Jerry has been involved heavily in the movement of the industry, specifically by developing teaching styles that get more people interested and involved in paddling. Jerry will be leading a presentation/discussion topic on “Methods that bring composure to men and women to ensure a better learning environment”. Jerry has been developing this topic over the last few years and is a brand new topic on our presentation schedule. We are so excited to have him on board.

Whitewater Symposium Team

Whatever sport Dan decides to take up he excels and surpasses most, if not all, and has fun doing it.

Dan started kayaking when he was 7 years old. He had no idea that he would become the first to ever make kayaking an actual ‘career’. After breaking his back and getting sick of waiting in lines to get freestyle kayak time, Dan turned to kiteboarding. After getting bored with kiteboarding and having to wait for the wind to blow, Dan found his new passion ~ Stand Up Paddle Boarding. Since starting to SUP, Dan has never looked back . . . it has been over 6 years.

Dan soul surfing

Dan is excited to be on the leading edge of yet another sport and has found a new excitement, once again, returning to the rivers to follow “the Path of the Paddle” to his next adventure.

“SUP will be bigger than kayaking and surfing someday”, quotes Gavere. “Sit back and watch it explode or Stand UP, grab a paddle and get on-board because this shit is fun!” ~ Dan Gavere

We are excited to have him on our presentation schedule and play a role in the growth of paddlesports.

Planning is already underway, with some exciting new ideas emerging. Mark your calendars and save the date, as you won’t want to miss this 9th rendition of whitewater’s most inspirational and informative gathering of people and ideas dedicated to positive innovations for the future. Check back here periodically or visit our FaceBook page www.facebook.com/wwsymposium for updates.

Janet manages Zoar Outdoor’s instruction programs including whitewater kayaking, canoeing and rock climbing. Her people skills and infectious enthusiasm have helped grow Zoar into one of the premier kayak schools in the country. She is also a Whitewater Symposium Board Member. The ACA recognized Janet’s dedication to paddlesport instruction by honoring her with their award last weekend at their National Paddlesports Conference in Louisville, KY.

October 12

Symposium Registration & Day 1 Program

9:00 – 11:30am – Registration/Fishing Derby Launch (3-day derby)
*** Note:  The derby will run all three days, pick up a fishing boat, a rod and the biggest fish wins… amongst other prizes.

Dry Land Sessions

(Optional Sessions for early arrivals)
10:00 – 12:00 – The 2013 World Freestyle Championships @ NOC – A conversation on getting involved! (optional for those who arrive early)
Sutton Bacon and his NOC staff welcome any and all who wish to hear of the plans for bringing the world of freestyle to NOC in 2013 for the ICF World Freestyle Championships.  Learn about the preparations for this big even and find out how you too can be involved.

10:00 – 12:00 – GoPro Symposium Film Team – Join Jaymo and help make a mini-documentary of this year’s symposium!
The best way to learn modern content marketing technique is to do it hands on with one of the best!  Join Chris “Jaymo” Jamison in this meeting and get hands on experience in producing, directing, capturing and editing a cool featurette on this year’s Whitewater Symposium.  This will be a first planning meeting.

11:30 – 1:00 – Opening Keynote Luncheon/Panel – “Whitewater Directions”
You’ll want to be in the room with this all-star panel and their insider perspectives on the current state of whitewater, as well as possibilities for the future. Panelists include International Canoe Federation Committee Chair Lluis Rabaneda, USA Canoe Kayak CEO Joe Jacobi, Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Sutton Bacon and other surprise guests.

1:30 – 3:00 – Morning Breakout Sessions

Session 1 – How Governing Bodies Work to Grow our Sport – Lluis Rabenada, Joe Jacobi
The ICF, USACK and other bodies continually work to bring more and more attention to our sport by creating structure, diverse activity, events and more.  This session will lead a discussion on how these organizations continue to work towards these goals.  It will also be a conversation on how your organization can work alongside these organizations.

Session 2 – Impact of Events – Bob Campbell, NOC , Colin Kemp and special guests
Events continue to be any sport’s most important gateway.  They provide the marketing our sport needs to grow and encourage community activity that keeps the spark of our enthusiasm lit.  This session will open up conversations about the importance of these events, lead to collaboration in event management and deal with some of the core issues with hosting an event.

