May 1, 2006
-- Atlanta, GA
USA Canoe/Kayak named The 2006 Wildwater Teams today. “We should be extremely proud of our athletes
who have committed to compete abroad in 2006” exclaims John Pinyerd, USA Wildwater Chairman. “Not only
did our athletes compete to make the USA team, they have elected to compete in Europe in spite of all
sorts of challenges this year including high ticket prices, the threat of “bird flu” and a less than
perfect venue in the shallow and relatively easy rapid at this years World Championships in Kalovy Vary.
However, I suspect that this year's team would rise to virtually any challenge.”
The solo canoe (C-1) team will be led by Tom Wier who ranked 5th in World Competition in 2005. Tom
will be joined by John Pinyerd, a 20+ year veteran of the sport who ranked 18th in 2005.
The men’s Kayak Team will be led by Geoff Calhoun and Andrew McEwan who finished in the top 20 in
last years rankings. Geoff’s specialty is sprinting and Andrew is our top distance athlete. Veteran
Chris Hipgrave who is nearly as fast in both events will help provide leadership as well as solid
performances. The final position will be split by David Jones who qualified for the distance position
and Eric Orenstein in the Sprints. “Both should be commended on their performance this year as David
has been on a dozen teams over the years and can still qualify for a berth and Eric is a bright and
shining future star of our sport”, according to Chris Hipgrave, who is also the Director of Olympic
Sports for USA Canoe/Kayak.
Bern Collins, a 40 year veteran of our sport who has “seen it all” believes that “our Masters Team
has real medal potential again this year”. The team is lead by 2005 C-1 silver medalist John Pinyerd,
bronze medalist Chris Hipgrave, Maurizio Tognocci and Bern Collins. They are pleased to have medal
favorite David Jones as a team member as well as Mike Beck, Mike Harris, and David Mason “who all also
have real medal potential.”
The complete 2006 Wildwater Team roster is below:
