Continuing his dominance in the sport of Stand Up Paddling (SUP), Redondo Beach native Danny Ching was a two-time winner at the Rainbow Sandals Gerry Lopez Battle of the Paddle California held recently at Dana Point.
Presented by Quiksilver Waterman Collection, the Battle of the Paddle is the world’s largest SUP festival and exposition featuring more than 700 entries in the weekend event.
Ching, a former member of the U.S. Olympic kayak team, began his stellar stand-up performance by defeating defending champion and nine-time world paddleboard title holder Jamie Mitchell of Australia in the elite race, a technical 5-mile/4-lap buoy circuit in and out through the surf and included 100-yard beach sprints between laps. Ching started out in the lead and never relinquished it. Ching’s winning time of 57 minutes, 45 seconds earned the Redondo Union High School alum $5,000 with Mitchell (59:36) taking home $3,500 and third-place finisher Slater Trout, of Maui, (1:00:39) $2,500.
The following day, Ching took top honors in the 10-mile distance race, adding another $1,100 to his weekend earnings and his fourth Battle of the Paddle title for 2010 after claiming both the elite and distance stand up paddle (SUP) races in California and in Hawaii back in June.
Ching led the field of 159 from start to finish, racing in the unlimited 18-foot paddleboard division. He crossed the line in one hour, two minutes and 19 seconds, ahead of Rob Rojas (San Clemente, 1:02:59) and Chuck Patterson (Dana Point, 1:03:52).
 In the shorter 14-foot division, Mitchell was first to finish with a time of 1:09:13. Mitchell was pushed to the limit by Tahiti’s George Cronsteadt and Trout, who tied for second place just one second behind him.
“It has been an unbelievable weekend,” Ching said after his victory. “There’s no doubt that it doesn’t get more fun than this. I love to paddle – kayaks, surf ski, outrigger canoe, but to get out there on the water standing up, catching waves, it’s the greatest feeling.”
Not one to rest, Ching soon headed to Hawaii where he was a member of Team Primo’s 6-man outrigger canoe team that placed fifth in the 32-mile world championship Molokai Hoe last Sunday.
Each year over 1,000 paddlers from around the world compete in the Molokai Hoe, the men’s world championship in outrigger canoe racing. This year marks the Molokai Hoe’s 58th crossing of the treacherous Ka’iwi Channel.
Earlier this year, Ching paddled his way into the record books, winning the Steinlager Ka’iwi Channel Solo OC1 World Championship. Ching became the first non-Hawaiian paddler to win the 32-mile race from Molokai to Oahu, completing the course in 3 hours, 38 minutes, 51 seconds, the second-fastest time in the 18-year history of the race and just 48 seconds off the course record.
Ching was introduced to the sport of paddling at an early age. His father, Al, founded the Redondo Beach-based Lanakila Outrigger Canoe Club in 1970, now the largest outrigger club in California.
Danny began racing at the age of 11 and later became a standout athlete at RUHS, earning MVP honors in soccer, water polo and swimming.
When he’s not training or competing, Ching coaches outrigger junior and men’s teams and served as a Los Angeles County lifeguard instructor in the Junior Guards program in El Segundo. He admits he has a lot on his plate with no aspiration to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games, despite having many friends on the team.
“I’m having too much fun traveling and competing in a variety of events,” Ching said. “Life is really good right now.” ER
