Canoeing

Paddlers give up water? A tall order, perhaps, but that’s what Teva is asking paddlers to do on the eve of the 19th annual World Water Day...

Talk about throwing down when you need to. At this past weekend’s Pan American Championships in Foz do Iguassu, Brazil, with the U.S.’s sole C-1 and C-2 London Olympic spots on the line, U.S. paddlers Eric Hurdand and Jeff Larimer took first in the Men’s C-2 final, and Benn Fraker took home the Gold medal in Men’s C-1, ensuring the U.S. will have Olympians in both the C-1 and C-2 categories at the London 2012 Summer Games.

A trio of paddlers is banding together to raise money for global peace through competitive endurance paddling. PL checks in with founder Dwanye VanHoose...

The extreme sea kayaking world lost one of its most ardent pioneers with the recent passing of Eric Soares, a founding member of California’s Tsunami Rangers, a kayaking club specializing in big-wave feats along the rocky California coast. Soares died unexpectedly on Feb. 1 at age 58...

Pelican International is adding 12 new models to its line-up this year, including six new kayaks and three SUPs...

In 2009 Freya Hoffmeister—a 46-year-old former sky diver, gymnast, marksman, and Miss Germany contestant—paddled alone and unsupported 9,420 miles around Australia, breaking Paul Caffyn’s record set 27 years earlier. Now she’s at it again, this time nearly 150 days into her expedition to circumnavigate South America alone and unsupported. Click on for clips from her blog, which include surviving three brutal days on a deserted pile of rock called Isla Deceit while scratching her way to Cape Horn...

Finally, some accolades for all those walrus attacks, kayak-dragging, freezing temps and kidney failures. After completing the first successful circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island this summer, kayakers Jon Turk and Erik Boomer have been recognized as National Geographic Adventurers of the Year for 2012. And you, as paddlers, can vote to help them win the coveted People’s Choice award...

In the latest merger news in paddlesports, Emotion Kayaks of Pennsylvania has been sold to Lifetime Products of Clearfield, Utah. PL checks in with Emotion founder Tom Strauss for the lowdown...

The Cuban Team finished on top of the medals table with nine medals, including four Golds, while the Canadians grabbed seven medals at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. Led by Carrie Johnson with two golds, Team USA claimed the third position on the medals table, earning two starting positions at the London 2012 Olympic Games...

The U.S. might be slaying it in the stand-up surf scene with the likes of Slater Trout, but when it comes to surf kayaking, Basque Country and the UK are barreling to the top of the line-up -- and podium. That’s how things played out, at least, at this year’s World Surf kayaking Championships, which recently wrapped up at North Carolina’s Outer Banks....

In a sign that the paddlesports retail world is, if not riding a wave at least creating ripples, on October 22 the Nantahala Outdoor Center opened the doors of its groundbreaking experiential retail and outdoor activity concept shop, NOC Asheville, inside Asheville, N.C.'s The Grove Park Inn Resort & Spa....

The International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHOF) moved to the banks of the South Fork American River Oct. 14-16 to honor members of the Class of 2011, including this year’s inductees: Explorer - Richard Bangs (USA); Champion - JP Burny (Belgium); and Advocate - Oliver Cock (UK)...

With a new conversational format designed to get more participants into more discussions, organizers heralded the 2012 Whitewater Symposium Oct. 12-14 in Jackson Kayaks' back yard of Rock Island, Tenn., as a resounding success...

What kind of schwag do you bring on a 60-mile canoe trip in the Canyonlands? Whatever is up to the task. PL (in company of 12 kids and eight “grown-ups," if you can call us that) whiled away the dog days of August canoeing Canyonlands National Park. And while we tested out a slew of canoes and paddles, we also put an array of accessories to the task, from newschool firestarters and firepans to SUPs and sleeping bags. Here’s the rundown...

After setting a record by sea kayaking around Australia in 332 days, Herr Hofffmeister (Germany’s Freya Hoffmeister) is at it again, this time taking off Aug. 30 from Buenos Aires to be the first person to paddle all the way around South America. In all, the glutton for paddling punishment is planning to do the trip in three stages of 4,800 miles each over the next 3 years)...

Paddling into Grise Bay on Aug. 19, once-strangers Erik Boomer and Jon Turk managed to travel 1,485 miles in 104 days, skiing on ice, jumping from flow to flow on moving pack ice and finally paddling through ice-choked water to complete the first-ever circumnavigation of Ellesmere Island. PL checks in with the ragged, haggard tandem...

Rock/Creek Outfitters is opening a new, improved retail paddling store, outlet and distribution center at 1530 Riverside Drive in Chattanooga, Tennessee.

Wilderness Systems remains king with third consecutive "Boat Brand of the Year" award. The entire outdoor retail community descended on Salt Lake City, Utah to celebrate at this year's Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

Nil, nunca, nada. That’s how many sprint paddling spots the U.S. team has earned for the 2012 London Olympics after the recent ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Szeged, Hungary, where perennial powerhouses Germany and Russia took home 11 medals each. But there’s still one more chance to secure a berth. PL checks in with U.S. Sprint National Senior Team Coach Guy Wilding for the state of sprint in the states...

Don't be surprised if your local eddy starts to get a little more crowded. Okay, not really. But the Paddle Council, a volunteer advisory group providing input to the Outdoor Industry Association to help grow the industry and expand participation, recently received a $30,000 grant from Nielsen Expositions to help grow participation in water sports. That's a lot of enchilada plates...

Paddlers like to get wet. No where was this more evident than day one of the Outdoor Retailer tradeshow in Salt Lake City, where paddlesports took center stage in the outdoor industry at the Open Air Demo at Jordanelle State Park in Park City. Bonus: a record number of people on SUPzilla...

Sometimes even the best-laid paddling plans can fall prey to Mother nature. Such is the case with the recently planned Shetland Bus expedition. During World War II, Norwegian fishermen traversed the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway's west coast carrying agents, saboteurs and weapons in daring operations known as the “Shetland Bus.” On July 16, three kayakers tried to attempt the same stretch, only to be forced back by weather and abort the mission...

Once a year, industry bigwigs gather in Salt Lake City for the annual Outdoor Retailer tradeshow, where those lucky enough to attend can ooh and ahh over paddlesport manufacturers' new designs for the upcoming year. For those smart enough to stay on the water instead, here's a quick PL sneak peak of what the tradeshow cronies will see...

Funds are being raised to present the students at Carnegie Mullen University with the challenge of addressing the physiological differences between men and women in designing kayaks.