Whitewater Rafting

The removal of two dams on the Elwha River in Washington State began September 17th and will restore roughly 70 miles of pristine wild rivers. The project is held as the largest dam removal project in the region, and the nation and is expected to benefit the Native Elwha Klallam Tribe as well as paddlers and fishermen as well as the natural environment.

Who’s the world’s best kayaker? At the moment, in timed whitewater slalom at least, it’s Peter Kauzer of Slovenia. While that's great for Kauzer, the U.S. is psyched to have used the event to secure one Olympic spot in men's and women's kayak for next summer in London....

Wind might have delayed the World Slalom Championships in Bratislava, Slovakia, but it's done nothing to ruffle the marriage of Dana Benusova (SVK) and Scott Mann (USA), about to celebrate their one-year anniversary of slaloming down the aisle...

Boaters heading to the Gauley this season have reason to celebrate: for the first time in recent memory, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently announced that 2011’s release schedule will feature 29 days instead of the normal 22, with most of the later release days pumping out 3,200 cfs vs. versus the normal 2,800...

Hurricane Irene rocked the Deerfield river valley largetime with historic, 100,000 cfs flooding when it passed over the Northeast at tropical storm force. Local businesses are continuing to recover from the damage as boaters size up new challenges on and off the river.

With the 2012 Olympic Games drawing near athletes battle for the podium in Slovakia. As a qualifier for the Games many competitors are hoping to make their move.

One of whitewater's leading pioneers, John Berry, passed away Aug. 11 at age 86, but not before helping change the sport as we know it today. A tribute by Charlie Walbridge...

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

Idaho’s notorious Class IV-V North Fork of the Payette struck again this summer, this time on Aug. 14 when Fidelity Investments executive and Liquidlogic lead investor Boyce Greer, 55, died while kayaking Jacob’s Ladder. The death, which happened just after the rock drop on Jacob’s, occurred just a month and a half after the drown ing death of 19-year-old pro paddler Stephen Forster of Connecticut, marking the North Fork’s second fatality in two months...

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...

Where do New England paddlers go to get down in the heat of summer? They descend on the Zoar Outdoor Center's Deerfield River Festival, now in its 17th year following the 1994 signing of a precedent-setting re-licensing agreement between American Whitewater, the New England Power Company, anglers, conservationists, and government agencies that addressed the management of the Deerfield River...

Place your bets on who’s going to win this one. On Aug. 8, First Descents Inc., a Colorado-based young adult cancer nonprofit founded by kayak star Brad Ludden, commenced trademark infringement litigation in the U.S. District Court against Eddie Bauer Licensing Services LLC and Eddie Bauer LLC to protect its trademark rights, reputation and goodwill. Our hunch: Ludden will navigate these waters as deftly as he does a river...

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...

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...

They call it “The Floateo,” where anything that floats goes. And pretty much anything goes anyway at the Black River Festival in Watertown, New York, one of the whackier, more festive river festivals in the country, kicking off the Whitewater King of New York race series...

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.

The paddling world lost one of its up and coming stars in late June when Connecticut’s Stephen Forster, 19, died while paddling Idaho’s North Fork of the Payette River.

Forget about the Jackson Five...call them the Jackson Three. The Jacksons -- dad EJ, son Dane and daughter, Emily -- won the overall title in five of six categories as the country’s best freestylers converged on the country’s newest whitewater park in Cascade, Idaho, for the USA Freestyle Kayaking Association’s National Point Series Championships July 8-9, 2011.

Despite high water giving organizers conniptions about holding a point series event for the National Freestyle Point Series circuit, the Montana Whitewater Championships went off with flying colors and freestylers to kick off July. PL checks in with organizer Kevin Brown on the success of the event and Brennan’s Wave, as the point series now heads to Cascade, Idaho, for the season finale...

When Great Britain’s James Bebbington won the gold at the World Freestyle Kayak Championships in Plattling, Germany, it marked the first time the title has migrated off North American soil. Inside: a special PL Q&A with the new champ, plus his account from Palm on what it took to bring the crown to the UK (Bonus Video: Bebbington's winning ride)...

He’s nearly twice as old as the race is long, but that didn’t stop Durango's Andy Corra, 50, from paddling to his seventh title in the 26-mile FIBArk downriver kayak race on June 19, setting a record for number of wins in the 62-year-old race.

“See ya, pops, that’s for all the pointers.” That could well sum up a new Jackson dynasty as Dane Jackson, 17, son of four-time world freestyle champion Eric Jackson, dominated the International Canoe Federation Freestyle Kayak World Championships in Platling, Germany, taking home three Golds and a Bronze. Meanwhile, Brits Claire O’Hara and James “Pringle” Bebbington took the top crowns for the women’s and men’s division...

Holy upset, Batman. In an uncharacteristic early bow-out, four-time world champion Eric "EJ" Jackson was ousted in the quarterfinals of the Freestyle Kayak World Championships in Plattling, Germany, five points behind Germany's hometown hero Martin Koll, who earned the last semifinal berth...

So the Bruins won the Stanley Cup and the Mavericks the NBA title. Big whoop. The real action is in Plattling, Germany, where 225 of the best freestyle paddlers in the world from 28 countries – including newcomers Slovenia, India, Argentina and Brazil – rip up a river-wide wave on the Isar River for the World Freestyle kayak Championships June 20-20. PL checks in, with a special look at who to watch for...