R I V E R S I G N A L S
C O M M E N T S
Graeme Boddy, designer of the original Riverbug, commented on the blog, Riverbugging Set to Storm Canadian Rivers: “The latest Super Riverbugs are no more like a river tube than a modern kayak is a log. Have a go in a Super Riverbug [and] you’ll be pirouetting, surfing and rolling in no time.”
Marc Gilbert commented on the blog, New National Whitewater Kayak Program: “Just got back from Kananaskis for the launch of the new Canoe Kayak Canada program. If the whole country doesn’t get into this, we’ll be missing funding and long-term development of the sport.”
Allie and Tom commented on the online feature, Rapid Media Palmer Fest 2010 Wrap-up: “What a fantastic weekend. It was our first time teaching at Palmer Fest, and definitely won’t be the last. The by-the-numbers tally is priceless.”
Andrew commented on the online feature, Eric Jackson’s Budweiser Sponsorship Controversy: “Whitewater is a sufficiently hostile environment that your average person will not attempt it just because they saw a picture of it being done. People who win these kayaks will most likely paddle on the lake or calm rivers. I find it unlikely that we will see a rash of deaths in class V rivers by people in Budweiser boats, or that more people will be drinking while boating.”
www.rapidmag.com/features and
www.rapidmag.com/blogs
Read and comment on our daily online features and blogs. We’ll print your best comments in the next issue.
D I G I T A L E D I T I O N S Freestyle is Dead
Conor Mihell writes about going guided in this issue’s “Full Immersion.” Read Mihell’s essay on the future of freestyle in our Summer/Fall 2009 issue.
Forty-fi ve seconds of fame. PHOTO MATT CORKE
P H O T O S
Brant Lake, New York, local Scott Francisco lines up Agers Falls on the Bottom Moose. PHOTO PATRICK ROGERS
www.rapidmag.com/photo-gallery
Share and view paddling photos. We’ll feature your best photos in the next issue.
F E A T U R E D V I D E O
Rapid Media TV: Episode 4
Rapid publisher and Rapid Media TV host Scott MacGregor takes you behind the scenes at this year’s Palmer Fest.
www.rapidmag.com/videos Watch all Rapid Media TV episodes and the latest whitewater films. Or, login and upload your own videos.
F O R U M S BY CONOR MIHELL
the ledged bedrock undercarriage of Bus Eater, and stops to spend more than an hour surfi ng at Pushbutton, a mellow cresting wave at the top of a narrow chute. Lambert plays competently, linking cartwheels with blunts and fl at spins in the fl uid, freeform dance of freestyle kayaking. T is is the type of paddling 48-year-old Lambert lives for—the rejuvenating, non-competitive river running playboating that keeps him busy 60 to 70 days each year. Lambert can understand why some boaters will sit in line for hours in the height of summer
O
waiting for the sheer joy of butt-bouncing on the glassy face of fast-moving water. What he fi nds bewildering, however, is why some paddlers don numbered bibs, partake in judged 45-second wave rides and spend the rest of their day under a tree, waiting for results to be posted. “A very small group of very skilled, very committed athletes participate in competitive freestyle and no one else really notices,” says Lambert, who lives in Haliburton, Ontario. “I lost interest in it a long time ago. As much as I love playboating, watching someone else do it is a bit like watching paint dry.”
www.rapidmag.com 21
n a cold, foggy day, T om Lambert plays his six-foot freestyle kayak down the Ottawa River in the low water levels of November. Except for his party of four boaters, the river is empty. He catches a trashy ride on the pulsing foam pile of Garburator, bypasses
“Clean your boat so it doesn’t get dirt on the pool deck…and make a routine of a couple of things you’d like to work on during the hour. RUSS, RE: POOL SESSION TIPS
8 Rapid summer/fall 2010
www.rapidmag.com/digital-magazines
“I think the answer is yes... he did sell out. But isn’t that what high profile athletes are supposed to do?”
JEFF STRANO, RE: DID ERIC JACKSON SELL OUT KAYAKING?
“I think that this is a good idea as the standards were varied [before] and there has been room for improvement. Lets hope it works.”
GREG, RE: WHITEWATER INSTRUCTOR RECERTIFICATION
www.rapidmag.com/forums Follow and join the discussions. We’ll print some of your best posts in the next issue.
All Washed Up
AT THE DAWN OF THE 2009 WORLD FREESTYLE CHAMPIONSHIPS, RAPID ASKS THE QUESTION:DOES ANYONE CARE?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48