don't think the tone of the article conveys the public sentiment or indeed the sentiments of us paddleboarders.
Paddleboarding is very much a sport, contrary to what the piece suggests and we aren't all "mucking about". Paddleboarding has been the fastest growing sport worldwide well before the pandemic hit. In 2013, paddleboarding in the US had the highest number of new participants, and the numbers have been growing year on year. There is more than enough robust evidence to demonstrate positive association between physical activity and mental wellbeing. In the UK, social prescribing now includes paddleboarding in partnership with the Canal and River Trust to help alleviate a whole host of physical and mental health symptoms.
I am a kayak and canoe coach with British Canoeing, and even though it is not my full time job I am very passionate about engaging more people in watersports to benefit their wellbeing. I started paddleboarding in 2019 because I lived in a flat and didn't have the garage space for a kayak. It gave me the possibility of enjoying our stunning waterways whenever the weather allowed. I resent that this sport has been likened to looking like a "lost gondoller". I am training to become a paddleboarding coach this year so I can help people learn the skills to be safe on the water, to learn how to take care of our waterways by engaging more people in litter picking and boosting their physical and mental health. I take immense pride in this pursuit, especially as paddleboarding has made sport accessible to women who do not think of themselves as athletic. Is this not a worthy pursuit? How can Ed Cummings liken this to "a frivolous hobby" ?
This piece screams lad culture to me and is perhaps unbecoming of The Times. Fair play to Ed who at least admits that he was unable to stand on a board while on holiday in Thailand, while berating the sport and those who participate in it. If we move past the famous people spotted paddleboarding, there are thousands of regular people doing amazing things on a paddleboard.
Look at Jo Moseley, who at 53 became the first woman to paddleboard coast to coast on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in 2019 and Cal Major who has recently completed an expedition around Scotland's coastline. Brendon Prince is on the last stretch of his attempt to paddleboard around mainland Britain this year while raising money for the RNLI and setting a world record first. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things, and I would encourage The Times to focus on positive role models instead of chuckling at the expense of celebrities on holiday.