Winter Solstice in Annisquam ~ Waitaha River - It had been a while!

Playak News Flash - December 24, 2013
The world's latest paddling headlines.

News Watch Headlines Winter Solstice in Annisquam Trash Paddler - I suppose it was only appropriate that just a few minutes after the winter solstice one of Old Man Winter's coolest ambassadors would be encountered upon the rocks of Annisquam. Waitaha River - It had been a while! Jordan Searle - Since the price of chopper flights went up and the fact that Carnage Gorge on the Kokatahi was no longer a portage, the Waitaha was never one of my go to options when the weather was fine and it was time to fly. Well a couple of weeks back, just after the Kokatahi trip, ... Laird StandUp appoints New Marketing, Sales, and Team Manager Standup Journal - Nidecker USA, the distributor of Yes, Jones, Slash & Nidecker Snowboards, Now Bindings and Laird StandUp Paddle boards have hired Mark Paaluhi for Marketing/Sales/Team Manager for the Laird StandUp brand. Interview with German slalom athlete Jasmin Schornberg Sportscene - 27 Year-old Jasmin Schornberg from Germany, 2009 World Champion canoe slalom and 2012 Olympian, chats to Sportscene's German correspondent Sabrina Barm. New Policy Proposed on Hydropower Development in Lao Pdr Puts Developers' Interests First International Rivers - From December 4th-5th, the Government of Laos' Department of Energy Policy and Planning (DEPP) of the Ministry of Energy and Mines along with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) convened a public meeting on the proposed Policy on Sustainable Hydropower Development (PSHD) at Settha Palace in Vientiane. A 15 Year Montana, White Water Tradition Werner - This year was my second year as the lead instructor and organizer for "Girls on the Gorge". This annual event takes place on the Alberton and Tarkio Gorge of the Clark Fork River just west of Missoula, MT. The program has been an all-women's whitewater kayaking clinic tradition for years started by Tracy Bowerman 15 years ago. Top 10 Paddles of 2013 Tony Paradise - Winter paddles in general make my list at #10 this year and specifically a paddle Dean and I completed yesterday. Five - 10 centimeters of snow was forecasted with easterly winds strengthening as the morning wore on. American Whitewater Turns 60 Am. Whitewater - Throughout 2014 American Whitewater will be celebrating its 60th year of existence in the AW Journal. In each issue we will reprint old stories from previous issues, highlight some critical period in the organization's past, and generally stand back and try to appreciate everything that AW has offered whitewater paddlers over the past six decades. How do I maintain my fitness for late season SUP races? Riding Bumps - If you do not have any races coming up for the rest of the year, you need to make a decision as to whether or not you want to stay on a structured training program. Spending too much time with structure tends to wear people out if they do not have a goal in mind. Winter Solstice Paddle Newfoundland Kayakoholic - Tony and I paddled today; others were busy. We did not really have any set plan other to meet at St. Philips in the morning and paddle in the falling snow that was promised to us by the weather people. Race director best practices: Handling prize money Distressed Mullet - This article from Distressed Mullet is for race directors to be transparent in their communication of what prize money and awards they are going to give. Its good guidelines to follow, prize money is required for the pro's who make a living out of participating in sports events, its fine if race directors can't give much prize money, but lets just make it clear, that won't disappoint athletes at least, there will be many paddlers who would come to paddle just for fun, nothing to worry. The day when the Santa's SUPed the Thames SUPboarder - 'Twas a cold winter afternoon and all through the city, crowds were swarming through shopping centres and making mess, whilst calm on the water 50 St Nicks took to their SUPs to deliver their 'presence' to the banks of the Thames. Starting from Kew, they battled the tides and the wind, working their core after all those mince pies. Super fun SUP surfing video. Enjoy!! SUP International - Check out Kyron´s latest clip "2 Days in December" – 2 days of super fun waves wrapped into a 3 and a half minute tasty little edit! Kyron is stoked with the finished product: "Lots of wipeouts went down for this one but worth it as always and I only snapped one paddle and 5 leg ropes whilst filming!" Peabody Museum Indigenous Boats - The Nuu-chah-nulth people, formerly known as the Nootka, traditionally lived on Vancouver Island, where whaling, as shown in this diorama, constituted one of their important economic activities. What and where Is The Fastest Downwind Run? SUPracer - Here, we see some of the best places to have good downwind paddling runs. The Mandurah run in Australia is one such place that has one of the fastest downwind conditions with winds over 25 knots. Then we have Cape Town in South Africa that has the long-running PRIMI Naish Downwind Dash Series. We all know about Hawaii too, the Molokai 2 Oahu and the Maui 2 Molokai runs.

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Today's News Editor(s): bartw.