Stand Up Paddle: the calm before the cheer
If Hercules Trophy had a family album, Stand Up Paddle would be on many of its pages. It has been part of the Trophy for well over a decade, and the lake of De Nekker in Mechelen is the perfect place for it. At our 25th Jubilee edition in June 2024 it was there once more.
What the labour asks of a team, we keep for the day itself. But anybody who has stood on a board knows the first ingredient: balance.
Calm, then chaos
Most labours start loud. Stand Up Paddle starts quiet. Players step onto the water, find their feet and, for a few seconds, everything is calm. Then the shore wakes up: colleagues shouting advice nobody can use, supporters counting along, and the first player who loses balance getting the loudest cheer of all.
Falling is part of it
Nobody wants to fall in front of their colleagues. And yet, at Stand Up Paddle, the people who fall are often the ones the team remembers best, because of how they climb back on. Getting back up, with your team cheering, is a small lesson in resilience that no workshop can teach.
The lake, the sun and the view
There is something else about this labour. For a few minutes, a team is away from the noise of the festival, out on the water, with De Nekker around them. For many players, it is the moment they realise they are having a really good day with their colleagues.
Want to see your team on the water? Look at the packages on our pricing page or get in touch.