Re: [Paddlewise] What's Wrong With Kayaking

On Mon, Dec 20, 2004 at 07:27:43PM -0800, P Martin wrote:
> Rather than glamorize the sport so that it has mass appeal, I would prefer to
> see it marketed as a serious sport for those who are willing to commit to the
> training required to be responsible.

Something similar is happening in the whitewater area as well: the rise of
artificial courses which facilitate "park and play" is pulling people away
from rivers (and the long drive, and the shuttle, and the unpredictability
of levels, and ...).  Even major competitions are now often held on artificial
courses (e.g., the Olympics) which is silly when so many wonderful and beautiful
rivers are available.  (Here in the US, an artificial course is being built in
western MD, not far from the wild and scenic Savage, site of the 1989 slalom
world championships and an absolutely superb location for competition...but
which has not been used since the 1992 team trials.  What a pity.)

This is causing multiple problems, one of which is that paddlers who spend lots
of time in these artificial environments are relatively unprepared for being
on wilderness rivers -- where their cell phone won't work and it's a long hike
to shelter/warm clothes/help.  Another is that the sense of stewardship for
the rivers is fading: there is a growing disconnect between paddlers and the
rivers that they have traditionally kept watch over and helped to preserve,
admittedly in part out of self-interest.

But these concerns, whether they're valid or not, or being trumped by hype
and marketing and money: the equipment vendors and the magazines make their
money by appealing to the masses, and the rivers flow mute, with empty wallets.

---Rsk