Hello whitewater alumni and friends,

I'm heading down to the Olympic Trials in Charlotte soon, and want to get off a few notes, plus a guest essay by Eric Jackson, before I go. It should be a great race, by the way, with athletes, I'm told, from eight foreign countries in attendance, all hoping to gain an extra Olympic berth or so in the simultaneous Pan Am Cup race.

--Note one: There will be a C-1W class at this year's Pre-World Championships in Spain, and at next year's worlds.

--Note two: The USWTAF reunion will be held in McHenry, MD at the ASCI course, the evening before the slalom nationals, August 29, at 7 PM. Details to follow.

--Note three: Here's a better write-up about the Wildwater Nationals. The reunion is likely to be Saturday night, August 2nd.
Zoar Outdoor, has once again been awarded the bid to host the Wildwater National Championships on the Deerfield River in Western Massachusetts. This event scheduled for August 1 – 3, 2008 has been designated an international race by the International Canoe Federation’s Chairman, Jens Perlwitz. "The Deerfield River is a wonderful wildwater venue and our 2007 Nationals were well attended by the Canadians. We expect the 2008 race to be very well attended by racers from the US, Canada and potentially other countries", states John Pinyerd, USA Wildwater Committee Programs and Events Director.

Zoar Outdoor has a long history of running national and international races on the Deerfield River and last hosted this event in 2007. Last year was such a success that Zoar was asked to submit a bid again for this year's event. During the 1990s, Zoar hosted a number of national competitions on the Deerfield River including the Slalom Nationals, Junior Team Trials, Open-Boat Nationals, and the Wildwater Nationals in 1993 and 1995.

The actual races will be held on Saturday, August 2nd and Sunday August 3rd and will include classes for Juniors, Masters and Grand Masters levels to encourage more paddlers to participate. For more information, please contact the Race Director, Karen Blom via email: karen@zoaroutdoor.com.

Karen Blom /Public Relations
Ph: 800-532-7483
fax: 413-337-8436
email: info@zoaroutdoor.com
website: www.zoaroutdoor.com

And below, a guest essay by current Freestyle World Champion, and slalom Olympian, Eric Jackson. I welcome the idea of starting up a dialogue about the past and future of whitewater sport in this country, and hope you will all find this as fun and stimulating as seeing E.J. throwing big air moves on his favorite wave. Jamie McEwan
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Free Spirits on the Water
by Eric Jackson

Is being an American whitewater athlete any different than any other countries athletes? This is a question worth answering, because there is something special about USA kayak athletes that we should understand and preserve.

My first introduction to the USA difference was by my coach, Bill Endicott in 1984. Bill is a thinker, a real Winston Churchill kind of guy. “The difference between the amateur and professional soldier is; the Amateur focuses on tactics, while the professional focuses on logistics.” (Winston Churchill) Bill called the USA posse of training athletes the commandos, and he was the Commando Commander. He likened us to a small group of dedicated athletes, who by sheer will power, and attention by the coaches, would earn themselves the talent to win races. While he likened the major competition, athletes from Europe, to a large mass of athletes, outnumbering USA athlete 10 to 1 in many countries, where the simple numbers of athletes would ultimately let the few great ones rise to the top. It was always a “we are outgunned,” but we will make it up in desire, and sheer will power.

Something else is true with American athletes, that, to me, represents one of the greatest things America has to offer, and seeing it come to fruition in the USA, makes me proud of my heritage, and the American way. (I am not a super patriot and don’t like so many things America, the country does, but I love what the American individual brings to the world). This is the level of personal responsibility American athletes bring to the table, for their own skill set, for the development of new techniques, equipment, and ideas that allow us to dominate our sport. The American C1's over a 20 year period were the untouchables. You can credit the newest C1 designs with a squirtable stern, and all of the techniques that were developed because of it, or the intense training methods, and competitive spirit of the training group. There was also the “you teach me, and I’ll support you” approach by Bill Endicott that allowed the best C1’s to rapidly create their own techniques and ideas, instead of being stifled by coaches and ideas whose time had passed. However, what it all boiled down to is that these guys were creating themselves, their equipment, and the techniques required to use their new, better equipment. The result was a learning curve that no amount of dedicated training by European athletes to perfect their outdated techniques with the best physical, mental, and technical coaches in the world could touch the American’s pioneering spirit.

The same thing just happened in USA Freestyle Athletes. Nearly total domination over the past decade can be credited to the athletes creating their own, better boats, being void of coaches that try to teach things that have already been done, instead of athletes forging ahead trying to do what nobody has ever done before. The result is an explosion of techniques and equipment, much like the C1s of the 80’s, that can’t be beat.

What I like most about this phenomenon, is that it can only happen with a true “free spirit”, unhindered by society’s attempt to standardize the individual, to fit them into a mold. In the USA, we have more people who are willing to tell their teachers, government, and peers to take a hike, and do it their own way. Those are the makers, shakers, and doers of the world. Nobody ever broke new ground in any arena, by following the footsteps of others. In the USA, we go out of our way to “do it our way”, not to be different, but because we somehow inherited the spirit of our ancestors, who came to America for that single reason.

USA Kayaking- a tradition of non-tradition, worth perpetuating!