Two Kingsbridge paddleboarders have returned home after representing Team GB at the ICF Stand Up Paddleboard World Championships in Abu Dhabi, and they’ve brought back more than just suntans.

Rachel Booton, a teacher at Kingsbridge Community College, reached the quarter-finals in the women’s technical race, finishing 30th overall, while teammate Crispin Jones, owner of Waterborn SUP, placed 53rd in a fiercely competitive men’s distance event.

The pair were overwhelmed by the local support that made the trip possible, from donations and auction prizes to encouraging messages from strangers. “It’s not my thing to go around asking for money,” Rachel said, “but people were just so generous. Everyone rallied behind us — it was all funded by kindness.”

Crispin agreed that community spirit played a huge role in getting them to the start line. “There’s a lot of pride within the team, and pride in representing Kingsbridge and the UK. To go out there and do our community proud was huge.”

The heat and the conditions in Abu Dhabi were testing, but both competitors rose to the challenge. It was Rachel’s first technical race at the world championships, where she found herself lining up between a former World Champion and a European Champion in her first heat. “I just had to not come last,” she laughed. “To finish that race and realise I’d made the quarter-finals — more than I ever thought would happen — was amazing.”

For Rachel, the highlight of the event wasn’t the result, but bonding with the global paddleboard community. “When I crossed the line, the lady who went on to win triple gold stayed to give me a high five. That’s one of my biggest takeaways — that even the top paddlers are still human and so lovely.”

Crispin — known for wearing shorts and a tee in all weathers — battled temperatures of more than 35°C in the long-distance race. “I was giving it absolutely everything,” he said. “By the third lap I was shivering from heat exhaustion, but I wasn’t stopping. Finishing 53rd in a massive fleet against the best of every country — I was proud of that.”

Back home, the response from the community has been just as uplifting. “It’s been amazing,” said Rachel. “People have been stopping me in the street, the kids at school clapped me into lessons — it’s just been lovely.”

Both paddlers say they have learnt a lot from their first world championships and say it won’t be their last. “Now I know what I’m doing,” Rachel said. “I’ve got the bug. If I train properly for a full year and work on my starts and turns, who knows? Maybe top 20 next time.”

She’ll have some expert help too: “Crispin’s going to be my coach now,” she added. “He knows what it takes and we’ve got the pontoons here to practise the world-level starts.”

For Crispin, simply qualifying was monumental as the final season he was eligible to compete. “It was a huge privilege just to make it out there,” he said. “To have the chance at all came down to the community pulling together — friends, neighbours, the club, everyone who backed the fundraising. I’m incredibly grateful.”

Together, the pair have not only flown the flag for Team GB but also shown what can happen when a small town rallies behind its own.