Event Creation Case Study
GLAGLA UK
Creating and delivering an established UK winter SUP race and challenge across multiple editions.
GLAGLA UK — the UK winter SUP race and challenge — was co-founded by Scott “Skip” Innes and Craig Sawyer, and is a working example of taking an event from first idea to a returning winter fixture. The full event information lives on the GLAGLA UK event page; this is the operational story behind it.
At a glance
- Type
- Winter SUP race and challenge
- Role
- Co-founded and delivered by Scott “Skip” Innes and Craig Sawyer
- Status
- Multiple editions delivered; 2027 planning underway
Focus areas
- Event creation
- Participant journey
- Water safety & operations
- Community building
- Event delivery
- Brand development
Section 1
The challenge
Build a UK winter event with the safety, community and brand foundations to run year after year — and make it work for competitive racers and less experienced paddlers on the same day.
Section 2
What we did
- Created the event concept, brand and course identity
- Designed the participant journey, from first interest to results
- Designed and ran safety operations for cold-water conditions
- Built the venue, community and media relationships behind each edition
- Delivered event day across staffing, logistics and on-water operations
Section 3
Outcomes
- Multiple editions delivered across successive winters.
- 145 registrations recorded in the 2026 event system — registrations, rather than a starter or finisher count.
- Operational learning reused across SHACADEMY event and water-safety work.
Section 4
Lessons learned
Events sustain themselves on community, not marketing. The strongest events are built around people who come back, and bring others.
Two fleets on one course was the decision that mattered most: it let newer paddlers take part without diluting the racing.
Section 5
Why it matters
GLAGLA UK demonstrates the full event lifecycle that SHACADEMY can support — from concept and brand through to repeatable delivery.
On film
The event on film
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