What's Next? Where Do We Go From Here?

Does anyone remember when we looked like this?
I do.
Having just celebrated my two year anniversary with the US National Whitewater Center I remember having my interview at a pizza place downtown and then driving to the construction site to get a visual of what was yet to come. I have to admit, when I was being walked around having the vision of raft and kayak operations explained to me I had no idea how it was all supposed to work. I couldn't really picture how we were to get so many people in and out of trip talks, getting the rafts down the main channels and having a process for private kayakers at the same time.

Now, just about every day looks like this. Hundreds, and on the weekends thousands, of folks are getting on the course each day enjoying the rapids and the challenges of the world's largest artificial whitewater river.


Now, our greatest focus is on how do we continue to develop top notch programs that keep people in the sport, learning, growing and having fun. With hundreds of kids having gone through our kayak program, and a ga-zillion adults having learned to paddle here, we will soon be offering more kids programs, a paddling club and intermediate packages to keep folks coming back, continuing their paddling education and creating positive social environments centered around whitewater. Stay tuned to what's around the corner and remember to take it outside.

Another Successful Women's Weekend

Another 23 women were introduced to the sport of whitewater kayaking this last weekend and 4 others honed in their playboating skills. Everyone had a blast and there were numerous personal accomplishments made. I've put up some of our group photos as well as a few action shots of the freestyle clinic throwing down.

Fifth of July Celebrations

Who isn't grateful for all of this rain? Rivers are up, flowers are back in bloom and the grass is green again. The rain did, however, delay our 4th of July celebration to the next night. And what a night it was. The placed was packed. Everyone brought their lawn chairs, the outside bar was hopping and the fireworks were absolutely remarkable.


Ray Gora was able to capture this shot from the front of the River Center. I think the picture is amazing. Thanks Ray.

There are plenty of other days and events to celebrate this month. Next weekend is our second women's weekend. Women's specific rock climbing, mountain biking and whitewater clinics are all available. Our third Jeep Adventure Race is happening next Saturday and we continue our Thursday night concert series with more live bands. Come check out how we celebrate.

US Olympic Team Chosen - USNWC Represented

The US Olympic Whitwater Slalom team has been selected and the results are as follows:
Men's K1 - Scott Parsons

Men's C1 - Benn Fraker

Women's K1 - Heather Corrie

C2 Team - Casey Eichfeld and Ricky Powell

Benn, Casey and Ricky have all moved to Charlotte in the past year to train for these elite spots. We've had the fortune of having Casey work throughout the 2008 season at Kayak Front Desk.

Needless to say we are really proud of Casey and are thrilled to say that we have an Olympian working for us.

Casey has been paddling since he was two and was the youngest person in the history of USA Canoe/ Kayak to make the US junior team. After beginning international competition at the age of 14, Casey and Ricky just placed 7th in the world this last week in Ausberg. And, what we think is super cool; At the age of 10 Casey was highlighted in Sports Illustrated as the next Olympic hopeful.

All of us in Kayak Operations send out a huge congratulations to these fine athletes and can't wait to watch the five of them represent the United States this August.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year...

...and no, we are not talking about a big jolly man in a red suit. We kicked off the peak of our summer season with the first of five
Kid's Summer Camps. The response from campers and parents was extremely positive and we are psyched to announce that we will be expanding the programming for the 2009 season. Below are just a few of the comments that parents of campers shared with us.

"My son had an absolute ball at the camp and I am very pleased with what he learned. It seems he has some natural skill at this and I appreciate you bringing that out in him!"

"I found out that this was the first summer camp that you have had and I think it was fabulous! From my perspective, things went smoothly and, like I said earlier, he had a blast!"

I have been doing summer camps and kayak camps for several years and I feel that the format, quality of instructors, and overall positive attitude of our center staff contributes to a phenom program. I am excited to see what the coming weeks will present to us and oh yes kiddies, I still have more up my sleeve. Enjoy just a few of the images from our past kids camp.