Teen Perseveres Against Top-tier Rivals

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By Lauren Korduner, Special to the Independent

Almost everything that could possibly go wrong in Jade Howson’s stand-up paddling race in Denmark did.

Jade Howson, of Laguna Beach, center, competes in a stand-up paddle board competition in Denmark. Photo courtesy International World surfing Assoc.
Jade Howson, of Laguna Beach, center, competes in a stand-up paddle board competition in Denmark. Photos courtesy International World surfing Assoc.

After running through the sand, the 15-year-old from Laguna Beach missed her board and fell face-first into the water, she said. Before the race was over, she would also drop her paddle and fall again into the water. But each time she slipped up, Jade could think only one thing: “You can’t stop paddling.”

Then something remarkable happened.

“She started gobbling competitors,” said Mike Eisert, a coach at Paddle Academy in Dana Point, who watched a livestream of the race online as his protégé competed in the International Surfing Association World SUP & Paddleboard Championship 5,500 miles away.

Recognized by the International Olympic Committee, ISA sets the standards for SUP racing and surfing. Its 10-day championship event attracts the sport’s most elite competitors from around the world.

Coach and pupil remained in constant contact throughout the contest, he said, which coincided with the first week of the school year at Laguna Beach High School.

Jade fought her way back from last place to finish fifth in a competition featuring over 50 women, many full-time professionals in their early 20s. Among them was fellow ISA Team USA member Fiona Wylde, who placed fourth, just ahead of Jade, in the technical race.

“She didn’t stop,” Wylde said. “She pushed hard all the way through and that was amazing.” Wylde called Jade a “fierce competitor.”

Wylde, 20, who lives and trains in Hood River, Ore., is ranked second worldwide among women competitors by SUPRacer.com. Wylde has been competing full-time for about three years.

From left, Manca Notar, amandine Chazot and Jade Howson compete earlier this month in a paddle board sprint race in Denmark.
From left, Manca Notar, amandine Chazot and Jade Howson compete earlier this month in a paddle board sprint race in Denmark.

Jade also demonstrated dedication to Team USA. When a teammate dropped out of the distance race two weeks before the championship, Jade, the de-facto race alternate, stepped up to compete. Though she’s completed distance races before, Jade spends most of her time training for the technical and sprint races. During the 12-mile, marathon-style paddle race in Copenhagen, Jade overexerted herself and passed out. She mostly just remembers waking up in the medical tent, she said.

“Some races don’t go the way you want them to,” said Robert Howson, Jade’s father.

Jade’s still learning when to push the limit, he said.

Undaunted by this experience, Jade competed in the 200-meter SUP sprint the next day, on Sept. 2. She placed first in her qualifying heat, placed third in the finals, and took home the bronze medal for herself and Team USA. Jade was just narrowly edged out of second by France’s Amandine Chazot.

“I spent my 200 m fighting against her, and it was very hard, we were close all race long, and I had to give everything to finish second,” said Chazot, reached on Instagram. “I am fully convinced she is gonna be one of the best girls in the next years,” Chazot said.

 

Two days after the sprint race, Jade placed second in her heat and qualified for her last event, the technical race final, which took place on Sept. 9.

The technical race requires participants begin in the sand, run to the shore carrying their boards, launch into the water, paddle out to and around buoys in an M- or W-shaped pattern, and back to shoreline. Once back on the sand, the participant runs about 50 meters parallel to the shore, launches the board again, and the cycle repeats a few times more.

Jade’s board weighs 17 pounds, is 22 inches wide, and 12 feet 6 inches long, the maximum length according to the ISA website. Boards vary in weight between 12 and 40 pounds, according to StandupJournal.com. ISA sets no restrictions on board weight.

On her Instagram page, Jade described the beginning of the technical race final as the “worst start of my life.” She described falling more than once, dropping her paddle, and so on. But Jade also described her overall performance as “probably one of my best races ever.”

After the ISA championship, Jade now occupies spot number 15 among the world’s top 50 women paddlers, according to SUP Racer.

“It’s a long sport,” Wylde said. “Jade has a lot of chances to do well, a lot of races she can learn from, and she can take that knowledge into the next race.”

Eisert, Jade’s coach, seemed to echo Wylde’s sentiments. “Jade has an uncanny ability to always keep moving forward, getting better,” Eisert said.

Looking ahead, Jade will compete in the Pacific Paddle Games, Sept. 30 to Oct. 1, at Doheny State Beach in Dana Point. She will again face some of the world’s top tier performers, including Wylde.

Jade is interested in pursuing the professional SUP route, but she’s also interested in marine biology or entering the Coast Guard. In addition to University of Hawaii, she’s interested in applying to San Diego and Long Beach state universities. “I don’t want to leave!” Jade said.

 

Whatever path she chooses, she is learning lessons, such as perseverance, that will sustain her throughout her life, her father said. “To know that my daughter has that inside her makes me the most proud.”

 

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