SUP stands for Stand Up Paddling. This originates from surfers who wanted to get further away from the beach to get bigger waves under them. Since paddling with their belly hands was time-consuming and heavy, they tried stand-up paddling instead. The trick worked very well and it was discovered that this is a very fun activity even in still water and as a result of this event SUP boards (both hard and inflatable) spread across the rivers, lakes and seas of the world and paddling was born as a sport in its own right.