Just when we think things cannot get any better, our amazing partners notch it up once again!  This time with a series of prizes encouraging our community spirit on the web!   World Kayak believes that showing the outside world our personalities is key to successful growth.  The “I wanna paddle with them” factor is very important as a draw to our lifestyle.  Blog posts and stories on the web tend to lend to this kind of attraction.  World Kayak and its partners (Kokatat, Immersion Research, Chaco, Shred Ready, Mountain Khakis, Jackson Kayak, Smith Optics and Astral Bouyancy have set up a series of fun ‘story posting’ contests aimed at getting our amazing lifestyle out there for all to see!  From laughing about some of our ‘unique paddling fashion’ to our weirdest helmets, to swims and giving them glimpses of our take out parties and those who have inspired us along the way in our c0mmunities this contest series will show the expanse of our fun, free and unique culture.

Join us, post up a story for each of our contests or just one… get your friends involved… most of all… show the non-paddling folks JUST how much fun we have!

http://worldkayakblogs.com/wkcontests/

A new season is starting in the Seaway Valley and World Kayak is right there making sure that paddlers will have events to participate in.

2010 was a great year for us and we saw a lot of new paddlers step up to our friendly competitive arena. 2011 will be even better!

3 freestyle events and 3 survivors (Boater-cross format) are what you will see in Valleyfield Quebec at the Riviere St-Charles this year. You will be able to compete , challenge your friend and yourself. For those who wish to step it up a bit more WK is implementing a ranking system (more to come on that program soon).

In the mean time enjoy the short video by Zachary Zwanenburg. The video and the images speak for themselves:

Click here to view the embedded video.

See you on the river,

Robert Zwanenburg
www.cornwallwhitewater.com

It was sunny!

It was blustery!

It was 1,300 cfs!

It was the first throwdown of 2011 in Reno, NV!!

This year we have more awesome sponsors, including Jackson kayak which has donated several 2010 Star series kayaks to be given away to those who use the new tracking system to follow their progress against the rest of the World Kayak Universe.  We also have our awesome local outfitter Reno Mountain Sports who not only provides the newest demo boats at the HTTD but brings out the grill and cooks up dogs for everyone to warm their stomachs, thanks guys!!

For our first throwdown we had 3 women and 7 men brave the gale force winds for their share of hometown glory, results were as follows:

Women’s

1.       Jessica (109)

2.       Mary (44)

3.       Rita (36)

Men’s

1.       Scott (232)

2.       Jon (161)

3.       Jason (97)

4.       Chris (91)

5.       Eric (68)

6.       John (67)

7.       Cyrus (34)

Congratulations to everyone and we hope to see you out there next time trying to better your score!!

Enjoy the pictures and see you in two weeks   --Noah

Judge Liz is quite impressed

It was the first event of the year and it was  chilly for the 30+ people that came top paddle! The snow is horizontal in some of the pictures below!  I was just trying to get everyone fired up with my dragon’s breath but almost ended up spraying the judge! Somehow ended up winning this time but there was some stiff competion and I probably won’t have the cold on my side for next time…

We also held paddling lessons so there were some firsts in a kayak, first times on the river and Mike even got his fist loop!

Thanks to Victor and Glenna for setting everyone up in style at the barn. Your warmth and the stove in the barn made this early spring event a lot sweeter!

Base Camp Cullowhee’s 6^th Annual Kayak Demo Day we off without a hitch this past Saturday. Pyranha, Jackson, Bliss-Stick, and Wave Sport athletes arrived the Eternity Hole just before noon, staging up todays freshest kayaks for an afternoon session which won’t soon be forgotten. Dagger and Liquid Logic boats were also available for demo, with a solid 2 ½ hours of demo time before the first event of the 2011 World Kayak Hometown Throwdowns. Everyone attending the demo was encouraged to participate in the Pro-Am format event scheduled for the afternoon. Competition participants would be split into teams of three with one boater, a second good boater, and a third better boater. With 24 local paddlers registering for the event, an even eight teams were easily divided. The competition would run in 3 heats with each paddler getting two rides, each lasting for one minute. Individual scores within a team were compiled for an overall team score.

