ABC of Kayaking News Feed

Kayaking Team Gets Bittersweet Results

San Marcos kayaker Ben Kvanli and partner Mark Poindexter of Austin got the third spot in the USA Whitewater Slalom Team Trials, but they missed the chance to compete in the 2008 Olympic Games.

The team competed in the USA Whitewater Slalom Team Trials and the Pan American Championships in Charlotte, North Carolina last April 25-27. They were successful in bringing home the third place title in the trials and second in the Pan American. Unfortunately, the two-man team fell short of points by a two percent margin and was not able to qualify in the 2008 Olympics.

Kvanli and Poindexter will have a place on the U.S. kayaking team and will still compete at the top of the Slalom Centers of Excellence within the next few years. Both men are presently working as instructors at the Power Olympic Outdoor Center in San Marcos.

For more details on this news, please visit www.sanmarcosrecord.com.

Powell, Eichfeld can Still Make it to the Olympics

Rick Powell of Parkesburg and Casey Eichfeld still have the chance to represent US in the Beijing Olympics despite of their loss in the whitewater kayaking Summer Olympics last weekend.

They failed to get the first place in the Summer Olympics and the Pan-American Championships in Charlotte, N.C. The two were just one point behind Scott McCleskey and Austin Crane, the Pan-Am Champions.

The quest for the Olympics is not yet over. Being in second place gave them one more chance to get a spot in the Olympics. In July 5 and 6, they would compete in a C2 (two people in one canoe) race in Augsburg, Germany. They need to win the World Cup and gather two more points to finally go to Beijing.

For more details on this news, please visit www.philly.com.

Kayakers Paddle to Raise Funds for AIDS Victims

Several AIDS service organizations were successful in inspiring 88 kayakers to raise thousands of dollars and fight HIV/AIDS.

Kayakers, young and old, set off from Pier 40 in South Beach Marina Harbor in San Francisco at the third annual "People Paddle� event last Sunday. Formed in 2006, People Paddle is a consortium of individuals dedicated to combining kayaking with fundraising. According to reports, the group has so far raised $16,000 and is expected to exceed last year's fundraising total of $22,000.

Healing Waters, an AIDS service organization whose mission is to empower, inspire, and enrich the lives of HIV/AIDS victims, performed volunteer coordination and checked the participants' life jackets. The United States Coast Guard and American Medical Response also helped ensure that the participants were safe, together with other organizations namely One Brick and Alpha Phi Omega which provided volunteer dockworkers, carried kayaks, and helped people into and out of boats.

For the pledges, People Paddle Co-founder Dean McCully designed a unique pledging software that allows donors to choose from multiple beneficiaries such as the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center, 360: The Positive Care, Center at UCSF (Men of Color Program), AIDS Legal Referral Panel (ALRP), OneBrick, Healing Waters, and others. Healing Waters also provided the banking and database management during the event.

Kayaking is a sport with a strong demographic base and is accessible to people of diverse abilities. Today, more than 25 million are into the recreational sport, while thousands of the avid paddlers are in San Francisco Bay Area.

For more details on this news, please visit www.fogcityjournal.com.

Teva Mountain Games to be Held on June 5 - 8

Be ready for a fun-filled experience at the Teva Mountain Games 2008. This will be held on June 5 to 8.

The Teva Mountain Games is back and once again, it calls on all professional athletes and amateur outdoor adventure enthusiasts from Vail Valley and around the world to join, meet other people, and have fun. Teva Mountain Games is composed of seven sports and ten disciplines including freestyle and extreme kayaking, kayak and raft paddlecross, bouldering, speed and dyno climbing, mountain bike freeride, big air, cross country and road racing, as well as trail running, and the GNC Ultimate Mountain Challenge!

The event will focus not only on athletic games but also on mountain photography competitions and mountain lifestyle parties! This fun-filled event is totally free and all you need to do is register online at http://www.tevamountaingames.com/register.cfm.

For more details on this news, please visit www.tevamountaingames.com.

Kokatat Sponsors Norwegian Expedition

Arcata, CA - In summer of 2008, Ann Kristin Gjelsten and Tommy Frantzen of Norway will depart on a self-supported sea kayaking expedition to circumnavigate Nordaustlandet, a total distance of 750 kilometers. They will carry food and equipment for five weeks with a goal to complete the circumnavigation in 30 days.

Nordaustlandet is the second largest island of Svalbard, with an area of 14,600 square kilometers, and is located north east of Spitsbergen. A large part of the island is covered with the glaciers Austfonna, Vestfonna, and Sorbonne. The rest of the island is tundra where Svalbard reindeers, polar bears, and walrus live. Austfonna, Europe's largest glacier, is the third largest inland body of ice in the world. The area has been protected as a nature reserve since 1973.

The expedition's biggest challenge will be Austfonna, Europe's biggest glacier, which will prohibit the team from going ashore for 180 kilometers. "To paddle in front of the 180-kilometer long glacier without being able to get ashore is a challenge that demands good planning and routines. But above all, this trip will give us an enormous nature adventure and experience,� says Tommy.

Tommy studied outdoor life at Norway's Mountain School, and learned to sea kayak at Norway's Kayak Federation. At age 49, Tommy has been kayaking for over 25 years and now owns a kayak school in Norway's beautiful Sommer�ya. Past experiences include previous kayaking trips to Svalbard, and sea kayaking trips to New Zealand and British Columbia.

After many ski expeditions and three winter seasons as a hunter and gunman in the polar area of Spitsbergen, Tommy has extensive knowledge and respect for this region.

Ann Kristin, with only two years of sea kayaking experience, has become competent and fearless on the water. At 43 years of age, she is no novice to extreme sports with experience in both parachuting and diving. Whether it's with her kayak or hiking boots, Ann Kristin looks forward to any opportunity for an adventure.

For more information and to follow the expedition, please visit www.kajakkfrantzen.no, or contact Tommy Frantzen at tommfran@online.no.

Get "Into the Water� with Kokatat Watersports Wear, an independent manufacturer committed to growing the sport since 1971! Please contact Lisa Beckstead, Kokatat Public Relations representative, at (775) 225-8039, or e-mail at lisa_beckstead@kokatat.com. Visit us at www.kokatat.com.