November 10, 2011
 

Dear Wildwater Racers and Friends:

I have been involved in the Gauley Race each September for several years, helping with the timing and race results. Every once in a while we have some confusion with reading the bib numbers at the finish line, especially when two or more racers finish real close together. This year was no exception, but the consequences were more important. Our results had Jack Ditty (the only competitor in a wildwater boat) as the overall winner. A day or two after the race, Jack reported that he had viewed some video showing that he finished between two other racers and that his finish time should have been between the times for those racers. I reviewed the finish times again and was able to determine that, in fact, I had entered the wrong finish time in determining the results. After correcting his finish time, Jack had finished 5th overall. Jack forwarded his prize money to Sam Stewart, the real overall winner. Jack's actions were confirmation, to me, that comaraderie and sportmanship in wildwater racing still exists. This was just a few days before the 2012 Wildwater Team Trials.

Jack Ditty did a great job organizing the Team Trials, which determined which racers were eligible for the 2012 USA Wildwater Team that will be competing in the 2102 Wildwater World Championships and World Cup. The World Championships will be held in June 2012 near Bourg St. Maurice, France, and at the World Cups in Serbia and Bosnia. The first article has more about team trials and the selection of the team.

The Wildwater Committee met at the Team Trials. A link to the minutes of the meeting is also included below.

The venues for the 2012 US Eastern and Western Junior Team Trials and the 2013 Senior Team Trials have been selected. See the enclosed article for more about where and when these events will be held. The bids for the 2012 USA Wildwater National Championships are still being reviewed. The venue will be selected within the next week. Stay tuned to www.usawildwater.com to learn which venue is selected.

We are still seeking nominees to run for election to the USACK Wildwater Committee (WWC) for the 2012-2013 term. The related article in this e-Zine describes the nomination and election processes. If you would like to serve on the WWC or know of someone who you feel would be a good nominee (and be willing to serve), please send your nomination to Gerald Babao, USACK headquarters, by email (gerald@usack.org) no later than November 20, 2011.

We also have a special thanks to Patagonia for their help with our Team Uniforms for 2011.

Finally, I have included a link to the preliminary 2011 USA Wildwater Rankings.

Chuck Brabec
Editor & Webmaster, USAWildwater.com