3:30 – 5:00 -Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Session 3 –Youth Programming – Joe Kowalski
This afternoon conversation will be hosted by two of our sport’s greatest innovators in youth and outreach programming,  Joe Kowalski and Jessie Stone.  Both have a unique story to tell and the discussions that follow will blend into youth engagement, development and special populations and how they effect our sport.  Joe Kowalski initiated the Keener Program at the Ottawa Kayak School/Wilderness Tours on the Ottawa River 25+ years ago… with that began one of the most exciting programs for youth development in our sport today.  The Keener program has created superstars from superstars and continues to produce more of today’s top youth paddlers than any other program.  Lets talk about youth development programming!  For years Jesse Stone has been leading the way in bringing Whitewater to kids and using her passion for the sport and children together to great cause.  From the jungles of Uganda to the streets of the US, Jesse has an amazing story to tell and a valuable program for you to look at.

Session 2 –Organizational Initiatives – ACA, AW, World Kayak
Organizations like American Whitewater, World Kayak and the American Canoe Association have long been at the forefront of local river advocacy, education, events/ community initiative, as well as leaders in helping us keep our paddling populations growing, safe, and skilled, along with our waters flowing and clean. Learn about a variety of organizational initiatives, in an overview of recent efforts, and consider how you can be involved in thinking progressively for the future and moving things forward.

6:30 pm to 10 pm – Happy Hour & Catfish Fry

October 13

6:00 – 7:00 a.m. – Morning Wake Up
Join our top athletes as they shake off the morning cob webs, stretch it out and get juiced for our second day at Symposium!

7:30 to 9:00 am – Breakfast and Keynote Address – “Brandon Holmes – Branding, the Future”
This out-of-the-box look at branding is a MUST SEE presentation aimed at getting us into Day 2 with an eye on content marketing… marketing our sport, marketing our goods and marketing our services via visual and textual assets.

9:30am to 11:00am – Morning Break Out Sessions 1

Session 1 – Content Marketing Fiesta – GoPro’s Jaymo, Brendan Holmes, WK’s James McBeath and special guests
With the onset of the web’s capacity to deliver more and more visual content alongside text content, it is becoming key for all of us to adopt practice of driving good content to our audiences.  This panel and conversation will touch on all the latest trends, tricks and success stories in content marketing.

Session 2 – Adding to the Quiver – SUP , Kayak Fishing– Ken “Hobie” Hovie, Drew Gregory
Adding value to your paddle sports service or retail clients will always be a forefront conversation.  In this session we look at two of the largest growing paddlesport’s sectors and discuss how we all benefit from these exciting new verticals.  Join Hobie for his unique spin and enthusiastic initiation to Stand Up Paddleboarding… Hobie will be bring all sorts of goodies, info and tips for you to both learn from for your own SUP skills development and gather hints as to how you too can bring this growth sport to your clients.  Drew Gregory will also be there showing you how kayak fishing has become the latest buying craze.

11:00am to 12:30pm – Breakout Sessions #2

Session 1 – Designers
In 2010 the Designer’s panel was fun!  This year we will be bringing in a wider group of leading designers to talk about the current trends and trends to come in paddlesports manufacturing design.  New plastics, new clothes, new gear … let them know what you want to see!

Session 2 – Press, PR, Social Networking and web… The Works! – Jeroen of Playak, Lee Hart of BrandAmp and special guests
The world of communications is becoming a complex jungle of best practice.  There is soo much you can do, soooo much you have to do and so many ways to do it… but what are the most effective ways? What are the right ways?  This conversation will prove to be the most fun as it takes all we have talked about and puts it into a Marketing and Communications perspective.

Symposium Format – NEW TO 2011
This year’s symposium has been formatted to keep all of us in ONE place at the same time conversing over subjects that are key to our industry.  To this end, each session/day will be started with a panel or keynote.  From that launching point, direct break out sessions will result, keeping all attendees conversing.  There will be no on-water sessions during dry land sessions, keeping rooms buzzing and networking going.

Our goal this year is to use this format to bring many different sectors of our industry together to ‘connect the dots’.  Event managers who help market our events, meeting with global sporting organization heads, manufacturers, dealers, educators… all part of our symbioticly connected sport.  This format will ensure that our discoveries and shared knowledge goes to that universal growth and betterment of WW paddling!

October 12

Symposium Registration

9:00 – 11:30am – Registration/Fishing Derby Launch (3-day derby)
*** Note:  The derby will run all three days, pick up a fishing boat, a rod and the biggest fish wins… amongst other prizes.

Dry Land Sessions

11:30 – 1:00 – Opening Keynote Luncheon/Panel – “Whitewater Directions”
Join this all-star panel for an insider look at the state of whitewater and a peak at the future. Panelists include International Canoe Federation Committee Chair Lluis Rabaneda, USA Canoe Kayak CEO Joe Jacobi, Nantahala Outdoor Center’s Sutton Bacon and other surprise guests.

1:30 – 3:00 – Morning Breakout Sessions

Session 1 – The ICF and your regional competitions -
Find out more on how the ICF is putting a growing number of paddlesports competitions on the map as well as how you can turn your local events into part of this exciting new phase in WW competition.

Session 2 –World Kayak, grassroots competitions and growth – James McBeath, Colin Kemp
Running over 160 local events each year is one of WK’s contributions to our sport’s growth in participation.  Join us to find out what these cats are up to and how you can benefit from the excitement they are stirring up on rivers near you!

Session 3 –Inner city outreach with Jesse Stone
For years Jesse Stone has been leading the way in bringing Whitewater to kids and using her passion for the sport and children together to great cause.  From the jungles of Uganda to the streets of the US, Jesse has an amazing story to tell and a valuable program for you to look at.

Session 4 – Taking advantage of the worlds in the US of A
In 2012 the US will be hosting the ICF World Cup series leading up to the ICF World Freestyle Championships at NOC in 2013.  This has been a long time in coming and there’s a lot to do and to gain from this key event for the US Freestyle community.

3:30 – 5:00 -Afternoon Breakout Sessions

Session 1 – Youth programming or Special needs programming?
Join our youth programming pioneers as they show how they are development more and more outreach to young paddlers.

Session 2 –AW – update and initiatives
American Whitewater has long been the forefront of local river advocacy and a leader in helping us keep our waters moving and clean.  Join AW in an overview of this year’s successes and learn how you too can be involved going forwards.

Session 3 – Press and PR in Paddlesports
Join a panel of our press for an in depth discussion on how to use their reach to your advantage.

Session 4 – Event Marketing
Event organizers have a long list of amazing marketing tools ready to attract the throngs to your event.  This discussion is aimed at sharing some direct examples of how the web, social media and PR can gain even more traction.  A great session for business’s who should be using events to bring attention to their services and products too!

6:30 pm to 10 pm – Happy Hour & Catfish Fry

October 13

6:00 – 7:00 a.m. – Morning Wake Up
Join our top athletes as they shake off the morning cob webs, stretch it out and get juiced for our second day at Symposium!

7:30 to 9:00 am – Breakfast and Keynote Address – “Marketing: Cultural Branding Whitewater with Doug Holt”
This out-of-the-box look at branding is a MUST SEE presentation aimed at getting us into Day 2 with an eye on marketing… marketing our sport, marketing our goods and marketing our services.

9:15am to 10:30am – Morning Break Out Sessions 1

Session 1 – Thanks for the Memories: A New Way to Delight Customers
For years a photographer sat on the banks of the river taking pictures of rafters, kayakers and other clients. Now there’s a new tool in town that can help you capture those memories more quickly while improving the bottom line. Join Kris “Jaymo” Jamison to find out how you can incorporate GoPro into your business as a value-add or revenue stream.

Session 2 – Outreach with Brandon Holmes, Weld Marketing/Boy Scouts of America
The Boy Scouts of America has long proven itself as the ultimate portal for youth to get into the outdoors world.  A new movement is underway that will make the influx of youth via the BSA to new levels and whitewater is leading the charge!  Brandon Holmes of Weld … he’ll be telling you all about this very exciting look to the future of the Scouting movement.

Session 3 – Kayak Designer Panel
With this industry being as competitive as it is, the journey that kayak manufacturers take every year towards the hottest boats always begins with the design.  We’ve invited the top whitewater kayak designers to sit on a single panel.  This ought to be good!

