USA Canoe/Kayak Blogs

USA Canoe/Kayak Schedule for week of …

Wed Nov 25 10:45:00 -0500 2009

As a reminder, USA Canoe/Kayak's Thanksgiving Holiday Schedule is as follows: November 25 CLOSE at 12 NOON November 26 CLOSED (HOLIDAY) November 27 CLOSED (HOLIDAY) The National Office will reopen for business on Monday, November 30, 2009, at 9:00 am EST. Have a great Thanksgiving holiday… Read More

Office Closed on Veteran's Day

Wed Nov 11 08:57:00 -0500 2009

USA Canoe/Kayak will be CLOSED on Wednesday, November 11, 2009, in observance of Veteran's Day.  Our offices will reopen on Thursday, November 12, 2009, at 9:00 am EST.Cheers,Gerald Read More

USA Canoe/Kayak National Office, Clo …

Mon Oct 05 14:23:00 -0400 2009

As a reminder, USA Canoe/Kayak will be closed on Monday, October 12, 2009 in observance of Columbus Day, a federal holiday. (Federal law (5 U.S.C. 6103) establishes Columbus Day as public holiday for Federal employees. USACK observes the federal holiday schedule) We will reopen on Tuesday,… Read More

USACK Holiday Hours, Labor Day

Mon Aug 31 12:39:00 -0400 2009

As a reminder, USA Canoe/Kayak will be closed on Monday, September 7th, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.  Our office will reopen on Tuesday, September 8th, at 9:00 am EST.   Thank you for doing business with USA Canoe/Kayak. We look forward to serving you. Have a great and safe… Read More

Day 3 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Sun Aug 02 17:54:00 -0400 2009

DAY 3 — Sunday August 2 — MORNING REPORT 500m FinalsMC2 - starting in lane #1 Ian Ross and Ben Hefner battle a strong crosswind in the first 250m and a changed rights tail in the last 250m. To compound the steerimg issues caused by a massive wind that simply increased as it crossed from… Read More

Day 3 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Sun Aug 02 17:54:00 -0400 2009

DAY 3 — Sunday August 2 — MORNING REPORT 500m FinalsMC2 - starting in lane #1 Ian Ross and Ben Hefner battle a strong crosswind in the first 250m and a changed rights tail in the last 250m. To compound the steerimg issues caused by a massive wind that simply increased as it crossed from… Read More

Day 3 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Sun Aug 02 07:11:00 -0400 2009

DAY 3 — Sunday August 2 — MORNING REPORT500M SEMI FINALS 7:00 — Team USA meets in the hotel lobby to head over to breakfast before the last day of racing.WEATHER REPORT — pouring rain – first time we have seen rain since Lake Placid8:00 — Team meets again to head… Read More

Day 2 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Sat Aug 01 15:10:00 -0400 2009

DAY #2 1000M FINALS B Final Luke Potts and Cedric Bond - Lane # 1 - 9th 3:32.910  Conditons - moderate tailwind - 28 CThe boys were somewhat puzzled - they were solid after 250m but the field started to move away in spite of their planned pick up. The boat just seemd to lack the distance per… Read More

Day 2 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Sat Aug 01 05:19:00 -0400 2009

DAY 2 — SATURDAY, AUGUST1 — MORNING REPORT1000M SEMI FINALS 6:50 — Coach Barlow, Ben Hefner, Ian Ross and I leave the hotel for our 15 minute walk to the boat house7:20 — Ben goes to the water for his pre race paddleWEATHER — clear blue sky & “dead… Read More

Day 1 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Fri Jul 31 15:01:00 -0400 2009

DAY 1 — Friday July 31 — AFTERNOON REPORT500M HEATS 3:00 — Coach Barlow and C2 of Ben Hefner and Ian Ross arrive and immediately head ovr to Boat Control to be sure boat is still making weight – ALL IS GOOD.3:30 — MK2 Luke Potts and Cedric Bond arrive and head to the… Read More

Day 1 from 2009 Junior Sprint Worlds …

Fri Jul 31 10:26:00 -0400 2009

DAY 1 — Friday July 31 — MORNING REPORT1000M HEATS  7:00 — Coach Barlow, Ben Hefner and I walk to the course – weather is perfect – clear blue sky – no wind7:30 — Ben heads to the water for a warm up8:00 — Ben back from his easy paddle / water… Read More

