Rapid Media & Outdoor Retailer

Palmer Rapids, ON, June 27, 2011 – Building on the success of last year's alliance, a newly-inked agreement between Outdoor Retailer and Rapid Media aims to produce the most engaging, informative and interactive Outdoor Retailer Summer Market Paddle Zone to date.

The agreement follows a request for proposal (RFP) process that was conducted by Outdoor Retailer earlier this spring. Rapid Media responded with a comprehensive plan to build on the initial groundbreaking treatment accomplished in the 2010 Paddle Zone. The 2011 strategy includes an updated New Product Preview, as well as a packed schedule of athlete and multimedia presentations.

"Fourteen years ago, with my little upstart whitewater magazine Rapid, I wandered the aisles of Outdoor Retailer completely star struck," remembers Rapid Media Publisher Scott MacGregor. "To again be working with OR and the industry to showcase and promote paddlesports in the new Paddle Zone at Summer Market 2011 is amazing."

Rapid Media was one of four companies who vied for the opportunity to co-produce the Paddle Zone.

"In reviewing each of the submitted proposals, it was clear to our team that Rapid Media best understood the unique needs of the paddlesports community at Outdoor Retailer and our vision for a brand-neutral community center for paddlesports businesses at OR, " said Kenji Haroutunian, vice president at Nielsen Expositions and OR show director. "We're very confident in their abilities to help us deliver the type of experience and inspiration our attendees have come to expect from the show."

As the centralized location for learning, meeting and conducting business, the 1,200 square-foot Paddle Zone will include ample seating, networking events and on-the-hour presentations from brands, authors, filmmakers, athletes and expedition paddlers. The Paddle Zone will also host screenings of winning films from the 2011 Reel Paddling Film Festival World Tour.

In addition to emceeing events and handling logistics for the Zone, the Rapid Media team will be producing Rapid Media TV, a live-to-web style paddling news show, and "Today in the OR Paddle Zone" online video segments.

The newly updated Outdoor Retailer/Rapid Media New Product Preview (NPP) will be displayed on vibrant meter boards around the Paddle Zone, and in all show copies of Rapid Media's Adventure Kayak, Canoeroots, Rapid and Kayak Angler magazine. The NPP will be available for immediate download in the Zone via Rapid Media's smart phone apps available for both Apple and Android devices. The New Product Preview will then be released and promoted to consumers as a digital edition later this fall.

To discuss opportunities for brand involvement in the Paddle Zone or the New Product Preview please call Russ Schroeder at Rapid Media at (613) 635-7249 or russ@rapidmedia.com.

About Rapid Media
Rapid Media has been the leader in paddlesports media since 1999. Rapid Media publishes Rapid, Adventure Kayak, Canoeroots & Family Camping, and Kayak Angler magazines, and produces the Reel Paddling Film Festival and Rapid Media TV. www.rapidmedia.com Print and digital subscriptions to Rapid Media are one of the many ACA member benefits.

About Outdoor Retailer
Outdoor Retailer (OR) brings together retailers, manufacturers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of outdoor recreation through tradeshows, product demo events and web-based business solutions. Produced by Nielsen Expositions and based in San Juan Capistrano, California, Outdoor Retailer also provides and promotes retailer education, advocacy, responsibility and critical face-to-face business initiatives within the outdoor industry.

Post your Paddlesports Event Online

Photo Courtesy of the East Coast Canoe & Kayak Festival from CCPRC

One of the benefits of ACA membership is you can post your paddlesports festival - club event - river clean up - etc on the ACA Event Calendar.

It's a simple 1-page form.

Enter - Upload - Approval - Posted for the paddlesports world to see!

Post online

Support your local USGS Streamgage

Is your favorite USGS streamgage at risk?

Is there enough Federal funding for it?

What can you do to Save your local USGS Streamgauge?

The ACA has provided a few easy steps.

Find out more...

ACA National Award Nominations

The ACA is now accepting nomination forms for the 2011 ACA National Awards.

• Legends of Paddling



• Excellence in Instruction



• Sanctioned Event of the Year



• Green Paddle for Waterway Conservation



• Joe Pina Volunteer of the Year



• Stroke of Achievement



• J.Henry Rushton
  

These awards are presented each year at the National Paddlesports Conference.

Deadline for nominations is July 29th.

Nomination information.

Drive Magazine

A unique ACA member benefit just showed up in the summer issue of Drive Magazine.

