Stand Up Paddle Surfing, Stand Up Paddle Boarding, Stand Up Paddling, or 'SUP' for short is a top water sport where a paddle is used while standing up on a surfboard.  SUP has a Hawaiian heritage and translates in Hawaiian to Ku Hoe He'e Nalu: to stand, to paddle, to surf, a wave.   Stand Up Paddle Boarding came about as a way for surf instructors to manage their classes of beginner surfers.  The higher view point offered by the SUP Style made it easier for the instructors to see what was going on around them and check for incoming swells.  The instructors used their regular surf boards and added a single blade paddle.

The popularity of the modern sport of Stand Up Paddle Surfing also has its origins in the Hawaiian islands.  In the early 1960s the 'Beach Boys of Waikiki' would paddle out on their long boards with outrigger paddles to take pictures of the tourists learning to surf.  The term 'Beach Boy Surfing', another name for SUP Surfing, came from this.

Rick Thomas is credited as being the first modern surfer to bring Stand Up Paddle Board Surfing to the mainland.  In 2000 Rick introduced California to the new sport of SUP Surfing as an alternative way to train while the surf was down.  Stand Up Paddling has since become huge in the States as well as Europe.  From a competition point of view, SUP Surfers now have their own divisions in many outrigger and paddleboard races.

On October 3, 2008, the United States Coast Guard classified SUPs as vessels.  This reclassification makes it necessary for Stand Up Paddle Board Surfers to wear a personal flotation device in certain areas.

Stand Up Paddle Boarding or Surfing is sweeping the globe!  Get your high quality, high performance, Stand Up Paddles ( SUPs ) here at Werner Paddles.