2012/2013 Wildwater Committee
November 30, 2011 -- Canvas, WV
The following names have been submitted for nomination to the USACK Wildwater Committee for the 2012/2013 term.
| Position | Nominee |
| Chairman | Seth Eisner |
| Vice-Chairman | Jeremy Rodgers |
| Treasurer | Tom O'Sullivan |
| Programs & Events Coordinator | Denny Adams |
| Rankings/Newsletter Editor/Webmaster | Charles (Chuck) Brabec |
| Western Athlete Representative | Tom Wier |
| Eastern Athlete Representative | Kurt Smithgall |
Election Process:
- All votes must be submitted by email to Gerald Babao at gerald@usack.org no later than
December 10, 2011.
- All voters must be USACK (WWC affiliate) Members in good standing.
- Choose no more than one nominee for each position.
(Note: This as a GREAT opportunity to renew your USACK membership so you can vote in the election and have your insurance covered for next year. You can renew your USACK membership online via the USACK website at https://member.usack.org/ website or by contacting Gerald Babao at gerald@usack.org).
Click here for a description of the nomination process and the job description for each position.
Nomminees are encouraged to send their campaign information to webmaster@usawildwater.com so I can add it to this web page.
Campaign Statements
From Seth Eisner (Nominee for Chairman)
Greetings fellow Wildwater paddlers.
Please let me take a moment to introduce myself to those who do not yet already met on the river or somewhere. My name is Seth Eisner, and I am seeking the soon-to-be-vacated post of Chairman for the Wildwater Committee.
I’m an old-timer from way back in the McEwan Valley Mill days. My time window..? Couple of years younger than Cathy Hearn, and a couple years older than Norm Bellingham. I was fortunate to be raised in the McEwan camp, and my 35 years of paddling include just about every aspect of our Wildwater sport. I’ve raced (but not all that well), team captained, coached, put on races, fund-raised, and I’ve personally contributed a ton of time and money to all facets of our sport. Some of you might even know of my FlyingKayakClub – through the clever use of mobile technology, paddlers can compete against one another, even if they’re thousands of miles apart. More to come on this soon. But back to matters…
My interest in being Chair? I’ll just say it; I have an agenda. Each year, I’d like us to become really rigorous in objectively assessing our Wildwater team. And I’d like to see us in one of three modes: Re-Building, Developing, or Mature. And I’ll put forth specific measurements so we can easily tell which mode we’re in at all times. And you know what’ll happen next – the priorities (funding/work) will align with the state of the team for that year. And when we get to November, we’ll re-evaluate, re-prioritize, and make correct adjustments for the next year. I’d like to see us re-tune for every year, and do so non-ambiguously. This is a methodical way to build strengthen and maintain an elite team. That’s my agenda, and this what I will pursue, if elected.
If, as a member of our Wildwater community, this sounds right to you, I’d appreciate your vote. And if it sounds crackers, I invite a conversation to hear more about alternative approaches.
And that’s all for now. I’d appreciate your vote. Thanks.
Seth
From Denny Adams (Nominee for Program and Events Coordinator)
A primary purpose stated in our committee bylaws is to "Promote the sport through the development of competitive, recreational, and educational programs...". Another way of looking at this three part mandate is to consider that our sport's best racers are characterized by being well taught, well trained, and passionate about our sport. No two positions on our board pertain to this mandate more than the two in which I have spent the past four years getting on the job training - Two years as events chair and two years as an at large member working in junior development. In that period, over the past five years actually, I have served as event director for a USACK/USAWildwater sponsored race -- The Glenwood Wildwater Jubilee -- which has also served as the host event for our Western US Jr Team Trials. Along with being a high level race held in the nations most pristine race setting the Jubilee is noteworthy for being a three day event with components that promote recreational wildwater and education. Other "events" experience includes 8 years serving as a race volunteer for the FIBArk wildwater races (including at several US Wildwater Nationals) and for other National Championship such as the Jr Olympic Wildwater event and the ACA Downriver and Slalom Nationals. On the side I am a USACK Wildwater Club sponsor and a regional paddling club president for the Western Association to Enjoy Rivers.
Our USACK club, the Great Blue Herons, is one of four racing clubs in my region that have done a great job of developing racers through the Colorado Cup Race Series. Simply put my hope is that we can build on this regional model to have a stronger domestic Wildwater program. To do so we need to hold more training events, encourage more recreational wildwater paddling, build more training groups, and ultimately have more bona fide racers and more high quality races to show for our ICF/USACK governed sport than we currently have. When that foundation is in place developing high level international competitors will be realistic. My hope is to be able to work with others of a like mind to make these things happen.
Thanks for your support,
Denny Adams
From Chuck Brabec (Nominee for Rankings/Newsletter Editor/Webmaster)
I was elected to this position in late 2007 and I agreed to be nominated to serve in the same position for 2012/2013. In addition, I have been the Webmaster and Newsletter (e-Zine) Editor since the summer of 2004.
I will continue to be an active member of the USACK Wildwater Committee. I will also be as responsive as possible to requests for updates to our website. I will produce and distribute our newsletter (e-zine) in a timely fashion and will update the rankings file for the current year as often as I receive (or can find) the results of all wildwater races.
Thanks for your support,
Chuck Brabec
From Tom Wier (Nominee for Western Athlete Representative)
I have been the Western Athlete Representative on the wildwater committee since 2002. In that time, I have tried to bring the views of the wildwater racers west of the Mississippi to the wildwater committee.
I believe that wildwater in the United States will benefit most by funding development first. Training camps for those new to wildwater are essential, but we also need to hold small elite camps for those with more experience.
I have argued for tighter team qualification requirements and tighter percentages to qualify for performance funding, and I will continue to do so. The U.S. Wildwater Team can only improve if the athletes are held to higher standards.
Thanks for your support,
Tom Wier