Dear Friends of Slalom:

As many of you know, I've been disconcerted by the direction our great sport has taken, and I want to do something to change it. Since I wrote my first draft of this "Future of Slalom" plan in June, I've had the time to consult with many of you and get your ideas. Based on that I now want to present to you both a vision of what I think we can become, and a plan for how we can get there.

Then, I want to get your reactions to the plan, and ask for your help in carrying it out. These things are not going to get better on their own. Let us make them happen.

FUTURE OF US SLALOM

Here are some snapshots from a very possible future:

Slalom races as festivals, with crowds of excited competitors and spectators, young and old.

National championships with hundreds of competitors. Team races at major national events.

Young athletes attending slalom training camps over the summer, week after week, held in conjunction with major races, with coaching help from US 'A' and 'B' team members.

Joint camps and competitions with freestyle boaters and extreme boaters, a cross-pollination of technique and enthusiasm.

The Senior team again taking its place in the forefront of the slalom results and slalom promotion.

A full US Junior team competing at the Junior World Championships (which has never been done before), and winning medals there, too.

Exchanges with foreign countries at all levels, so all our boaters benefit from this extraordinary aspect of international sport.

Government agencies taking slalom into account every time they decommission a dam, or build a water park.

We could make this happen.

TODAY

Whitewater slalom participation in the US has not been at this low a level since 1969, when it was announced that slalom would be included in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. There are half the number of competitors in the US slalom nationals now as there were in 1985--a time when slalom had not been a part of the Olympic program since Munich, and few thought it would ever be again.

It's easy to identify some of the reasons why participation has shrunk. Twenty-first century life features an increasing competition for our time and attention. Both children and parents are more tightly scheduled than ever--the "soccer mom" is a modern archetype--with television and the internet filling in what little time may be left over. In this competitive atmosphere slalom has, in effect, withdrawn into itself; the vast majority of its funds have been directed to the senior team, with the junior team receiving most of the remains. Development receives next to nothing. Despite the crucial importance of internet presence, there's no slalom website. (Even tiny downriver has its own website!) The message that slalom has unintentionally been sending to the country is: "Don't bother to try our sport. We've got enough athletes." Meanwhile, other adventure sports, including other canoe/kayak disciplines, have broadened their public appeal through high-profile, prize-money events, and alliances with manufacturers and media.

THE OPPORTUNITY

Whitewater sport is regularly featured in TV commercials and advertising campaigns. Millions of people are exposed to whitewater on commercial rafting trips each year--every one of whom is a potential supporter of slalom. Two new multi-million dollar whitewater complexes provide venues for high-profile international events, as well as for elite training and development. The internet bring opportunities for networking slalom programs across our large and diverse country. Even the increase in young people's "screen time" brings opportunity, as parents and educators are looking for ways to get their children and pupils outdoors. "No child left inside" is the slogan of one state initiative. A handful of dedicated volunteers and slalom enthusiasts have demonstrated some of slalom's potential. The Junior Olympics are a thriving festival that includes freestyle, wildwater, and boater-cross events. Entry-level programs have little difficulty finding willing young paddlers and enthusiastic parents. The potential is there. But in most areas--including those with wonderful facilities and a tradition of slalom competition--slalom has dropped out of sight. You can't compete if you don't enter.

Shall we send in our entry?

THE PLAN

I believe that whitewater slalom needs to raise and spend its own funds. To do this effectively, it needs its own nonprofit fundraising organization. USACK is a National Governing Body, an umbrella that covers dragon boat racing, sprint, marathon, freestyle, canoe polo, downriver, outrigger, and other disciplines. USAWS currently considers itself a sports division committee whose main concerns are scheduling and the intricacies of team selection. Slalom is not organized because there is no slalom organization. With a fundraising organization to back it, USAWS could become an agent of development and change. As I see it, slalom's twin, complementary goals should be, 1) widespread participation, and 2) success on the international racing scene. (My "Too Long Musing on our Slalom Mission" is right next to this on the Newsletters page, if you're curious.)

A central goal of the new organization will be to support local and regional clubs. It is estimated that at this time there are only two or three clubs in the country that provide five-day-a-week coached workouts. Through a combination of direct financial support for coaching and the purchase of boats, the networking of existing clubs, the providing of promotional materials, the running of workshops for prospective coaches, and assistance with local fundraising, the potential exists to quickly grow this number to include clubs which either have equipment and facilities that are underused, or clubs that in the recent past had active programs--an estimated twelve to twenty. In addition, the elite program can be directly helped by further strengthening existing training centers that, in comparison to the rest of the country, may already seem strong. The centers themselves can benefit from being used for training camps and special projects.

