“I have always been scared of deep water!”: Interview with Caroline Küntzel, paddleboard racer
If you’ve ever felt scared of the water, or are curious about SUP racing, then this interview with Caroline Küntzel has lots of tips and tricks for you.
Caroline Küntzel is a Dutch paddleboarder who has overcome her fear of deep water, by focusing all of her positive energy on her passion and love for being in the water. She started competing at a young age, having followed her heart when it comes to knowing what brings her joy and makes her feel “most alive”.
Grab a cup of tea or coffee, set aside 5-10 minutes of your time, and have a read of this sofa chat with Caroline!
Hello hello! Thank you so much for joining us today!
Firstly could you tell us a bit about how you first started your paddleboarding journey?
Hello and thank you so much for having me! I started with SUP in October 2017, when I was 15 years old. My dad has been a waterman since he was my age and I grew up with him chasing storms to kite, SUP or foil. I have always been scared of deepwater and swimming with sea creatures, so at first I didn’t really like it.
When I grew older and turned 15, I slowly got into regular surfing. Suddenly I saw they were hosting the world championship in SUP next to where I live. I went to see it with my family and from that moment I got hooked. I knew that all I wanted was to become a pro SUP athlete and I had to do everything to become the best I could. I got my first board 1 month after and I took the bus every day after school with my SUP surfboard to get to the water and train.
I still today deal with being afraid of being in the water from time to time, but back then I decided that this wasn’t gonna stop me. My dad taught me everything he could on weekends and slowly I became better and better. Six months later I participated in a national qualifier for the world championship and I won the qualification to go to China and participate in my first ISA world championship. As 16 years old I went on a plane for the first time and went all the way to China. I returned home with a u18 bronze medal and a 13th place in the women’s SUP surf. That was when I realized that this was what I wanted and needed to do.
How did you make the transition from paddleboarding for fun, to competing?
For me I never felt the transition, I was always convinced that I needed to compete. When I do training and surfing, I don’t see it as training. I truly enjoy being on water and feeling the peace of being out in nature on the ocean. When I started with surf and SUP I could spend hours, up to 7 hours a day, just surfing and paddling. I always go on water with a goal, whether that was to train stability or practicing surfing steep waves on the raceboard. When I nail a trick or just feel like I am close, that is where I thrive and feel alive. I LOVE the feeling of progress and playing in the ocean. So I think I do SUP and training always with a competitive goal in mind, which makes me push harder and have more fun. So finally this is what motivates and drives me.
How do you see the women’s paddleboard scene now in 2023? Do you think it’s changed since you started?
The season hasn’t started yet, but from what I saw in 2022 the women’s scene in SUP is growing so much right now. Women might not have the same physical strength biologically as men, but in SUP you can achieve so much with good technical skills and women right now all over the world are showing such an inspiring commitment to SUP and development within strength and technique, but also an incredible mental strength in competitions.
I think in the coming years we will see many awesome women coming into the sport and raising the level even more. Since I started in 2017, much has happened and there are SO many talented women and girls out there.
I am thankful for all the amazing women years before I started, that went all the way to make it possible to have such a strong women’s field now here in 2023 and show the world that women can surf and SUP too. I think the level of womens SUP has reached a really high level now. If we keep supporting each other as athletes and give women more sponsorship support and awareness, I think the chance of getting more pro women racers will get higher and we will be able to grow as a sport with more women in it.
Women might not have the same physical strength biologically as men, but in SUP you can achieve so much with good technical skills and women right now all over the world are showing such an inspiring commitment to SUP and development within strength & technique, but also an incredible mental strength in competitions.
Who are your favourite female paddleboarders that we should follow (apart from yourself of course!) who are breaking barriers out there?
I love following Fiona Wylde and seeing how she rocks in this sport, despite the challenges there have been (Editor’s note: Fiona Wylde has Type 1 diabetes). She is definitely an inspiring waterwoman worth following. She has achieved some amazing results in different water sports during the years and I am sure she will just keep going.
April Zilg is also a female SUP athlete worth following. Last year she became a World Champion in sprinting. It was so inspiring to see a woman having so much focus on sprinting and showing that with great commitment, mental and physical strength it is possible to achieve your dreams.
What’s your advice for someone reading this who wants to start paddleboarding?
At the moment the sport is growing and there are so many new clubs and SUP communities outhere. My best advice is to find the nearest SUP community for an intro or book a clinic for a day, to get started. This way you will learn all about equipment, technique and safety, and be able to enjoy your SUP adventures right away in a more safe way. If you want to get into competitive racing, finding a coach or mentor who can share all the race formats and help with training, is always a good idea. If you just want to race and paddle with others, many countries have their own national paddle tour and events to join for social or competitive purposes.
What do you expect to see in the (female) SUP scene in the next 5-10 years?
In the coming years I expect to see an even more professional approach to racing, especially within the female SUP scene. Doing very specific technical, endurance and strength training, towards becoming a better paddler is slowly starting to happen everywhere. It is still pretty new to be one of those who specialize within specific disciplines, but I think that this will happen more and more in the future, to secure being even stronger in selected races, like the world championships.
- Now when the youth girls start to paddle with others of the same age, I think naturally the competitive level will rise, since many paddlers who are pro now, started to paddle in their teen years or later. There is a whole new generation coming, who will grow up with SUP as their main sport. When you are young you dare to try some more difficult skills, faster speeds and conditions, which eventually will make the level technically, mentally and in terms of strength even stronger and higher. Hopefully this will create an environment for especially the girls, to dare and seek limits and encourage each other in this sport from an early age.
- Within equipment I think the SUP scene is at an interesting point right now. Many companies tend to go more towards a really well developed all water model, which is possible to use in all types of conditions and races. I think it will be awesome to see what you can do, to make these types of boards even more all around. This will make it easier for travelling with equipment, but also easier to have the right board for each competition. I am on team SIC now and there are some really awesome things happening within development.
- For competitions I hope to see short course racing from 200-2000 meters grow. This is such an exciting form of racing, both to watch and to be a part of. I am a sprinter and I love working with explosiveness, speed and challenging waters, which is what short course racing is all about. My dream is to see this type of racing in the Olympics some day and be able to join myself.