Session 4 – Teaching Kids, Youth Programming, Camp Implementation
That first step for any paddler is key to the longevity of their stay in our sport.  With this era of small kids kayaks helping us reach younger and younger audiences, it is important to note the differences in bringing impressionable youth into our sport.  This break out will bring you some of the ways our leading instructors are doing just that.

10:45am to 12pm – Breakout Sessions #2

Session 1 – Go Pro Workshop with Jaymo
Jaymo of GoPro is back with a hand-on session about how to improve your filming and editing skills.  Getting these cost effective, waterproof babies is one thing, getting them to a quality final video asset is another.  Jaymo will be giving us a few amazing and unique tips for both capturing and editing your videos.

Session 2 – Adding SUP to your Service or Product Line – Ken “Hobie” Hovie
Join Hobie for his unique spin and enthusiastic initiation to Stand Up Paddleboarding… Hobie will be bring all sorts of goodies, info and tips for you to both learn from for your own SUP skills development and gather hints as to how you too can bring this growth sport to your clients.

Session 3 – WW Parks
The number of whitewater parks is continually on the rise. With the convenience of their locations, being more and more urban, this opens up more markets and more opportunities for industry growth.  Come learn how this happens, how it benefits all from its top professionals!

Session 4 – Social Networking and Online best practice

Noon to 12:30pm – Pick up sack lunch

On Water Demos and Clinics!

The water is still warm in Rock Island, TN and will stay that way in October! Come join some of the industry’s best paddlers and instructors as they work each station. Each station will be 30 minutes. Giving you just enough time to catch the rest and never get bored: Instruction is as followed. Below is our confirmed instructors- look for more hot names soon!

Station 1:  Put In Eddy

1:00- 1:30 Stroke Drill Warm Up- Learn proper habits for Head, Paddle, Boat, and Body while limbering up, and increasing range of motion and strength.

Join top kayakers as they go to show that a proper warm up and proper use of strokes can lead to less injury and longevity in your kayaking career. Not only will you get warmed up but you will be taught, or reminded of all the important habits to maintain while paddling.

Station 2: Top Waves

1:30- 2:00 / 2:00- 2:30 River Running- What it means today…

Several whitewater pioneers will be taking us through what River Running means today. If you are like a majority of boaters who would like to get from point A to point B as in control as possible, top paddlers will help show you how. From reading water, to picking a line, river signals and just having a great time on water, this class has it all.

2:00-4:00 What’s SUP in Whitewater?   The hows, where’s, and whys for bringing a SUP to the river waves.

Ken “Hobie” Hovie is a common scene on rivers across the West coast, but not in a kayak. Ken has been primarily focusing on bring SUP to rivers all around him. Ken is going to explain and show the benefits of using a Stand Up Paddleboard on River Waves and show you how!

Station 3: Rock Island Hole  (lower water level so not hard to manage)

2:00-2:30/ 2:30-3:00 Playboating- Basics and Advanced, learn to spin, cartwheel, and loop!

Some of the most dynamic freestyle paddlers of our day will show you how to perform any freestyle trick you can imagine- the variety of tricks will be determined with the water levels but either way we can guarantee a feature for spinning, cartwheeling and even loops!

Station 4: Power House to Boat Ramp- Run Great Falls Gorge and enjoy breathtaking views and wonderful river features

2:30-3:00/ 3:00-3:30 River Running and Intro to Creeking

Just finished up your River Running Intro continue down the river with pro kayakers who will be taking you through a breathtaking gorge and giving an introduction to creek boating. With a briefing on what to take with you, how to scout a rapid and the importance of safety, we will be willing to answer questions you may have about stepping up your River Running skills and getting into creeking.

Station 5: Boat Ramp at the Park (Take Out)

4:00- 4:30 Rolling and Bracing: How to perfect your Roll and Teach Others

One of the most successful Rolling and Bracing videos will be coming to life! Join Eric Jackson as he explains the key instruction points for not only learning but teaching the brace and a bomb proof roll. Ever wonder why you miss the first one? Or want to know how to improve it in whitewater? Eric will be happy to help each one of you!

4:00- 4:30 Strokes, Concepts and Edge Control.

