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.
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
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