Month: January 2020

2019 saw entries from all categories at the US Nationals held in Salida and Buena Vista, Colorado on the Arkansas River.  The Under 19 women’s category contained two well matched and trained teams. The ladies battled fiercely throughout the competition with the Dandy Lions team captained by Lori Cassidy finally taking the title with a downriver win that saw both teams leading at different times throughout the race.    Internationally, there are four categories for whitewater raft racing athletes to compete in.   Those categories are under 19, under 23, open and masters. The Dandy Lion team met and started training…

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Raft racing, through the International Rafting Federation, is as much about promoting awareness about the value of wild rivers all over the world, as it is about competition.” Sue Norman, Coach California Development Team The 2019 r4 competition saw two under 19 team’s fiercely battling on the river and displaying incredible sportmanship off.  This expansion of raft racing in the US has a lot to do with Sue Norman and the families of Califoria’s first youth team.    Sue Norman is no stranger to competition. She was on the women’s USA team from 1989-2000 where she, along with her teammates, grabbed…

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Jon, “Shaggy” McLaughlin had a strong history of paddling whitewater.   Over time, though, a shift had caused him to fear one of his greatest loves: the river.  His friends would call him to go paddling and he would turn them down.   He said, “My confidence was low, like ‘in the basement’ low. I didn’t know where this fear was coming from…to be afraid of something I loved so much. The river. …It was upsetting…”  One fateful day, Andy Baxter, a member of the US men’s Masters team, contacted Shaggy about filling a spot on the team. That phone call…

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