You are invited to join us on Friday, September 16th for the 4th annual 5Point Film Festival in conjunction with the celebration and premiere of the First Wave’s and the Watersmith Guild’s latest film! The event is held in conjunction with Ascend Climbing Gym and 3 Rivers Outdoor Company at their Regent Square Location. The event will also include sweepstakes, prizes, food from local Regent Square Eateries and drinks from Goodlander Cocktails and Old Thunder Brewing!
Season 1 of the Very Local television show, “Finding Adventure,” featured a variety of outdoor experiences in the Pittsburgh region. SurfSUP Adventures had the pleasure of guiding show host, Kinga Philipps, and guest, Daniel Johnson on a river surfing and whitewater SUP session in the Laurel Highlands of Pennsylvania!
Watch now as SurfSUP Adventures Founder and Watersmith Guild Executive Director, Ian Smith, provides a keynote presentation for the Allegheny College / Creek Connection Student Research Symposium! The Creek Connections program has forged an effective partnership between Allegheny College and regional K-12 schools to turn waterways in Northwest Pennsylvania, the Pittsburgh area, and beyond into outdoor environmental laboratories. Emphasizing a hands-on, inquiry based investigation of local waterways, this project annually involves over 40 different secondary schools and the classes of 50 teachers.
SurfSUP Adventure’s founder and lead guide, Ian Smith, was recently awarded the title of “Master Trainer” by the Professional Standup Paddle Association (PSUPA). With this designation, Ian becomes one of only four Master Trainers internationally. He teaches instructor certifications in the disciplines of Flat Water, SUP Camps, and Whitewater SUP / River Surfing. Here’s an excerpt from the PSUPA press release:
With the heat of summer, minimal water leaves Pennsylvania and West Virginia a graveyard of dry rivers and creeks. Only a few destinations with either dam releases or sustainable summer flow can offer relief for whitewater paddlers. Valley Falls in Fairmont, WV might be the best place in the region during these times. A series of spectacular waterfalls with multiple lines of varying difficulty make this a paradise for intermediate to expert paddlers.
The official launch of “A Quiet Excitement,” a film by Wild Excellence Films in conjunction with Butler County Tourism and SurfSUP Adventures. The film explores a multitude of ways to explore Butler County’s array of stand up paddling. Everything from fly fishing float trips, sunken forests, standing river waves and nighttime adventures are featured.
SurfSUP Adventures has been working with Envision Blind Sports for a little over 3-years now, but this year marks a milestone of accomplishment. Thanks mostly to executive director, Wendy Fagan, and the incredible volunteer network from Slippery Rock University’s, Adaptive Sports program, Envision has become the largest blind sports camp in the country. In total, 70 visually impaired youth ages 6 to 18 participated in 20 sports over the course of the week-long program in June of 2018.
We are heading into our 8th season of providing standup paddle boarding experiences in Pittsburgh! In that time, we’ve been honored to introduce thousands of people to standup paddleboarding (SUP), river surfing, watershed conservation, and whitewater SUP. Our love for paddling got us started, but it’s been the people we’ve met on this journey that have truly inspired us. You are the ones we have to thank as we celebrate being named Pittsburgh’s “Best Outdoor Experience” in 2018 by the Manual Awards!
There’s something about outdoor film festivals that makes you question what you’re capable of. The combination of immaculately captured places, harrowing adventures, and a cast of characters only conjured by sports involving leaps from cliffs, vertical climbs, or skate boards hurdling down mountain roads at 70-mph. But why are these festivals so moving?
At SurfSUP Adventures, we have been dealt the opportunity to work with amazing partners and volunteers. The latest project in conjunction with VIP Sports was one of the most memorable. By working with Slippery Rock University volunteers and VIP Sports instructors, we were able to provide a standup paddleboarding experience to more than 60 youth participants that were blind or semi-blind. Here's a short film documenting the training process and the event itself! Enjoy!
The river wave at Greenhouse Park is little more than a pile of foam during the hot month of July in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The Stonycreek River is the tamest version of itself and instead of whitewater enthusiasts, the park attracts sunbathers, tubers, and swimmers to its shores. What most have overlooked, however, is this wave’s potential as a training ground for the area’s youth to become river enthusiasts. When presented in the right way, the wave can capture the attention of teenagers better than the latest X-box and carve a path for outdoor recreation and education that is widely available but pervasively ignored. This is exactly what the First Waves Johnstown Program is able to provide to underserved youth in the area.
“IT’S SAFE, THE KIDS WILL BE FINE!” I yelled into my cell phone, trying to overcome a howling wind off the Gulf of Mexico. In spite of the ambient roar, I could hear doubt on the other end spinning like a turbine. Intuition, however, has a way of prevailing under duress, when communication is done on an instinctual level rather than through the confusion of words and reason.
The Stonycreek Rendezvous is one of the best whitewater festivals in the country. Held at Greenhouse Park in Johnstown, PA, you can set up your tent on the shores of the Stonycreek River and surf the park wave under the lights at night while listening to local bands and the stomping of dancing feet as the river passes by.
Positioned at the end of a gloriously paved private road, the U.S. National Whitewater Center is a utopia of outdoor fun. Mountain bike trails, high-ropes courses, and zip-lines adorn the property, and a well-stocked brewery is situated nicely above the competition whitewater channel where Olympians train and SurfSUP Adventures guides crash.
The city of three-rivers is paddleboard paradise, but a first-time paddler standing at Point State Park, the junction of the three major rivers, might feel differently. In the downtown areas, the rivers are wide with concrete borders that create turbulence that is uncomfortable for beginners. Additionally, commercial and recreational boating is a formidable challenge for peaceful, non-motorized water travel. So where can you go for a safe, friendly, and memorable first SUP session? Here are three options for you!
T: 724.989.7259
E: info@surfsupadventures.com
