Do Sport's Cross Canada SUP Tour
We had the pleasure of being a stop-off point for the Do Sport Cross Canada SUP tour (that's not the official name, but it works). It was a brisk morning but I managed to get out on the 11'6" touring board and the 14' racing model.Do Sport is a Quebec-based company, founded by Dominque Vallée. They are in the early stages of growth and the purpose of their tour is to meet media, schools and any other SUP fans along their route. Be sure to say hello if they turn up in your town.
There are a couple things about Do Sport that make them special. Perhaps the biggest is that they do all their manufacturing in Canada. And with their own CNC machine, they are able to build boards, test them the same day, and fine-tune as needed. It's like ski manufacturers, 4FRNT and DPS--they build skis in the Wasatch, test, tweak, etc. All locally. This is a big difference from companies which send off prototypes to Asia for their manufacturing.
Another "differentiator" is the team's background in board-based water sports. Dominique and Fiona, both of whom I met, are former Olympic windsurfers. Annabelle—who was kind enough to give me some pointers the day of their visit, is a fully certified SUP instructor. All this to say, all the key people are veeeeery well versed and capable in the world of SUPs and board sports in general.
We'll be watching the company grow and hope to get our hands on one of their SUPs to review next season. The 11'6" touring board was super stable, nimble and tracked really well. The 14-er was 23" wide and a little tippy for me (that was my problem)—it was fast as heck and went straight as an arrow.
Thanks to Dominique, Annabelle and Fiona for a great morning on the water. We'll stay tuned and watch Do Sport grow! For more info, check out dosport dot ca.
Look at that form....
Here is the Do Sports team, me, and a sampling of their fleet.
Chatting with Dominique about Do.