Also, ACA members, don't forget - the Subaru VIP Program gets you up to $3,300 off a new vehicle purchase. Learn more...

Next time you visit the ACA Office in Fredericksburg, you'll have a place to park downtown!

Don't Drink then Paddle

ACA partners with NASBLA and the U.S. Coast Guard on a range of initiatives across the country on behalf of canoeists, kayakers, rafters and stand up paddleboarders.

So...

Save your favorite micro brew (or PBR) for after the river!

Press Release




New marine field sobriety tests on tap as
law enforcement officials gear up for Operation Dry Water

Lexington, Ky. – Marine law enforcement officers from local, state and federal boating agencies will be out in force June 24-26 for Operation Dry Water (ODW), an annual campaign focused on the detection and enforcement of boating under the influence (BUI). A secondary objective is to raise awareness among all boaters that it is unsafe as well as illegal to operate a boat under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.

More than 17 percent of boating fatalities result from alcohol use. States have gotten tougher in recent years in enforcing laws against this high-risk behavior. Operating a recreational vessel with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or higher is against federal and most state laws. Boaters caught operating under the influence will find their voyage terminated and their vessel impounded. Additionally, penalties can include arrest, fines, loss of boating privileges, even loss of driving privileges.

As part of this national effort, Operation Dry Water, a multi-agency, education and enforcement initiative launched by the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators (NASBLA) in 2009 in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, puts thousands of local, state and federal marine law enforcement officers on the water the weekend before the Fourth of July weekend to give BUI enforcement high visibility before a holiday known for drinking and boating – and deadly accidents.

"We want recreational boaters to have fun on the water, but we intend to exercise zero tolerance for BUI,” says John Fetterman, law enforcement director for NASBLA and national spokesperson for Operation Dry Water.

With the 2011 Operation Dry Water comes a battery of tests that after a three-year study funded through the Sport Fish Restoration and Boating Trust Fund administered by the U.S. Coast Guard, the Southern California Research Institute has validated for marine use and is the basis for a push to implement a National Marine Field Sobriety Test standard. The new battery of testing standards will for the first time, allow marine patrol officers to tests boaters in a seated position and apply a percentage of probability that the subject is impaired at .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or higher.


“With field sobriety tests for use on the water now validated, we hope to be even more effective at stopping intoxicated boaters and to impress upon everyone that operating a recreational vessel while under the influence is too great a risk – to themselves, to their boat, and especially to others,” says Fetterman.

This year, all 56 U.S. states, trusts and territories are expected to participate in Operation Dry Water, educating the public and searching for boat operators whose blood alcohol concentration exceeds the national limit of .08.

Canoe Poling - Maine to Virginia

The 2011 ACA Canoe Poling National Championships took place in Maine on Lemon Stream near the Wire Bridge on the Carrabassett River

There were Intermediate, Open and Master's Classes for men and women in both slalom and wildwater events.

Special thanks to Chip & Lani Cochrane of Allagash Canoe Trips

The 2012 National Canoe Poling Championships will take place on the Rappahannock River in Fredericksburg, Va.

Read more...

Online Forms for Instructors & Trainers

Do you want to save time?

Save paper...save a stamp...

How about have your paperwork processed faster by the ACA Office?

Now that we have your attention:

Use the new ACA online forms for course registration and insurance requests.

Register your courses (skill, assessment, certification) online and even request insurance coverage!

Submit a course today!

Paddlesports for People of all Abilities

2011 Adaptive Paddling Workshop (APW) schedule:

June 9 - 12 Durham, NH hosted by Northeast Passage,
Contact: Crystal Skahan (603) 862-0070, crystal.skahan@unh.edu.

June 23-26 Akron, OH hosted by University of Akron. Contact: John MacDonald (330-972-8028) jam3@uakron.edu

Sept. 1-4 Seward, Alaska hosted by T.R.A.I.L.S., Challenge Alaska and the Alaska Parks and Recreation Assoc. Contact: Jeff Dick (907.344.7399) Jeff@challengealaska.org

Sept 8-11 Marquette, MI hosted by Bay Cliff Health Camp. Contact: Karen Schlicher (906) 345-9314 BayCliffHC@aol.com

More information...

2012 - RFPs - ACA Member's Only Backcountry Paddling Excursions

Interested in partnering with the ACA on a wilderness paddling trip?

The ACA is currently accepting proposals for our 2012 ACA members-only Backcountry Paddling Excursions. This is a unique opportunity to partner with America’s oldest paddlesports nonprofit on an endeavor that brings paddlers closer to the wilderness waterways we cherish and protect.

