Wednesday, June 30, 2010

2 Days Until...

ACA Annual Awards
...the 2010 ACA Award Nomination Forms are available!

Put your thinking cap on and nominate someone who has made a positive difference in your area for paddlesports. They could be from your paddling club, local water stewardship organization, the paddlesports industry, a volunteer at an event, or an ACA instructor.

For complete information, visit: www.americancanoe.org/awards

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Sugar Island


Join ACA members and paddling enthusiasts from across the United States at Sugar Island for the ACA's Annual Encampment.

Dates: July 25 - August 16th

Stay for a night or a week!

Families are welcome.

The ACA continues to protect the pristine Sugar Island on the U.S. - Canada border.

Learn more about this exclusive ACA member benefit.

Monday, June 28, 2010

Northern Forest Canoe Trail


Under the guidance of former ACA Board Members Rob Center and Jeff Liebel, the Northern Forest Canoe Trail continues to grow and provide a range of paddling and educational opportunities for youth and adults.
Join the ACA at the NFCT's 10th Anniversary Party in Rangeley, Maine on July 24th.

The ACA continues to support the great work being done on this pristine water trail, see how...

Want to learn about Water Trails across the country, click here.

Sunday, June 27, 2010

ACA Diversity

ACA BoD Paddle Trip
Prior to this weekend's ACA Board of Director meeting, several Board members and staff got out on the water and paddled a section of the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, VA.

Notice the diversity of paddling styles!

2 whitewater kayaks (Robin Pope & Larry Ausley)
1 hybrid kayak (Jeremy Oyen)
1 solo whitewater canoe (Josh Hall)
1 downriver racing canoe (Kirk Havens)
2 canoe polers (Matt Swift & photographer Chris Stec)

Representing paddlers with each and every stroke.

Friday, June 25, 2010

America's Great Outdoors Initiative

America's Great Outdoors
Join the ACA today in Annapolis, MD or Monday in Charleston, SC:

Please join senior representatives from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for a public listening session and discussion in the Longleaf pine region of South Carolina on conservation, recreation, and reconnecting people to the outdoors. The session will be held June 28th from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. in Charleston, South Carolina.


This past April, at the White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors, President Obama signed a memorandum establishing the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to develop a conservation agenda worthy of the 21st century and to reconnect Americans with our great outdoors. The President understands that protecting and restoring the lands and waters that we love and reconnecting people to the outdoors must happen at the local level.


Therefore, President Obama directed the principal leaders of the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to travel across the country to listen and learn from people directly involved in finding grassroots solutions to conserving our lands and waters and reconnecting Americans to the outdoors. The President indicated that the sessions should engage the full range of interested groups, including tribal leaders, farmers and ranchers, sportsmen, community park groups, foresters, youth groups, businesspeople, educators, State and local governments, and recreation and conservation groups.

In the Longleaf pine region, a diverse partnership of federal and state agencies, non-governmental organizations and private landowners have successfully collaborated to restore the longleaf pine ecosystem using an integrated landscape approach. While more remains to be done, this collaborative exemplifies an ecosystem-based restoration effort that is improving communities’ natural resources and providing cleaner water, improved critical habitat for sensitive species, and an economic resource for the future.

The June 28th public listening session and discussion is an opportunity for leaders of the America’s Great Outdoors Initiative to hear from you and other voices in the Longleaf pine region about solutions for building a 21st century conservation and recreation agenda and for reconnecting people with the outdoors. Please join us.

Here are the details:

Listening Session and Discussion Information:

When:
Monday, June 28th, 1:00 – 5 p.m.
Where:
Founders Hall
Charles Towne Landing State Historic Site
1500 Old Towne Road
Charleston, SC

Who: Senior Washington, D.C. and local leadership from USDA, DOI and DOD will be present to hear your thoughts and to participate in a conversation with you about America’s Great Outdoors.

Please Register This event is free and open to the public. For planning purposes it would be helpful if you would pre-register by Thursday June 24 by sending an email to cforney@fs.fed.us with your name, the name of the organization with which you are affiliated, if any, and your telephone number.

We will make every effort to accommodate everyone.In the event you are unable to participate in person, please submit your comments and stories via the America’s Great Outdoors website at http://www.doi.gov/americasgreatoutdoors/.
If you have questions, please call Carol Forney at (803) 561-4002. We hope you will participate and look forward to hearing from you.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Help the Cheat River

Support Friends of the Cheat
Friends of the Cheat needs your vote to become one of 200 Charities that receives money from Chase Community Giving. FOC is a watershed group that does acid mine drainage cleanup in the Cheat Basin and maintains four river access areas in the lower Cheat Basin for paddlers. Donations like this are critical to our success. Please pass the word and cast your vote. It only takes a minute and every vote counts!

Vote for the Cheat River!

Thanks to ACA Instructor Trainer Educator Charlie Walbridge for helping with this effort.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Expedition Account

Expedition Kayaker Freya Hoffmeister
9,400 miles...

Listen to Freya Hoffmeister speak about her circumnavigation of Australia!

Date: Saturday, June 26
Time: 5pm
Location:
Eastern Mountain Sports store
200 Harker Place
Annapolis, MD

For more noteworthy paddlesports events across the country, please visit the ACA Event Calendar.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Coastal Kayak Instructors

Kayaking Ocean Rock Gardens
The DVD: Kayaking Ocean Rock Gardens is now available on the ACA eStore.

