USNWC Staff Profile - Chris Wing

Chris arrived at the US National Whitewater Center last fall with a passion and fervor for whitewater kayaking that we are still (unsuccessfully) trying to simmer down. This guy just really loves whitewater kayaking and it shows. Chris is not only a phenom instructor but he is also an aspiring professional freestyle kayaker. This year he will be touring to some of the largest freestyle competitions in the country to see if this passion pays off. While on tour, Chris will be sharing his experiences through World Kayak as their Pro Events Corespondent.


USNWC:What's ahead for you this upcoming season?

CW: Well, what's not ahead of me this season may be an easier question? This will be my most ambitious year to date which includes new responsibilities with USNWC Instruction, a new project with World Kayak doing event coverage, my first freestyle circuit competing, and as always my continued web project H2O Dreams.

USNWC:What are you looking forward to most?

CW: Honestly, I'm pretty psyched about the whole upcoming year. But most of all, I look forward to my first trip up to the Ottawa in September.

USNWC: How will the good folks at home be able to keep up with your season?

CW:Two ways, H2O Dreams is a website I created that documents my friends and all of our shenanigans (always fun). H2O Dreams is going to experience some tremendous growth this summer, keep yer eyes peeled. As well as updates onWorld Kayak with event coverage.



USNWC:What have you enjoyed about working at the USNWC?

CW: Working with a young and ambitious team of kayakers. I feel that I work with a group of people that are truly on the verge of something big. We've got a lot of big plans for this instruction program that is unlike any thing I've seen.

USNWC:How have you been preparing for competition?

CW: Eating lots and lots of Wheaties, for real. I also just finished a three week trip to Rock Island, TN and got to paddle with many of the team members of Team Jackson. I felt it helped me with how I approach learning new things and preparing for upcoming events. Not to mention it was tons of fun!

USNWC: What sick moves are you presently working on?

CW: I'm working on smoothing out my phonix monkey and tricky woo, but I pretty much have perfected the side surf power flip to beat down and the carped roll to a swim. It's a pretty wicked combo move actually.

USNWC: What else should our valiant blog readers know about you?

CW: Nothing, they know too much already. Hmmm, I live in my truck. How's that?

USNWC: Last question...Aren't you glad I taught you how to kayak?

CW: Sharper, I am glad!

And It's Only March 1st!!!

I said this a number of times today; "and it's only March 1st!", because one look at the crowd at the USNWC today and you would have thought that it was the middle of June. I rolled up to the parking lot around 8am and there were hundreds of cars in the parking lot. The third stop of the four part series of the Finish Strong Duathlon sponsored by Inside Out Sports was already underway. Over two hundred competitors were there for an 8k run/ 53k bike/ 8k run with the run sections on USNWC trails and the bikes rode out through the small town of Mount Holly and into the countryside of Gaston and Mecklenberg counties.

My day progressed on to our first day of flatwater guide training. It was an absolute joy to hang out with these fourteen folks as we started getting prepared for our biggest season of flatwater trips yet.

In addition to our guided flatwater trips we will be offering flatwater boat rentals on the Catawba. Guests ages 9 and up will have a chance to discover parts of the Catawba on their own. Today we paddled up Long Creek, a bordering tributary to the Catawba, further than I've ever before been. The water levels were up far enough for our group to get to the "waterfall". Congratulations to Adam Seacrest for his first decent of this impressive drop. Adam spends an inordinate amount of time on the Green River Narrows, and those class V skills paid off on this "first D".


Once we wrapped up our day of training we all headed over to the Competition Channel to check out the Slalom Springs Series race. Over 50 competitors registered for this event. An impressive number for any time of year. I caught this shot of local paddlers Scott McCluskey and Austin Crane racing C2 in the first round.






To wrap up the day we headed to The Eddy Restaurant and Bar overlooking the Comp Channel to grab a beer.
I just couldn't believe that there was a two deep line at the bar. ......AND IT'S ONLY MARCH 1st!!!

USNWC Slalom Series Continues

In preparation for the upcoming 2008 Olympic Team Trials, held here April 25th through the 27th, the USNWC Slalom Series continues this weekend.
Saturday and Sunday the race will be held from 3 to 6pm.
Traditional Slalom format. Two runs, no demos.
Registration at Climbing check-in Wed-Friday. $30 registration fee.
Competitors meeting 12 noon Saturday @ Kayak Check-In.
The rest of the details will be gone over in the competitors meeting.
We are in huge need of volunteers to help time and judge the event. Contact Dave Hepp at dhepp@usnwc.org or call (704) 391-3900 ext. 115 if interested in volunteering. Volunteers will meet at Kayak Check-In at noon Saturday.
TAKE IT OUTSIDE!

2008: Gonna Be Great! or some weird tag line to kick off the year, preferably one that rhymes because 'rhyming is the bait in 2008'

I've always thought it strange that the words tomb, comb and bomb don't rhyme. Anyways, as I think of all the fabulous rhymes and poems one could create about 'season 2008' all I really want to share is how many cool programs we have lined up already.

Tomorrow we are headed to the Raleigh Rollapalooza. If we make it through the snowstorm it should be great. Three hundred plus people looking to get into the sport of kayaking and learning from some of the top names in the industry. We'll post pictures soon.

April is going to be crazy busy. The USNWC is hosting the 2008 US Olympic Team Trials as well as the Pan American Slalom Championship April 25th - 27th. This event will be nationally televised and we are expected thousands of spectators. Tickets for the event can be purchased through Ticketmaster or visit our website.

Women's weekends are already on the schedule for this year. Anna Levesque will be joining us again along with other top female athletes in climbing and mountain biking on May 10-11 and July 19-20. We are hoping to expand into more opportunities for women to take advantage of all the programs we offer here.

The Thursday night concert series returns with a vengence. This year the series will host 23 nights of free entertainment. Yes, that's correct 23 Thursday nights of live music, food and beer specials, party atmosphere, etc. This concert series is not messing around.

We will be doing another race series but this year the folks from WorldKayak.com are stepping up and putting on a "shoot-out" series where all events are geared towards the average joe paddler. This series promises to be a lot of fun for all levels of boaters. More info on that soon.

Oh yea, we are offering a whole new smattering of instructional programs this year. Kids camps, teen freestyle and slalom clubs, lots more roll clinics, beginner playboating clinics, frequent flyer (paddler) memberships, and discounts to folks who sign up for four or more programs. Once we finish renovations to the Kayak Check-in building we will also have a new retail outlet.

Yep, lots of new stuff and bigger and better ideas for our second year. Can't wait to see you all out here soon.

Water is back on FEBRUARY 2ND!!!!