Scoring was done by the team of Jason and Samantha Miller (Charlotte Region), as well as the team of Brad Caldwell (Nantahala Region) and myself.  Points were awarded as such: 1 point (any 180 degree rotation), 4 points (loop, Godzilla, or any variation), 6 points (loop, Godzilla, or any variation with air), and 10 points for the more advanced tricks (McNasty, Phonics Monkey). In addition to technical points, all paddlers were able to score a maximum of 10 style points (brow claw, paddle guitar, blowing kisses to the crowd, ECT).

Heat #1 brought the teams of Tommy Pagles/Jay Mahan/Brand Caldwell, Hugh Willard/Mike Dorsey/Paul Butler, and Andrew Blease/Michael Thurmond/Kerry Porche to the water for their much anticipated minute ride in Eternity. Heat highlights included kickflip entry moves from Kerry and Mike, well established side surfs, loops, paddle tosses, and stealth beer chugging.

12►

With Heat #1 coming to an end the boat swap began, everyone eager to be in their favorite demo boat. Heat #2 would welcome to teams of Shannon Christy/Trent Thibodeaux/Tommy Yon, Spencer Redmond/Ian Kennedy/Casey Jones, and Shawn Sheffield/Ashley Doty/Sam Fulbright to the Eternity Hole for a round full of cartwheeling, air-looping, and a little swimming. Big style points go to Shannon and Tommy for their excellent team work (it does take two for the Hand of God; twice…)

12►

Heat #3 was the smallest of the rounds with only two teams. After watching the beginning of the competition, the final teams of Matt Redmond/Mich Beardon/Chan Jones and Zach Agneu/Jackson Amburn/Chris Wing took to the water. More big loops, a few snappy window shades, and a Brown Claw or two made for a thrilling final heat.

With the competition complete, participants packed up and headed back to the Illusions Club at Western Caroina University for some prizes, pizza, and paddling porn. Final scores are as follows:

1^st:          Team 4 – Shannon/Trent/Tommy            219 points

2^nd:         Team 6 – Shawn/Ashley/Sam                     188 points

3^rd:         Team 8 – Zach/Jackson/Chris                      142 points

4^th:          Team 5 – Spencer/Ian/Casey                      134 points

5^th:          Team 1 – Tommy/Jay/Brad                          119 points

6^th:          Team 2 – Hugh/Mike/Paul                           118 points

7^th:          Team 3 – Andrew/Michael/Kerry             114 points

8^th:          Team 7 – Matt/Mich/Chan                          104 points

Shwag!

Ready to charge…

Many thanks go to all of our participants for starting off the 2011 World Kayak Hometown Throwdown Series off with a bang. For more information on upcoming World Kayak Events in your region check the Hometown Throwdown Site. We would like to thank all of the sponsors and supporters of this event: Base Camp Cullowhee, World Kayak, Diamond Brand, ERA, Pyranha, Jackson Kayak, Bliss-Stick, WRSI, Team Scum, Outdoor 76, LVM, River Roots, Eno, Watershed, Monster Energy, Mountain Kahki, Ripple Noseplugs, NattyShred, WCAT, and Tuck Reader.

See everyone on the water real soon,

Justin Kleberg

See more here:
2010 Nolichucky Hometown Throwdown Event #4

Write up by Jay:

The 2010 Lord of the Fork Race is in the books, with a new course this year, a record number of racers, and new men’s and women’s champions. The beautiful sunny weather must have convinced a lot of new people to show up for the race, including racers from New Zealand, Germany, and Canada. The new course started at Skunk Beach (below Fist), and ended at the usual spot below Climax.

 
The men’s champion came all the way from New Zealand and crushed the dreams of the local contenders. He was so fast that several people didn’t believe his time was correct (6:29, 18 seconds faster than the next). After extensive review of the time sheets and discussion with the timekeepers and racers, I stand by the results. He was just faster than everybody else. Brian Kirk and Isaac Levinson tied for second place, with times of 6:47. Laura Farrell was the fastest woman, with a time of 7:27, edging out Adriene Levknecht by 7 seconds.