Not sure which strokes to take when or how to make them more effective? This class will cover everything from proper forward strokes all the way to reverse draws, c-strokes and more. Making sure you are using proper edge control and finding a balance when crossing in and out of eddies will also be a key part of this clinic.

4:30- 5:00 Hand of God- How it Can Save you from Sticky Situations-Keeping a person from swimming or saving and unconscious paddler.

Sometimes people just don’t swim! Well then what? Any instructor should know this important safety procedure in case of a panicked student or even an unconscious one. Once you have this technique down it can actually make your student’s day on the water much more enjoyable. Simply because each time they flip over, they don’t have to deal with swimming! It’s easier for you, easier for them, and can help save you in difficult situations.

4:30- 5:00 / 5:00- 5:30 Swift Water Rescue- Safety First!

Anyone that spends any time on or beside the river should have some basic Swift Water Rescue skills. Don’t wait until it’s too late! Take a quick course with some of the top paddlers who have had to use their knowledge in several first hand experiences. This will help ensure your getting valuable information and be of assistance if ever needed.  We recommend everyone stopping in for one of these courses to help share information, learn new information and continue to come up with ideas that could one day save someone’s life.

Demos at the Boat Ramp:

1:30-5:30 Learn How to Kayak

Introductions to Kayaking will be held at the boat ramp throughout the afternoon! Haven’t been kayaking before? Don’t Miss it! Professional paddlers will show you how to put on gear, pick a kayak your size and take you out on the flatwater!

1:30 – 5:30 Stand Up Paddle Board Demos

Try a variety of Stand Up Paddle Boards with Tips from Ken Hovie, Dane Jackson and Nick Troutman.

1:30- 5:30 Kayak Fishing- with Help from Jackson Kayak’s Fishing Team!

Jackson Kayak’s fishing team will be on the banks making sure you’re sent out with all the proper equipment! Not to mention if you signed up for the fishing derby you will want to get your fishing on!

October 14

Dry Land Sessions

7:30 to 9:00 am – Breakfast and Keynote Address – “Closing Group Brainstorm”
One of the WW Symposium’s favorite discussion formats has always been the Group Brainstorm where all attendees are broken up into teams to answer some of our industries most compelling and, well, silly questions.  Join us for this closing exercise, one that brings out all of our true characters.

On Water Demos and Clinics!

Station 1- Put In

9-9:30 Warming Up and Strokes and Concepts

Wished you would have taken the Strokes and Concepts yesterday? Not to worry we will use this instructive course to warm up our shoulders, neck and back, all while learning! Having a proper warm up is key to a great day on the water, injury free. We recommend everyone join us in this station in hopes of getting warmed and ready for the Whitewater Action.

Station 2 – Top Waves

9:30-10/ 10-10:30 – Surfing and carving up the waves:   Learn how to get on, stay on, and move around waves in control and having fun.

Sometimes it feels like the wave is moving so fast, it’s hard to keep up! With this course we will teach you all the proper technique in hopes of slowing things down, so you can be more pro-active on the wave and in control. You will find yourself taking less strokes when your surfing and having more energy for carving back and forth and surfing longer!

Station 3- Rock Island Hole

9:30-10/ 10-10:30 Beginner to Advanced Playboating all in one class and one great hole.

Feel like you didn’t quite get the moves down yesterday or want to try the same class out with a different instructor. Be sure to stop in for the Beginner to Advanced Playboating. We will be covering everything from spins to loops and more! The variety of moves available for learning will be determined by water levels. Either way we can guarantee a great spinning and looping feature!

Station 4- Power House to Boat Ramp

9:30- 10- Advanced River Running

Using the rapids we have we will be asking each of you to catch hard eddies, make harder ferries and turn our local rapids into a course! With this task you will learn how to make hard lines, and stay focused once in the rapids. We will also go over boofing, looking where you’re going and reverse ferries! You never know what situation you will be in when running harder rivers but we can be prepared! Join top paddlers as they show you how!

Station 5- Boat Ramp

10-10:30 A wonderful way to teach the roll– From Family, Friends, or even Kids- this is a class not to miss!

Eric Jackson has been known for teaching his roll in 15 minutes or less, and now he is going to show you how! Using basic step by step instruction with very specific drills he’s proven his technique to work over and over again. During this course he will show you how to do it in a manner for your friends, family or even kids!

