GBSUP Events Paddles Safely with Icom IC-M73EURO Marine VHF Radios

GBSUP, the National Series and Championships organiser for SUP and Prone paddling in the UK, prioritises safety for their events which normally see 100+ paddlers take part. The 2024 season hosts six national series events and its national championships finishes in September at Bewl Water. Clear communication on the water is important for any race organiser and here's how Icom IC-M73EURO radios have ensured seamless race execution for the race organisers throughout the year.

Scott Warren, Events Director for GBSUP said, ‘Our challenge is to effectively manage the logistics and ensure clear communication across diverse teams and locations for SUP races throughout the UK. These locations often have unreliable mobile phone reception and require seamless integration with existing communication networks.'

‘Safety is a top priority and we are pleased to partner with Icom UK. Their reliable radios such as the IC-M73EURO that we have used ensure our safety teams have crystal-clear communication on the water allowing for a swift response in any situation. This enables us to run the safest events possible in any location. ‘

‘Having radios is a central part of our event management strategy. We often see 100+ participants at our events with logistics in place to manage the water safety and car parking, race HQ and event marshalls fulfilling roles such as timing officials. Radios allow us to communicate effectively with all our event teams regardless of their role or location. Our events are always coordinated with two key roles in place: a Race Director and a Safety Officer. Each person is responsible for the coordination of certain aspects of the event and radios allow for the most effective and quickest clear communication method.’

‘Our events take us right across the country, and as such, we work with a wide range of hosts and safety providers from professional organisations to volunteer and club groups. Our locations can also be tricky for a mobile signal as they are often in large lakes with steep valleys or in river locations where good reception is a challenge. We also deal with our own teams and host teams who may have a different way of communicating, so having a seamless ability to connect on the same communication channel helps us maintain our safety standards. Some of our locations also take us into close proximity to busy commercial or private marine traffic heading into navigation channels or busy marinas.‘

‘We have to ensure that our communication is clear and reliable no matter where and with whom we communicate. We often have to monitor specific channels or be in contact with local harbour masters so having an easy way to monitor local marine traffic or ask for assistance ensures our events can remain safe and accessible to all without becoming a challenge for other water users in the area. Each event is run in partnership with a local host, be it a professional watersports centre that already has an effective communication network or radios to a local club that may only have one or two of their own radios. Being able to deploy a ready-to-go communication system such as Icom solutions ensures that no event is lacking in clear communication.’

‘The Icom IC-M73EURO has performed faultlessly. The radio is easy to deploy to our safety teams and volunteers and provides crystal clear communication. It has the capability to monitor external marine VHF communications at the location where we operate. Some of our longer-distance races can put some safety team members several kilometres from Race HQ. The Icom radios have allowed us to remain in clear contact without relying on mobile signals. We have also been able to ensure we have a proper communication strategy with Icom as we are able to deploy the radios to non-professional crews, ensuring we are meeting our standards from communication with very little need for training. A simple check of the desired channel and how to use the radio, and away we go.’

For more details about this radio, visit the IC-M73EURO product page. To view our Multi-charging event solution featuring this radio, click on Icom Regatta pack .

To learn more about GBSUP Racing series, visit https://www.gbsup.co.uk/

Scott Warren | 07852 930 063| Events Director info@gbsup.co.uk.

19/09/2024