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November 25, 2001 -- Atlanta, GA
In all amateur sports, fierce competition
periodically takes place at the polls rather than arenas of athletic
endeavor. This year's Wildwater Committee elections, however, lacked
the rancor sometimes seen in other sports and almost invariably
seen in city, state, and national governments.
The election, which introduced most new members to two-year terms on
the USACK Wildwater Commitee, was genial, upbeat and generally reflected
the candidates' genuine desire for bettering the United States Wildwater
program.
Many opponents in the race also dropped out in favor of others who might
have time, energies and resources to devote more their posts, which
led to several positions only having one nominee.
If the tenor of this year's race bears up for the next two years of
actual governance, it is very possible we will see an increase in
the number of training camps and races, as well as better communications
and activities in cooperation with USACK, and improved recruitment
of new wildwater racers. Here is how the the core committee ended up:
Chair: David Jones
Vice-Chair: Chris Norbury
Treasurer: Chris Hipgrave
News Editor: Michael Beavers
Eastern Athlete Representative: Middy Tilghman
Western Athlete Representative: Tom Wier
The election is not over, however. One of the first orders of committee business
will be to fill three committee-elected at-large posts and one team
manager position, which will be completed before the New year. These
posts will be elected directly by the current Committee membership.
Another task will be to represent Wildwater at the 2001 annual USACK meeting
in Atlanta on December 1st. David Jones, Chris Hipgrave and Michael
Beavers are already planning to attend. At-large candidates David
Mason and Ben Sandiford will also be present. Details about the
meeting can be found at www.usack.org.
The committee, which officially takes office on January 1, 2002, has pledged to
be an accessible body. If you would like to voice your opinion on
Wildwater governance, please feel free to contact your athlete representatives.
Beavers is editor of USAWIldwater.com and a C-1 Wildwater racer training in Atlanta, Georgia. Reach him at
usac1@earthlink.net.
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