By Jim Miller

Jim Miller

Bio

I began my love for the outdoors nearly 30 years ago when being taken up mountains, onto rivers and to the sea as a child. I would regularly run ahead into the mountains, sit on a rock and admire the views and this helped me to develop a true passion for the outdoor environment. I regularly engage in all disciplines of paddlesports and have the privilege of being a national trainer for white water SUP and other disciplines as well as sitting on different discipline and technical committees. I am a provider in different SCA/BC awards which I deliver in canoe, kayak, SUP and rafts. I am currently on the Hala and Werner (System X) SUP teams for white water paddleboarding and love pushing the limits of what is possible. I am keen to share my passion and enjoyment with as many as possible and I love being on a SUP – a huge smile just crosses my face. I hope to see you all on the water at some point!

Is height management important for WW SUP?

One of the benchmark skills that some SUP boaters consider to be crucial is height management. In a nutshell, this means the ability to move upwards and downwards, lowering your centre of gravity (your head) to be closer to your centre of balance (the middle of your stance in relation to the board and your feet). This could be to perform a low brace support stroke, to absorb the impact of waves (much the same as skiing moguls), go to one or both knees or, god forbid, hug the board in prayer to the river gods. 

Why it can be useful
It can be great to improve your balance using a low brace support or even the back brace (long term, some paddlers think this may not be great for the shoulders – time will tell). This can stop you from going for a swim and help keep you on the SUP. Minimising time in the water means more success on the SUP and less risk involved with swimming, hitting rocks, etc.

It can be a great temporary way of stopping you from falling off by touching a knee to a board (some purists will call it cheating – maybe it is, but it’s better than being in the water!), and it can be quickly recovered from easily when only on one knee to return to a standing position.

It can minimise the distance that we fall off our SUP. Falling from a lower height generally means falling closer to your SUP and, as such, being able to climb back on quickly. This has the added benefit that less force would be generated if you fell on something – a rock, another person, whatever it might be – due to the shorter distance you would have fallen.

It can be a great way of introducing beginners into the sport. Most people, when they first start white water SUP, need to develop the required balance, and as such, by going to a knee or two or bracing, they are bit by bit building confidence and balance in moving water to be able to stand in a short time.

When it can be a detriment
In big water going down to a knee or both knees, i.e. the full version of height management can be serious – the water can come over the nose of your board, and all of a sudden, it has a much larger surface area (your entire body) which it can hit and easily knock you off the board – when standing it tends to part around your legs. Strangely, you are more likely to stay on the SUP. This seems contrary to what your brain tells you in the moment, but it is the case: smaller surface area equals less of an impact knocking you off.

Going to one knee can also cause significantly more weight on one side of the board, making it much less stable and hence more likely to be flipped –º this is because you have two points of connection on one side – one foot and one knee vs the other side only having one foot. As such, around 65% of your weight is on the single edge of the board, and if used incorrectly, this can cause more swims and flips. When going to one knee, I recommend that it be temporary and that you try to either stand back up or get the second knee down unless you want more weight on one side of the SUP.

You can become dependent on it – I’ve seen many people who go to their knees do it subconsciously, and it can be hard to remove it from your paddling once it is in there.
Here are a few key takeaways for the stance required to maximise the benefit of height management: 

Side by side
It can be a bit trickier to lower your centre of gravity as far as possible in this stance as the width of the board limits you you are on as to what is your optimal width to stand on – on top of that, it means you go through a wave, both your legs hit the water at the same time/the board balance impacts on your feet at the same time – this means you naturally move your weight onto your heels or toes at the same time as well and as such are slightly more likely to fall off. But it has a huge upside: you can swap sides and cross-deck paddle much easier if in a side-by-side stance.

Shoulders width surfing stance
This is the normal stance for white water paddle boarders and allows you to place your feet at a width that feels natural to you – generally around shoulder width or marginally wider. Another benefit is the ability to rotate your hip and utilise your core to paddle and stand up from one knee a little easier. But one of the huge benefits to this is the fact that when the water hits your legs, it hits them one at a time or impacts your balance one foot at a time, allowing you time to compensate with the other one or possibly lower your centre of gravity to assist as well. As such, this is the stance that we benefit most from regarding height management and is why most people opt for this as their go-to stance for moving water.

Really wide surfing stance
This is initially the most stable platform but comes with a downside as well – once you are fully stretched out in your legs in some crazy wide stance, it is very hard to lower your centre of gravity any further (unlike the previous stance) as such while initially stable it reduces your ability to counteract what the water does to the SUP and your balance point – so who you lose your balance you are more likely to swim. A big plus is subconsciously; it makes you feel more stable and gives people the confidence to try bigger rapids. 

So, what should you do/learn from this?
If you’re interested in height management, play around with the three stances above and go paddle a rapid/get someone to give you a gentle push to see what happens to your balance in all three stances (make sure a mat or soft landing is below). By doing this, you will find out where your optimal stance is to maximise the ability to lower your centre of gravity to assist your balance.