10-10:30- Hand of God- How it Can Save you from Sticky Situations-Keeping a person from swimming or saving and unconscious paddler.

Sometimes people just don’t swim! Well then what? Any instructor should know this important safety procedure in case of a panicked student or even an unconscious one. Once you have this technique down it can actually make your student’s day on the water much more enjoyable. Simply because each time they flip over, they don’t have to deal with swimming! It’s easier for you, easier for them, and can help save you in difficult situations

9-10:30 Learn How to Kayak

Introductions to Kayaking will be held at the boat ramp throughout the afternoon! Haven’t been kayaking before? Don’t Miss it! Professional paddlers will show you how to put on gear, pick a kayak your size and take you out on the flatwater!

9-10:30 Stand Up Paddle Board Demos

Try a variety of Stand Up Paddle Boards with Tips from Ken Hovie, Dane Jackson and Nick Troutman.

9- 10:30 Kayak Fishing- with Help from Jackson Kayak’s Fishing Team!

Jackson Kayak’s fishing team will be on the banks making sure you’re sent out with all the proper equipment! Not to mention if you signed up for the fishing derby you will want to get your fishing on!
11-1:00 Guide of the Jackson Kayak Factory and a Pizza Party Lunch

Our own version of how it’s made- only better because its kayaks!  We will show you everything from the second the plastic powder goes into the oven till the shippers send it out the door. Jackson Kayak employees will be happy to answer any questions and provide information on the step by step process.

2:30- 4:30 Slalom Survival – Think You Have What It Takes?

Helmet, Life Jacket, Paddle, Skirt and Boat- are you ready to take on slalom survival in hopes of beating some of the industries most famous and well known paddlers… We hope so! Join us for a hooligan of an event with rolling, sprinting and rapids in between! If you can’t come and laugh at yourself- we don’t recommend it!

4:30- 5:00- Awards Ceremony and Goodbyes!

Gathering everyone for one more hoorah! A prize giving with awesome prizes and a chance to gather other attendee’s information, this is less of a good bye and more of a see you on the river!

A) We like to gab.  Conversation, especially in larger groups like after last year’s panel discussions, has always been those great Kumbaya moments we all take away from WWS.  Too many mini presentations tends to dilute our conversations, leave presenters with no audience and can get frustrating.

B) We like to play!  By mid day 1 of any Symposium, most of us are glancing out at the river next to our WWS venue.  By Day 2 half are on the river all day … and,  by day 3 you had to pity those presenters as everyone was on the water!

C) On top of the water play, we LOVE our Apres Paddle time… beers, good food and music… not necessarily in that order.

It’s who we are

So… to accommodate this core caricature we have drawn of ourselves we have adopted a format for this year’s symposium that is quite a bit different and focused on who we are.  We will be doing morning sessions only for the most part.  These sessions will include a panel or keynote with all of us in the room, then break outs leading out directly from these primary presentations… keeping everyone buzzing together on the subject-du-jour.  Our subjects are aimed at stuff we all tended to return to as subjects… but with some new, out-of-the box attendees and twists!  We have the cool cats of Go Pro here, some leading marketing experts, the folks at the front line bringing our sport’s Olympic presences to new levels and much more! No one is gonna be left in an empty room, and each session will be that great WWS conversation we all love!

After lunch, we hit the water.  Our water sessions will feature the top paddlers in the world… and their new toys!  Freestyle, Creeking, Slalom, Recreational, Stand up, kayak fishing and more!  Our fishing derby will allow everyone a chance at glory, our WK Hometown Throwdown and Slalom Survivor will get the old competitive cobwebs out, our Stand Up sessions will have you workin’ it all out and the World’s best kayakers will be on hand with clinics!   ACA will be there to recert as well.  There will be lake, class 1 to 4 fun, friendly competition and more!

After river… well now… this is where we have gone BIG!  Each night is lit up by live entertainment, amazing Tennessee fare and beverages for all!  Add the amazing settings of a rolling TN Ranch and our other venues for fun… you really can’t miss this!

Please join us for the 2011 Whitewater Symposium!  You will NOT want to miss this one!