Hey there..!
Our group was founded on 26th July 2019 by Derek Johnson and has seen an encouraging growth in members over the last 5 years with membership now around 2,500 active members making us the largest paddle board group in the south Devon area.
Our membership base is predominantly local to Exmouth but we have members from all over England and as far afield as Australia. We also encourage membership from visitors to the area too who may wish to join us on a paddle or one of the many events we organise.
We actively encourage safety within the group and have an excellent safety record without enforcing draconian rules on our members. Safety is something we encourage the individual to think about and the choice is always left to the individual in all cases aside from when on official courses or trips.
Who Are Our Members?
We have professionals, instructors, other clubs, retailers and SUP manufacturers in the group together with novices and learners even those wanting to learn the sport.
Each member is encouraged to give advice and guidance or ask questions which one of the many members can answer for them in a safe and non-judgemental environment.
The growth of the club is primarily due to the enjoyment the members get from it and the friendly, fun atmosphere they find when joined keeps them looking in regularly and encourages participation - allowing the members to run their own group from inside establishes a quality content that keeps people looking in to see "what's next".
Many Facebook pages and groups simply promote a closed door policy and restrict member participationwhich ultimately stifles growth so when we started the EXESUP we aimed to bring about a fun environment free from the restraints of over bearing group admins - this alone is reflected in new members finding posting questions is not met with the usual abuse as "newbies".
The Group Timeline So Far
- 2019 the group was set up by Derek Johnson to bring in members of Tri Hards Community Fitness who enjoyed paddle boarding.
- 2020 the group split from Tri Hards due to insurance implications but was argued that belonging to a group should be free as if it is set up right would incur no costs aside from simply time. The group almost closed at that point.
- 2021 lockdown happened and with it a huge rise in paddle boarding in Exmouth.
- 2022 was a quiet year thanks to lockdown but a steady rise in membership was seen.
- 2023 we launched our website and also took on board a small core team to assist in running the group making it more democratic too.
We also launched our official group clothing range which has flown off the shelves we are pleased to say.
What's Next?
We hope in 2024 to be offering a lot more in the way of paddle boarding from simple trips to full blown adventures. We would also be looking to partner with a local paddle board school to offer members lessons from the basics through to more advanced techniques and also bringing in outside instructors for tuition in such things as tide and weather.
Would You Like To Join Us In This Journey?
Here's the link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/exesup (opens a new tab)