September 13, 2011
 

Dear Wildwater Racers and Friends:

Upcoming wildwater/downriver racinginclude the ANIMAL Upper Gauley Race on September 19th; the Chattanooga Canoe/Kayak Race on October 1st; and the Senior Wildwater Team Trials on October 15-16.

Last year, the winners in the Upper Gauley Race included Geoff Calhoun in the K-1 Wildwater category with a time of 48:15.50, Jack Ditty in the C-1 Wildwater category with a time of 54:30.14 and Ben Ledewitz in the K-1 Wavehopper/Speeder category with a time of 53:18.51. Who will be the winners this year?

The Chattanooga Canoe/Kayak Race on October 1st is billed as the "Canoe & Kayak and sUpsplash Series Championships". This event will be held at Ross' Landing on the Tennessee River at Chattanooga's 21st Century Waterfront.

The Senior Wildwater Team Trials will be held on the Russell Fork River near Elkhorn City, Kentucky. The Team Trials will determine which athletes will be on the 2012 USA Wildwater Team and eligible to represent the USA in the 2012 Wildwater World Championships. Jack Ditty is doing an awesome job organizing this event. Go to the official website (see link below) for the latest information about the race and to pre-register.

Bids are being requested from race organizing committees to host the 2012 USA Wildwater National Events. The events include the 2012 USA Wildwater National Championships, 2012 USA Wildwater Senior Team Trials (for selecting the 2013 team), 2012 Eastern USA Wildwater Junior Team Trials and 2012 Western USA Wildwater Junior Team Trials. Bids are to be sumbitted in writing by October 12th. See the related article for details.

We are also seeking nominees to run for election to the USACK Wildwater Committee (WWC) for the 2012-2013 term. The related article in this e-Zine describes the nomination and election processes. If you would like to serve on the WWC or know of someone who you feel would be a good nominee (and be willing to serve), please send your nomination to Gerald Babao, USACK headquarters, by email (gerald@usack.org) no later than November 20, 2011.

Finally, I included links to news about the recently completed 43rd Southeastern U. S. Wildwater Championships and NOC Canoe Club Challenge and the 2011 Junior Wildwater World Championships.

Chuck Brabec
Editor & Webmaster, USAWildwater.com