 
Some other performances are worth mentioning. A German named Strohmeier was wicked fast in a short boat with a time of 7:24. Anne Hubner was the 3rd overall woman, with a fast time for a short boat. Dane Jackson finished with a time of 7:20, and I bet he’s going to be tough to beat next year. Keith Sprinkle, who holds the hand-paddle record for this race, raced with a paddle this year. Near the end though, he ditched the paddle, and then even ditched the boat. I assume he was just trying to go with minimal gear across the finish line. Chris Gragtmans did the first ever Ironman run, first in the long boat, then running up the tracks and through the tunnel, then taking a short boat run. We also finally have another c-1 racer, with Brad McMillan showing up for his first Russell Fork Race.

 
Once again thanks to Willy Witt for doing the start times, Eric Henrickson for providing the race bibs, Matt Walker for keeping the website updated, Bernie and Jeryl from the Whitewater Warehouse in Dayton for providing some sweet prizes, and all of the local folks for helping to set safety in the gorge. See you next year.

Jay

Place    Name    Boat    Time    Comments
1    Mike Dawson    Stinger    6:29   
2t   Bryan Kirk    Tornado    6:47    
2t   Isaac Levinson    Stinger    6:47   
4    Geoff Calhoun    Greenboat    6:50   
5    Chris Gragtmans    Greenboat    6:54   
6    Keegan Grady    Remix 100%    6:59   
7t    Chris Hipgrave    Stinger    7:06   
7t    Clay Wright    Stinger    7:06   
9    Charles King    Greenboat    7:09   
10    Ben Ledewitz    Greenboat    7:12   
11    Eric Chance    Tornado    7:13   
12    Dustin Marquart    Greenboat    7:15   
13    Dane Jackson    Crossfire    7:20   
14    Nick Troutman    Greenboat    7:21   
15    Jess Albright    Greenboat    7:22   
16    Strohmeier    Diesel 80    7:24   
17t    Laura Farrell    Greenboat    7:27    1st place K-1 W
17t    Howard Tidwell    Tornado    7:27   
17t    Jay Ditty    Stinger C1    7:27    C-1
20    Scott Magley    Greenboat    7:28   
21t    Jeff Clewell    Greenboat    7:29   
21t    Clay Warren    Greenboat    7:29   
23    Mark Robertson    Greenboat    7:32   
24    Adriene Levknecht    Stinger    7:34    2nd place K-1 W
25    Chris Gragtmans    Nomad 8.5    7:35    Ironman
26    David Herman    Greenboat    7:36   
27    Brian Mattingly    Greenboat    7:37   
28    Jon Crain    Greenboat    7:39   
29t    Steve McGrady    Greenboat    7:40   
29t    Ben Blake    Greenboat    7:40   
31t    Delaney Albright    Greenboat    7:41   
31t    Michael Patterson    T-canyon    7:41   
33    Chris Gallaway    Greenboat    7:42   
34    Russell Marcus    Greenboat    7:44   
35    Adam Bixby    Corsica    7:46   
36t    Eric Henrickson    Stinger    7:48   
36t    Eric Nies    Stinger    7:48   
38    Paul Stamilio    Greenboat    7:50   
39    Brad McMillan    Greenboat C1    7:51    C-1
40    Matt Walker    Stinger    7:54   
41    Kyle Hull    Jefe Grande    7:55   
42t    Keith Sprinkle    Stinger    7:58   
42t    Chris Wing    Momentum    7:58   
44    Anne Hubner    Zet-Raptor    7:59    3rd place K-1 W
45    Jon Dale    Greenboat    8:06   
46t    Katrina Van Wijk    Greenboat    8:08    K-1 W
46t    Jonathan Absher    Pirouette S    8:08   
46t    Mark Taylor    Jefe    8:08   
49    Stephen Page    Corsica    8:13   
50    Kirk Eddlemon    Nomad 8.5    8:15   
51    Stephen Forster    Greenboat    8:18   
52    Brian Jennings    Mystic    8:23   
53    Sarah Mello    Greenboat    8:25    K-1 W
54    Dewey Gibson    Burn    8:38   
55    Mark Miller    Burn    8:40   
56    Chuck Armentrout    Stinger    8:46   
57    Willy Witt    Jefe Grande    8:50