Join ACA Instructor Trainer Educator John Lull as he takes you through all you need to know about kayaking in this challenging ocean environment.

Monday, June 21, 2010

Open Canoe Racing

The ACA & ASCI
The ACA teams up with Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI) to bring you the 2010 North American Open Canoe Slalom National Championships.

Mark your calendars to be in Deep Creek, MD in early August for this classic event.

Friday, June 18, 2010

New ACA Member Benefit

ACA Member Benefit - Green River Adventures
Green River Adventures

Green River Adventures has joined a range of other entities in offering ACA members a discount at their store in Saluda, NC.

Just show your ACA Membership Card at chekcout and receive 10% off.

For more tangible, and intangible, reasons to support the ACA, click here.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Vote for Adaptive Paddling


ACA Instructor Kathy Ann Neal needs your vote to receive a $25,000 grant from Pepsi to bring an ADAPTIVE PADDLING program to Savannah, GA.
You can vote up to 10 times a day until July 1st.
Help her out with this GREAT opportunity.
Vote here

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

ACA Annual Awards

ACA Annual Awards
Every year, the ACA recognizes individuals and organizations from across the country for their exemplary service to paddlesports at the National Paddlesports Conference.

The 2010 ACA Award Nomination Forms will be available on Friday, July 2.

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Let's Go Paddling


Did you know, June is Let's Go Paddling month!
The ACA is a partner in the endeavor to "get people outside and on the water!"
  • World Kayak
  • National Park Service
  • USACK
  • National Wildlife Refuge
  • President's Challenge Program
  • Rapid Media
  • America's Sate Parks

Monday, June 14, 2010

Giving back through Competition


ACA volunteers in Maine are giving back, and in a big way.

In 2009, ACA New England gave more than $4,000 to a range of local and state charities, including several that directly benefited youth. All ofthe money was raised during local and national canoe and kayak races.

What a great idea: compete, have fun, give back!

Read the article in the Bangor Daily News.

Learn more about the ACA's Community Responsibility initiative.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Curious...

2009 ACA Annual Report
as to what the ACA does for paddlers on a daily basis?

View the 2009 Annual Report and find out!

There might even be a preview of things to come in 2010.
Enjoy!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Swim Safe Lowcountry

Wear It! - Adults and children
The ACA's Paddle Safe - Paddle Smart youth development program has made it to the South Carolina lowcountry.

To see how the ACA's program is being used by Charleston County Parks & Recreation to promote water safety, click here.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

NC Drowning


ACA Board Member Sam Fowlkes assists local swiftwater rescue team on Tuckasegee River.


Remember, always wear your lifejacket.
Read the Top 5 Safety Tips from the ACA.

Monday, June 7, 2010

Have you heard?

Photo Courtesy of Sam Fowlkes of Whitewater-Rescue.com

Currently certified ACA Instructors and Instructor Trainers can get CASH BACK, (yes cash back) for any individual they get to join the ACA.


Help others learn about the benefits of joining America's oldest paddlesports organization, and put a little GREEN back in your wallet.


Learn more about this Instructor Incentive Program...

Saturday, June 5, 2010

Support for Valerie Fons

Valerie Fons

Those of you who attended the 2009 ACA National Paddlesports Conference in Fredericksburg will remember keynote speaker Valerie Fons and her many accomplishments.
Shortly after the 2009 convention, Valerie learned that she had acute lymphoblastic leukemia, and on May 6 she received a bone marrow transplant at the Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle. She is making good progress, but already the bills associated with long-distance care are beginning to mount. Funds to help Valerie through the long treatment and recovery are being raised through the National Transplant Foundation.
To help Valerie, please click here.
To read her daily blog, visit: http://valeriefons.blogspot.com/
Moral support is also welcome. Cards and letters can be sent to:
Valerie Fons
c/o Pete Gross House
Room 603
525 Minor Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109.

Friday, June 4, 2010

GRWCR in Fredericksburg, VA

GRWCR Course Map
The Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race takes place this weekend in historic Fredericksburg, VA.

For beginners and advanced paddlers alike, this race on the Rappahannock River is a true classic.

For more information about this event and others across the country, visit the ACA National Event Calendar.

Thursday, June 3, 2010

Paddle America Club Update

Paddling Clubs are a great place to learn
Looking for a group of like minded paddlers in your area?

Let the ACA help you, use our Paddle America Club look-up tool to find them.

Connect with your local paddling club here and have a great time out on the water.

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

World Record Event




This Weekend!
Paddle at the Point - June 5, 2010

Be a part of history!

As part of the World Environment Day on June 5, 2010, Pittsburgh will attempt to break the Guinnes World Record for the Largest Raft of Canoes & Kayaks. This record was most recently set (2009) at Inlet, NY by a group of 1,104 boats. The record was previously set in Cleveland, OH (2001).

The record attempt will involve a flotilla, a free-floating raft of kayaks and canoes held together by hand. Paddlers will launch their boats from convenient locations downtown and for a raft near Point State Park. Once arranged, each paddler will pull-up his / her paddle and hold onto an adjacent boat for 30 seconds - long enough to satisfy the record attemp requirements and for an aerial photograph.

Bring your own boat, or rent one for just $15. For more information and to register, visit
http://www.paddleatthepoint.com/

To be safe on the water - check out the
Top Ten Safety Tips for paddlers.

For other events in your area, be sure to visit the
ACA Event Calendar.

Paddle Safe & Paddle Often
Jeremy & Andrew
Safety Education, Instruction & Outreach Department
sei@americancanoe.org