2009 Junior Wildwater Team Update, f …

Thu Jul 16 15:43:00 -0400 2009

All the US paddlers performed well yesterday. The US Wildwater team, both junior and senior, over the past twenty years is not known for being a strong team from top to bottom. Periodically we have one or two who make a good showing and get into the top twenty. Success for us is to compete, to show… Read More

Independence Day Holiday, Office Closed

Tue Jun 30 18:45:00 -0400 2009

USA Canoe/Kayak will be closed on Friday, July 3rd, in observance of the Independence Day holiday.  Our office will reopen on Monday, July 5th, at 9:00 am EDT. Have a great and safe holiday! Cheers,Gerald Read More

USA Canoe/Kayak CLOSED today

Mon May 25 08:28:00 -0400 2009

This is a reminder that the USA Canoe/Kayak National Office is closed today in observance of Memorial Day. We will reopen on Tuesday, May 26, 2009. Happy Memorial Day! Read More

Board Meeting Under Way, New Board Member Debut

Fri May 08 12:11:00 -0400 2009

USA Canoe/Kayak's first Board Meeting of the year with its new Board Members has begun. The Staff is very exciting about this monumental occasion. Please feel free to check back for updates. Read More

Update on Office Move: We're In!

Mon Mar 16 19:05:00 -0400 2009

USA Canoe/Kayak officially moved into its new office this past weekend. We are sore and exhausted, but all in all, the move went well. As a reminder, our new address is:USA Canoe/Kayak330 South Tryon Street, Lower LevelCharlotte, NC 28202(h) 704-348-4330(f) 704-348-4418  Our phone numbers (and… Read More

We're moving... Across the Street!

Fri Mar 13 14:59:00 -0400 2009

Please bear with us as we move our offices, across the street. Literally! We will be in our new office on Monday, March 16, 2009 but ask for your patience over the next few weeks as we unpack our belongings. We are excited about our new home and hope you will come to Charlotte and visit us in our… Read More

Athlete Services Coordinator Job Pos …

Mon Feb 23 11:33:00 -0500 2009

The United States Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Advisory Council is looking for athletes to serve as Athlete Service Coordinators (ASCs) at the 2010 Olympic and the 2010 Paralympic Games in Vancouver, Canada.  ASCs serve as support at United States Olympic Committee (USOC)-sponsored… Read More

Board Meeting Underway this Weekend

Sat Jan 31 13:33:00 -0500 2009

Stay tuned to review the minutes from USA Canoe/Kayak's Board Meeting. Discussion of USA Canoe/Kayak's governance structure to include the revised by-laws is the main agenda item. We will post the minutes from this meeting here. Read More

Whitewater Center Parkway is NOW OPEN!

Wed Jan 21 12:01:00 -0500 2009

Attention Charlotte, NC paddlers: Whitewater Center Parkway is now open. On your next visit to the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Please use the new directions by clicking here.  Read More

USACK Brainstorming; Give us your thoughts

Wed Jan 21 11:02:00 -0500 2009

As part of our ongoing effort to re-engage with the membership, we've decided to create on online forum for brainstorming about USA Canoe Kayak, open to everyone with an idea and the time to submit!The website can be found here: http://usack.slinkset.comThe format* is similar to online… Read More

The Importance - and Status - of Our Website

Tue Jan 20 11:05:00 -0500 2009

You are reading this blog either on our “old” www.USACK.org website or on the new one we are working with USOC and its contractors to create (now located at http://canoekayak.teamusa.org). Regardless of which site you are on, the important thing is thing you have come here looking for… Read More

Welcome to the World of USACK Office …

Tue Jan 20 10:20:00 -0500 2009

Welcome to our *NEW* Office News blog where Staff will have post information about anything and everything pertaining to their daily responsibilities here at USA Canoe/Kayak (USACK). Here you will find various postings from the Executive Director, Marketing & Communications Director, Website… Read More

ICF Congress 2008

Tue Dec 02 13:04:27 -0500 2008

It was pasta instead of turkey as the ICF held its biannual Congress over the thanksgiving weekend in Rome. Gina Sanchez and Eric Lokken joined me as official delegated of USA Canoe/Kayak. Also present from USACK were Cecilia Farias, Charles Yatman, Charles Luckman representing COPAC. USACK Board… Read More

Why Focus on Governance Now?