Deadline for proposal submissions is Friday, July 29th.

The 1 page proposal form is attached and additional information can be found at: ACA Excursions

We are considering both domestic and international destinations for 2012.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Board Meeting - Anne Vetterlein's Retirement Party

Fredericksburg, VA

This weekend the ACA Board of Directors will be meeting at the ACA National Office.

The next Board of Director's Meeting is also the ACA Annual Meeting. It will take place in Louisville, KY on September 30-October 2 as part of the National Paddlesports Conference.

All ACA members are welcome to attend.

In addition, this Saturday, we'll be celebrating Anne Vetterlein's 23 years of service to the ACA!

Retirement Party details

Tribute to Wayne Dickert

On June 30th, Wayne Dickert will be leaving NOC to become the Pastor at Bryson City United Methodist Church.

This Saturday, join 22 Olympians and paddlers from across the country at the Nantahala Outdoor Center to celebrate one of the most influential and well-liked individuals in the paddlesports world.

Wayner joined the ACA in 1981 and NOC a few years later. He has been one of the premier Instructor Trainers in both canoe and kayak in the country.

Re-blogged from NOC's Blog:

Q: What’s your favorite part of paddling?

A: Teaching Beginners. I enjoy seeing beginners fall in love with the sport. I even like it better than working with advanced paddlers who know what they’re doing. I’ve always liked the beginners the best.


Q: What’s your favorite river?(It’s got to be the Ocoee right?)

A: Well, yeah the Ocoee would be there because it’s been such a big part of my life: I got married there, started working and paddling there and competed in the Olympics there, but my favorite river is the Tallulah actually. It’s just so beautiful and the rapids are so fun.

Learn more about this remarkable individual...

Thanks Wayner for all you've done!...and will continue to do.

All the best,
The ACA

June Edition - SEI Focus

The June edition of the SEI Focus is now available online.

This monthly newsletter highlights Safety Education & Instruction information for ACA Instructors, Instructor Trainers, Paddling Clubs and Affiliates.

June Highlights:

• New SEI Coordinator


• Online Forms


• Anne Vetterlein Retires


• Important Dates


• Kayaking Book for your iPad


• 2011 Adaptive Paddling Workshops


• Want to Work for the ACA?

ACA on the Colbert Report

ACA FreeStyle Canoeing National Championships on the Colbert Report

Starts at the 4:10 minute mark

See the video

Upcoming FreeStyle Canoeing Events

New SEI Coordinator!

Please join us in welcoming Kelsey Bracewell to the ACA's Safety Education & Instruction Department!

After building my love of the outdoors in the mountains of northern Georgia, I graduated from Brevard College with an undergraduate degree in Wilderness Leadership & Experiential Education. I recently graduated with a Master's degree in Recreation and Sport Pedagogy from Ohio University and enthusiastically joined the ACA as a part of the Safety Education and Instruction Department. Prior to joining the ACA staff, I worked at several outdoor adventure summer camps in Western North Carolina, specializing in whitewater paddling. I hold a Level 4: Whitewater Kayaking Instructor certification, Wilderness First Responder, Leave No Trace Trainer, and have taken an ACA Swiftwater Rescue course. When not in Fredericksburg, I can be found traveling around the Southeast paddlingmy favorite rivers: The Green, Chattooga, and Gauley.



Looking forward to working with you,



Kelsey

Contact Kelsey

New ACA Survey

We're in the process of planning our ACA Members Only Backcountry Paddling Excursions for 2012 and we want to hear from you.

The survey is only 5 questions long and will take under a minute!

Take the survey here.

ACA Member in Vogue!

That's right, ACA Level 5: Advanced Whitewater Canoe Instructor Trainer Fritz Orr is in the latet online edition of Vogue Magazine.

Click to the 2nd slide here.

To learn more about Fritz's hand made canoe and stand up paddles, click here.

Money for Paddling Clubs!

That's right, the ACA has once again partnered with L.L.Bean to provide funding for local paddling clubs to conduct river clean ups, shoreline clean ups, and improve local canoe & kayak access areas.

It's only a 2 page application and funding is limited, so get your application in soon.

CFS Grant application

Race brings attention to river

BY CHELYEN DAVIS

Photo courtesy of Fredericksburg.com

It's not that hard, perhaps, to canoe down a river.

If you want a challenge, try poling yourself up it.

That's what a small group of canoe polers were doing yesterday during the 31st annual Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race.

