S T A N D I N G W A V E S
THE CANADIANS ARE COMING!
INTERNATIONAL WHITEWATER HALL OF FAME WILL SOON INCLUDE NON-AMERICANS
Photo: Dave Duncan
Excellent teaching and an active paddling community defi nes us. Our commitment is to make it easy for you to get outside, paddle safely and enjoy Ontario’s beautiful rivers. Set in tall pines on the Madawaska River, we are just a short paddle to the rapids. Join us.
Canoe & kayak instruction Beginner to advanced Kids’ programs River rescue
Madawaska River campsite Open to all
Book a course online or call us 1.888.233.3929
info@paddlerco-op.com www.paddlerco-op.com
18
Bill Mason leads the Canadian invasion. PHOTO: BILL MASON PRODUCTIONS
THE HISTORY OF WHITEWATER paddling is all about courageous paddlers pushing them- selves and our sport forward on rivers from Alaska to Africa, from Siberia to the Andes. Too bad then, that when the International
Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHOF) named its first class of inductees last fall the “internation- al” component was lacking. All of the first six inductees were from the United States. As whitewater paddling’s only hall of fame,
the IWHOF was created to honour those who’ve made “significant contributions to whitewater education, competition and recre- ation throughout the world.” Now IWHOF executive director Susan Taft is
trying to bring more of an international feel to the institution before the actual hall, now under construction in Maryland, is opened in 2007. Taft admits that the selection process was
prone to bias in choosing its first class. The hall solicited nominations from 15 organiza- tions—magazines and national and interna- tional paddling bodies—13 of which are based in the United States. For the 2006 nominations Taft is expanding
the list of affiliate organizations by working with new groups in Italy, Slovakia, Slovenia, Australia and South Africa. Rapid Media and the Canadian Canoe Association are the two
Canadian affiliates. Rapid publisher Scott MacGregor says he’d like to see Bill Mason inducted this year. “Bill Mason is more of a legend than a hero,
nevertheless his Path of the Paddle book and videos have inspired more people to explore rivers than anyone else,” says MacGregor. Susan Taft speculated that slalom paddler
Hermann Kerchoff might be another Canadian candidate. Kerchoff competed in the 1972 Olympics and helped to introduce whitewater kayaking to eastern Canada by founding On- tario’s Madawaska Kanu Centre in 1972. Another potential Canadian for the hall is
David Ford, who became the first non-Euro- pean to ever win a world championship in K1 slalom in 1999 and in 2003 added a World Cup title to his list of achievements. But for Taft, the champions category should belong to the Europeans. “North Americans are real late-comers when
it comes to slalom,” says Taft, naming Czech Milo Duffek, Briton Richard Fox and German Tony Prijon as likely European candidates. The first class of inductees included
Bob McNair, Rob Lesser, Davey Hearn, Jon Lugbill, Payson Kennedy and Charles Walbridge. This year’s inductees will be an- nounced in August. —Conor Mihell
RAPID
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 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52