Tue Nov 11 14:03:58 -0500 2008

Through open letters to our membership (click here to view the most recent letter on the homepage of our website) from our Board President Gina Sanchez, we have explained the series of decisions by our Board to undertake a sweeping review of how USA Canoe/Kayak is organized and governed. From some… Read More

More on our new website...

Tue Oct 28 11:08:07 -0400 2008

Long time, no blog.  This isn’t easy! When I was in Beijing I built writing about what I was doing into my daily routine. Since I’ve been back I’ve discovered I have very little control over my own time.Since I last wrote about our new website initiative, much more progress… Read More

Sponsor Facilities in Beijing

Wed Aug 27 10:57:28 -0400 2008

It’s obvious that Olympic sponsors at all levels make a huge investment in their affiliation with the Olympics and that they focus intense efforts on realizing the maximum gain possible during the Games themselves. The very large global sponsors such as Coke, GE, Samsung, McDonalds and… Read More

A special place for the families of athletes

Tue Aug 26 20:34:26 -0400 2008

A beautiful facility called USA House is operated by USOC. It is located in what was once an upscale restaurant and bar near to Workers Stadium where the soccer matches are being played.  USA House is private and like almost everyplace associated with the Olympics requires credentials to get… Read More

Venues you won't see on NBC--Part 2

Tue Aug 26 20:32:51 -0400 2008

A beautiful facility called USA House is operated by USOC. It is located in what was once an upscale restaurant and bar near to Workers Stadium where the soccer matches are being played.  USA House is private and like almost everyplace associated with the Olympics requires credentials to get… Read More

Venues you won't see on NBC--Part 1

Fri Aug 22 14:46:52 -0400 2008

There are many important venues in Beijing that are vital to our Olympic success that you will likely never see or heard mentioned on NBC. The most important is the USOC High Performance Center at Beijing Normal University (BNU). This oxymoronically named institutional has been rented by USOC… Read More

Olympic Security

Sun Aug 17 19:34:40 -0400 2008

Despite the fears and predictions of many, I’ve never felt the least bit insecure at any time or in any place since I’ve been in Beijing. There are many levels of visible security and, I’m sure, many that are never seen. There are large numbers of policemen around all the… Read More

The Olympic Alphabet

Thu Aug 14 03:59:37 -0400 2008

Even those who are a part of what is called the “Olympic Movement” can be easily bewildered by the array of initials and acronyms used as a common element of the Olympic language. Here’s a very quick primer. The movement’s mother ship is the IOC (International Olympic… Read More

Measures of a Champion

Tue Aug 12 08:45:15 -0400 2008

On Tuesday afternoon in Shunyi, years of efforts and the hopes of many were dashed when Scott Parsons was judged to have missed a gate near the end of his second run in the first day of slalom competition in the Beijing Games. I felt literally sick. His large and vocal group of friends and family… Read More

Our Non-US Canoe/Kayak Team

Tue Aug 12 08:44:32 -0400 2008

The defining feature of the Olympic Games is the global dimension of the event. 204 countries had teams marching into those incredible Opening Ceremonies. Watching that parade of athletes, I was struck by just how global USACK’s own activities are. We not only travel around the world… Read More

A Beautiful Saturday Interrupted By  …

Sun Aug 10 23:08:44 -0400 2008

I rode out to Shunyi with Bill McMillan on Saturday afternoon to watch our slalom team's final workout. It's about an hour's drive from most of the central Beijing facilities. The adjacent slalom and rowing/kayak sprint venues are quite impressive, huge, in fact. Very park-like, but so… Read More

The Games Open!

Sat Aug 09 09:00:50 -0400 2008

Wow, what an evening. The opening ceremony was somewhere beyond spectacular. The sheer scale of it, especially the number of people involved, eclipsed the technology behind it. Not only were there tens of thousands of Chinese involved in the show, but they were not mere extras. Everyone was a… Read More

The View From Seat 54D

Thu Aug 07 11:38:18 -0400 2008

United Flight 897 was not going to be long enough at 13hours+ so a faulty oil gauge added two more hours sitting on the ground before we left. We’re now approaching the half way point, I think. Two full-length movies have been played and we’re now on short subjects. The flight… Read More

Every team has an MVP

Mon Aug 04 12:49:21 -0400 2008

We hope every one of our Olympians puts on a superstar performance in Beijing. Without the ability to foresee the outcome of the races at the Games, my early vote for our 2008 MVP is one of our key players who will not even be in China. Many of you have had the opportunity to work with Gerald Babao.… Read More