SARASOTA, Fla. (WFLA) — It was a huge grab for Sarasota and Nathan Benderson Park, being the first in the country to host the 2024 ICF Stand Up Paddleboard Championship Competition.

Hundreds of athletes showed up and showed out on the Suncoast, SUP board in hand. The palm trees lining Nathan Benderson Park’s world-class lake made for the perfect backdrop to this growing competitive sport as the final day of the world championships got underway.

Before the race, 2x SUP World Champ Seychelle spoke about balance on and off the water.

“It’s anything but chill, the competition side of it. We don’t find the balance difficult even though the boards we’re on are probably half the width of what you would think of your recreational paddleboard. But it’s just what we’ve practiced doing, it’s what we’re used to,” Sychelle said.

Highlighting this growing sport in its competitive state drew paddlers from more than 50 countries right here to Sarasota.

Pete Harvey with Visit Sarasota said residents can expect more large-scale events like this to find their way to the Suncoast.

“We are bidding on multiple events, international, regional and national events for the future. Whether that’s rowing, whether that’s dragon boat or canoe and kayak on flat water,” Harvey said.

Having those plans in place made repairing Nathan Benderson Park, following the severe flooding and damage from three hurricanes this year, even more imperative.

“There was a lot of wind damage, but most of the stuff we had prepared, we kept pretty well, to get it so it was safe and didn’t get damaged so from that standpoint we were able to miss maybe one or two events and we’ve been up and running ever since,” the park’s COO, Bruce Patneaude said.

The day continues with more races, a recreational leg, a kid’s race and even the super challenges inflatable race. With up to $35,000 in prize money up for grabs among SUP champs, the stakes today were definitely high.