More than 100 stand up paddlers will take to the water in Rhode Island’s Newport Harbor on Saturday, August 22, to compete in the annual Newport SUP Cup.
The family-friendly stand up paddle race will be held at Newport Shipyard. Paddlers will navigate 3 or 6 mile courses around Goat Island, passing the Newport Harbor Lighthouse, Newport Bridge and other landmarks.
In its 6th year, the Newport SUP Cup will award $1,000 in cash prizes and over $8,000 in merchandise from the race sponsors.
The Newport SUP Cup raises money to benefit the work done by Clean Ocean Access – a local Non-Profit organization that works to keep coastlines and waterways clean, works on ocean water quality, and maintains public access points to the many miles of Aquidneck Island coastline, as well as educating the community about maintaining healthy oceans. In 2014, Clean Ocean Access performed 61 marine debris cleanups, removing 11,272 pounds of debris from 46 miles of coastline (among other activities).