See more here:
Scudders Falls Hometown Throwdown #4 Results

The Slave River hydro project is dead.
That was the official word from a stark meeting room at the Smith’s Landing First Nation band office where Chief Cheyeanne Paulette, elder Francois Paulette, ATCO vice president of hydro development Doug Tenney and TransCanada representative Gavin Embury met to announce that the two sides have not reached an agreement on the Slave hydro project and never will.

“The Slave River has sustained our people since time immemorial,” Cheyeanne Paulette said. “We have a vision for the river that ensures it will continue to be a home for our people for all time, and we know many other Northerners share our vision.”

For Paulette, the 29-year-old chief first elected in June 2010, the decision to say no to the dam marks a bold start to his tenure at the head of Smith’s Landing.

The fact that he was joined at the table by his uncle, former chief Francois Paulette, one of the most influential Dene chiefs and a man who has long opposed the idea of a dam on the Slave River says much about the young chief’s influences and beliefs.

Chief Paulette was steadfast after the announcement, reiterating that there are no options for hydro-electricity projects on the Slave River.

“There was an overall direction from members that ultimately they did not want to see any hydro project on the Slave River,” Paulette said. “There was no sense in entering into feasibility studies if there was not going to be a project.”

Tenney expressed his company’s disappointment at Smith’s Landing’s decision, but said ATCO and TransCanada will respect the decision and leave the Slave River alone.

“Any economic configuration of hydro-electric generation would likely flood a portion of Smith’s Landing First Nation reserve land,” Tenney read from a prepared statement. “Smith’s Landing First Nation has determined that their vision for the Slave River is not compatible with large scale hydro development. ATCO and TransCanada understand and respect the legal and constitutional rights of Smith’s Landing First Nation and accept the decision made by Smith’s Landing First Nation.”

The Slave River hydro project has been in the works since the late 1970s. In the early 1980s the project boiled to a head, splitting the people of Fort Smith in their support or opposition to the dam.

The project at that time was eventually stopped by economic considerations, as the cost of building a transmission line from the 60th parallel to Fort Saskatchewan to connect to the provincial grid proved too expensive.

In 2006 the idea gained traction again, as ATCO and TransCanada teamed up to examine the possibility of creating what they called a “green energy corridor” of hydro-electric projects on the Athabasca, Slave and Mackenzie Rivers all the way to the Arctic Ocean with a plan to build a transmission line system to the south.

Feasibility studies for the Slave River Hydro Project were supposed to get underway in the fall of 2008, but were later pulled due to the lack of agreement with SLFN.

Since then the proponents have been back and forth to Fort Smith, meeting with local leaders to try and hammer out an agreement on feasibility studies.

Those efforts will now cease, as Tenney assured The Journal there are no alternatives for hydro power on the Slave River that would be both economical and not affect Smith’s Landing First Nation reserve land.

Both sides maintained that there was a mutual respect despite the lack of agreement.
“We’ve spent a number of years negotiating, so we’re disappointed in that sense,” Tenney said. “But we’ve talked all the time about needing a true partnership.

Ultimately you need relationships to build partnerships, and we believe we formed those relationships with Smith’s Landing and others in Fort Smith, despite not going ahead with the project.”

Due to a complex arrangement of work, travel, sunspots and planetary alignment (you buyin’ all this?) – I’m just getting to the write-up for our 8th and final Throwdown in Idaho for 2010. We finished the series off at Kelly’s Whitewater Park. We had a great turn out – good mix of youth and adults. I think everyone is pretty stoked to be able to hold these at such a great park. Here are the results and enjoy the pics!

Adult:
Jim Grossman
Devon Barker
Mike Voorhees
Matt
Willard Kneidl
Devin Hawkins

Youth:
Alec Voorhees
Hayden Voorhees
Mychal Hayes
Buey Groosman
Connor Voorhees