Sponsored by Wavesport, Smith, Clif Bar, Next Adventure, AT Paddles, Red Bull, American Whitewater and the Paddling Life E’zine, the NRG Kayaking College Tour kicked off with a bang at Oregon State University mid-January. “We attracted about 70 kids over the two-day event,” says organizer Sam Drevo.
Next, it was off to Central Washington University for a 35-student Wavesport Demo, then to the University of Puget Sound, which also attracted students from Evergreen College. “We touched about 60 kids directly at that stop between the film fest and demo,” says Drevo. Then came competition from female genitalia. At the Tour’s fourth stop at the University of Oregon Feb 20-21–despite it being Fat Tuesday and having the Vagina Monologues going on at the same time–more than 100 people turned out for the film fest and pool demo. The Tour also got to visit the city of Eugene’s multicultural High School Outdoor Program and speak to a group of high school students about opportunities in the Outdoor Industry and conservation efforts.
“Red Bull has jumped on the bandwagon and has been helping get the word out among students, and the American Whitewater message has been broadcasted loud and clear at all these events,” says Drevo. “We have a goal to get every university/college to become an affiliate member of AW as a result of this tour.”
Next up: the University of Washington, Lewis and Clark, PSU, Mesa State, Boise State, and possibly BYU Idaho. Animal House, eat your heart out.
A special thanks to Tour sponsors Wavesport, Smith, Clif Bar, Next Adventure, AT Paddles, Red Bull, and American Whitewater, and Paddling Life e’zine