Using long, metal poles, half a dozen competitors and newbies stood up in their canoes and slowly poled up the rapids below where Embrey Dam used to be.

Muscles strained. Canoes wobbled. A pole was dropped and had to be fetched.

Chris Stec, a Fredericksburg resident who works with the Fredericksburg-based American Canoe Association, said...read full article

New ACA Pro School

Please join the ACA in welcoming the Geneva Kayak Center has the newest addition to the ACA Pro School program!

About the center
Geneva Kayak Center is Illinois’ paddlesport specialist. We proudly serve the entire Chicago area with the finest in boats and accessories, local kayak tours and instruction. We are the premiere center for kayak instruction in the Midwest and are the only BCU Endorsed Coaching Center between the coasts. Our goal is to promote the sport of kayaking to the greater Chicago area and the Midwest through safety and education. In addition to our local offerings, we offer spectacular Adventure Paddling Trips for beginner to advanced paddlers, to amazing locations in the Midwest, Alaska, Greece, Mexico and the UK. Whether you want to enjoy an afternoon on the river or are preparing for a two-week expedition, we believe the sport of kayaking should be fun, and can be enjoyed by all.

About the founding owner:

Ryan Rushton
Ryan Rushton is the founding owner of the Geneva Kayak Center and has been paddling whitewater and sea kayaks for the past 14 years. Ryan holds awards in both the ACA and BCU in both the coastal and swiftwater rescue disciplines. Ryan has lead paddling expeditions in Alaska, Canada, Maine, coastal Georgia and Florida, Wales and the waters of Lakes Superior Michigan. Ryan is preparing for an upcoming expedition circumnavigating Cape Horn in January of 2011. Ryan become an ACA Instructor Trainer in 2008, in the Spring of 2010 he became one of only two Level 5 Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainers in the Midwest. He is a voting member of the ACA's Coastal Kayak Committee.

Ryan's first paddling "experience" came as a 4 yr old, floating in a lifejacket next to his parents' canoe on the Lower Wisconsin River. From a childhood where he was regularly exposed to camping, hiking and canoeing, Ryan gained more experience in high school and college on wilderness and whitewater trips in the Rockies and the waters of N. Wisconsin, Michigan and Canada. Ryan started guiding at the age of 17 and began to discover that kayaking could be more than a pursuit, graduating from Western Illinois University with degrees in Business Administration and Recreation, with a focus on Adventure Recreation. Ryan started a small adventure company - Specialty Expeditions, which grew into the Geneva Kayak Center in 2005.

Off the water, Ryan and his wife and companion, Harmony, enjoy the challenge and fun of raising their two little ones - Foster (1 yr.) and Marre (3 yrs). Other pasttimes include restoring their 1870's home, playing guitar/singing, and staying active in a variety of traditional and adventure sports.

•ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer
•ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayak Instructor
•ACA L5 Advanced Swiftwater Rescue Instructor
•ACA Level 3 Open Canoe Instructor
•BCU 5 Star Sea Leader
•Wilderness First Responder

Job Position - ACA Staff

The ACA is now accepting applications (cover letter and resume) for a Membership Marketing Coordinator position.

This position will remain open until filled.

Please email your cover letter and resume to (no phone calls please):

Christopher Stec

cstec@americancanoe.org

Membership Marketing Coordinator Job Description

Louisville - Hike, Bike & PADDLE!

(Olympic Gold Medalist Joe Jacobi, John Belski - Wave 3 Weather Man, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, River City Canoe & Kayak - Doug Davis, ACA Chief Operating Officer - Chris Stec)

The ACA was in Lousiville KY over Memorial Day Weekend to help Mayor Greg Fischer kick off the annual Hike, Bike and Paddle event.

The Mayor and his staff are excited that the ACA will be returning to Louisville this fall for the National Paddlesports Conference. Registration begins in mid June.

Special thanks to:

ACA Board Member Doug Davis of River City Canoe & Kayak
and
Joe Jacobi, Executive Director of USACK

ACA's Chris Stec presenting Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer with a commemorative ACA canoe paddle from Foxworx Paddles.

Thank you to Anne Vetterlein

For 23 years, Anne Vetterlein has been a constant source of information and assistance for the membership of the ACA.

Anne's last day in the office is today, June 1st.

Please join us in thanking her for over two decades of service!

avetterlein@americancanoe.org

We will be throwing a retirement party for her on Saturday, june 18th in Fredericksburg and hope you can join us.

Retirement Party details