5 ways Gauleyfest CAN be a family friendly event by teamjk | Oct 4, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Family Zone, Kid's Kayaks, Playboating, River Running, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesGauleyfest is the largest paddling festival in North America. It is held in mid-September in the town of Summersville, West Virginia and is THE main fundraiser for American Whitewater Association (AWA) each year. Picture you and 4000 of your closest friends converging...
Facing Fears in Durango Colorado by teamjk | Oct 2, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Playboating, rivers, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesThis year I went to a competition called The Animas River Days in Durango Colorado. The whitewater park there is a series of big waves. I had never been on a wave before so I was exited to try it out, but when I got there I was shocked by the size of them. In my mind...
Positivity and How it Affects your Athletic Performance by Maddie Kimmel | Sep 25, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Family Zone, Kid's Kayaks, Playboating, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesWhen you focus on the positive sides to paddling, your performance improves because you focus on improving not your mistakes. You should still pay attention and learn from your mistakes. However, you shouldn’t focus on the fact that you missed your trick or that...
My competitions and what it is all about by JK Little Shredders | Sep 24, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Event Coverage, Events, Family Zone, JK Little Shredders, Playboating, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesHey There! So every one has a different perspective of freestyle competitions, some people take them seriously, some may take them as just some fun, some might just want to test their skill. All competitions are different, you have got your local club jam session, you...
My First time doing Stakeout by Tom Dolle | Sep 19, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Playboating, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, Whitewater, Wrap Ups, WW DisciplinesFor the first time of my life, I went all the way up to Canada for what we called “Stakeout” as a kayaker. Stakeout is the ice melt in Quebec and Ontario at the beggining of the spring so after a long and freezing winter. So when the ice melt in May, the...
Chasing Fall Water in Colorado by kelloggfamily | Sep 18, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Family Zone, Kid's Kayaks, Playboating, rivers, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesWe are on the search to find good features in Colorado that are good training grounds for the World Championships in November. It’s not an easy feat as most Colorado rivers rely on snow melt for flows and typically the season is rather short. Once August hits, there...
Why Corner Wave is my favorite wave on the Ottawa by Brooke Hess | Sep 16, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Internationalisation, Playboating, rivers, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesIf you have ever visited the Ottawa River, you have most likely seen, heard of, or been a part of what I refer to as the “Corner Wave Cult”. We are a specific breed of kayakers who have a potentially unhealthy obsession with Corner Wave. Situated smack-dab...
Using the Happy Thruster to Step Up Your Freestyle Game by katelyngreen | Sep 15, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Instructional, Playboating, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesYou may, at one point or another, have seen a person paddling a playboat (a short stubby boat) with a big inflatable airbag underneath their sprayskirt. I’m sorry to say, they were not just happy to see you; they were using a Happy Thruster! If you haven’t...
Learning to Love Flatwater Practice by katelyngreen | Sep 12, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Playboating, rivers, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesLearning to love flatwater practice Although I got into whitewater kayaking because I love whitewater, sometimes the whitewater isn’t always available. I’ve learned to love flatwater practice almost as much as running rapids. In fact, flatwater has been the place...
Rolling through Adversity by Clay Wright | Sep 10, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Instructional, Internationalisation, United States, Video, Whitewater, WW Disciplines ‘’Wow, I think pulled my head up hard on those roll attempts and pulled myself out of the boat.. I really need to work on that before the next rapid so I won’t swim again!” Said nobody. Ever. Instead most paddlers who just swam after...
Lotte the Little Shredder checks in about her summer by JK Little Shredders | Sep 7, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Family Zone, JK Little Shredders, Kid's Kayaks, Playboating, rivers, Trip Reports, Trips, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesThis year I was lucky enough to leave the cold NZ winter and travel to Canada for the summer to attend the 2017 Keener program for session 1. This was my second year as a keener. I got to link up with a few of my keener mates from last year’s session and make new...
Cancer, Kayaking and First Descents by heatherherbeck | Sep 6, 2017 | 2016 Rock Star Competition, Antix, Featured Post, Internationalisation, rivers, United States, Whitewater, WW DisciplinesI have shared my experiences working with First Descents each year and this year is no different. I choose to share my experience with this organization to each of you because it is a “life changing” week for everyone who’s involved. First Descents (FD) is a...
