FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. -- Southwest Florida beach-goers hit the water, Saturday, for a sport that's quickly gaining popularity-- stand up paddle boarding.
The battle of the blueway was held at Crescent Beach family park on Saturday, and events will continue through Sunday. Races gave a chance for professionals and amateurs to show off their skills with a 7-mile race and a 2-mile race. Professional SUP athlete Ryan Helm came in first for the 7-mile race. "These races are always fun, you train really hard and you come out here and you get to see where your training is at and today it looked like it was working for me," said Helm.
The event also gave people a chance to try the sport for the first time. Vendors were on site until 2 PM to demonstrate paddle board use.
Activities continue through Sunday with a kids race and Special Olympics race. Vendors will again be at the park throughout the afternoon to provide demos for those who want to try SUP for the first time for free. The event will begin at 10:30 AM. A full event list can be found at https://paddleguru.com/races/BattleontheBlueway