We will not forget, however, that racers love to race; they improve as racers with racing; and nothing generates local interest and enthusiasm so much as races. Another crucial priority for the organization will be to create a performance infrastructure for the sport--a coordinated schedule of local, regional, and continental competitions to complement the existing top national events. A simplified national ranking system, updated online, could provide for weekly feedback. Innovative competitions will be explored as well: giant slaloms, joint events with other disciplines (e.g. "Triple-Crown" TM championships, in collaboration with downriver and freestyle), and other festivals and events.

Another high priority will be the forging of alliances with other groups: our brother whitewater sports of freestyle, wildwater, boater cross, and extreme racing; related associations such as the ACA and the AWA; other USACK disciplines such as canoe polo, sprint, and marathon; our Canadian neighbors; rafting companies, kayak and equipment manufacturers; middle and high schools, colleges and universities, other nonprofits, government agencies; and a wide range of other natural allies.

Finally, the new organization will assist the US Team coaches and athletes in ways that have yet to be developed.

FUNDRAISING

Although it is tempting to focus on that riveting question, "How we will spend our money," the less entertaining question really should receive at least equal attention: "How will we raise the money?"

I estimate that a competitive US program, still a fraction of the size of the larger European (or Chinese!) programs, would cost between one and three million dollars a year. Just as it will take the combined efforts of a large number of people to carry out the development steps outlined here, it will take a widespread effort to bring the fundraising up to the desired level. As we begin, this will be a largely volunteer enterprise. Here is a sketch of the steps required:

--Solicit donations from core group of slalom enthusiasts and their friends and contacts.

--Design mailing for all those who have kayaked in recent years--as identified by schools, manufacturers, etc.--with an attractive, inexpensive "buy-in."

--Next, extend the fundraising to all those who have rafted in the past year. Create relationships with the nation's rafting community.

--Identify companies that would benefit from association with the fresh, clean, fun, young image of whitewater slalom, and establish sponsorship relationships.

WHY BOTHER?

Whitewater slalom is a fabulous lifetime sport with a deep appeal: chaotic, precise, beautiful, daring. I've done a number of other sports in my life, and I've observed many more, and I can tell you that slalom is pretty unusual in training the participants to think for themselves. Although top competitors receive a lot of help, they are also independent, creative, and self-willed, taking final responsibility for their success or failure. Slalom is an education in itself. An Olympic champion in swimming once commented that swimming was easy because he didn't have to think since his coach did all the thinking, and all he had to do was swim. You're not going to hear that said about slalom.

I've greatly enjoyed the whitewater itself, my fellow racers, and the places slalom has taken me. I've both traveled and lived abroad because of slalom, and learned a lot about foreign countries ranging from France to Russia to Bhutan. I'd like to see others take advantage of these opportunities.

I've experienced the great satisfaction of introducing slalom to new participants. Some are naturally gifted athletes who also makes a success of slalom; others are kids who don't find team sports appealing, and who aren't good at ball sports in general. (I was one of those.) Slalom can be a great way to pull these kids into athletics, to get them active and outside.

And even more than in most sports, kids don't have to win to benefit from participation. Every time a kid passes successfully through a slalom gate, or does an Eskimo roll, or surfs a tricky hole for the first time, he or she feels a little jolt of personal accomplishment. I love seeing kids of all sorts grow wide-eyed as they look back at a rapid they have just negotiated--and then glow with the irreplaceable pride of their own physical and psychological competence.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

I hope I've interested you in the fun and rewards of becoming part of a thriving slalom program. So, what can you do? What help will the Foundation, and the slalom committee, need?

We need, first of all, good ideas. I've already been the beneficiary of a lot of great discussion in the last few months, but there's always room for more. We especially need some clear-headed and creative ideas about fundraising.

We will need help with the new Foundation and with the leadership on the national level. I believe there may be some changes made in the structure of both USACK and USAWS boards, and I am hoping that both organizations are in the process of revitalizing themselves. The call has just been made for nominations to both boards; if you're a USACK member, you should have received notice.

And then, of course, most importantly, we will need help in running races, organizing, fundraising, and coaching, at the club level--that's where the rubber meets the road. New clubs need to be founded, and old clubs revitalized. Is there a club nearby? If not, can there be?

We've taken part in the history of slalom. Let's take part in its future, as well.