News

Photo Credit: M Baxley at Bear Witness Media The ACA is proud to recognize Sandra Newbury as our Instructor of…

Zach “Bug” Lokken, a U.S. Canoe Slalom Olympian, has spent much of his life charging through whitewater gates at the…

  The staff and I have loved working on the first ACA Story Project. We have truly enjoyed reading all…

My sprint kayaking journey started three years ago when I was barely eleven. My mom has a knack for (safely)…

Though I grew up canoeing on the Potomac River near my childhood home in Maryland, I never really learned how…

It started back in 1959, at a summer camp in New Hampshire. Camp Mowglis introduced me to the outdoors and,…

I didn’t grow up with generations of whitewater traditions or access to outdoor gear passed down from seasoned paddlers. What…

I was asked about a pivotal role that paddling or teaching rescue has played in my life’s landscape. Funny enough,…

My personal paddling story is twofold and takes place at separate times in my life. I first discovered paddling as…

When people ask what I do, I say, “I teach paddling.” Beneath that simple answer lies a lifetime of connection…

In the summer of 2020, amidst the uncertainty and confinement of the COVID-19 pandemic, I desperately wanted the freedom of…

Sam Fowlkes on the Tuckasegee River in Western North Carolina. It was 1963 at Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Camp…

Several years ago, I ran a summer kayak camp. After the camp finished, the counselors gathered to celebrate. As we…

  In June of 2020, the world was on pause. Schools were shut down, plans were canceled, and for one…

  When you see a need, you can’t just wait and hope someone else will address it. My urge for…

  The summer of my 21st birthday in 1981 I had my first encounter with a kayak. It was a…

Like a lot of young people, my introduction to canoeing was at summer camp in the 1970s. Located in Wernersville,…

  My journey in paddling started with a simple “mistake” my parents made — sending me to Camp High Rocks…

  We’re deeply grateful to Kirk Havens for sharing his families story to the ACA Story Project. Dr. Kirk Havens,…

I grew up on the water near Long Island Sound, with paddling in my blood. My father was an accomplished…

Marc (center) pictured with his wife Cat Pots (left) and son Colin Hunt (right). In Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice”,…

  The American Canoe Association is proud to recognize Dustin Miller as our July Instructor of the Month! Dustin is…

  BANG, CLUNK, SMACK. I hear over the torrential downpour, as I pull away from the stop sign on the…

Photo Credit: Stephen McGrady “They say it’s going to be a big one,” my friend said as we looked across…

Bob Bofinger and Jack Dawson competing in Slalom C2 on the Blackwater River in New Hampshire in 1995. My journey…

  I knew I ‘d fallen into the deep end when I began to mark seasons by what kind of…

I came to paddling at a point in life when I knew something had to change. I was stuck —…

Risa running Lava at over 40,000 CFS on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon in 1983. My journey into…

The ACA SEIC SUP Committee is excited to announce the winners of the first-ever Paddle with a SUP Pro Video…

  I started kayaking over twenty years ago. I had just finished playing college soccer and was looking for my…

  The water of Lake Erie is in my veins. From splashing around on the beach at my great grandfather’s…

  Before becoming an ACA instructor, I’d already spent years chasing water across the country. I was paddling classic whitewater…

  My first World Championships was in Merano, Italy in 1971, on a course going right through a gorgeous, tourist…

  The American Canoe Association is thrilled to recognize Melissa DeMarie as our Instructor of the Month for June 2025!…

  The 2025 USA Wildwater National Championships will take place on the Potomac River near Great Falls, Maryland, on August…

Help us choose the winner! The ACA Safety Education & Instruction Council’s Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP) Committee is excited to…

Photo Credit: Eric Francis | Athlete: Tyler Westfall  As the U.S. Canoe Slalom & Kayak Cross National Team sets its…

  The American Canoe Association is proud to recognize John MacDonald as our Instructor of the Month for May 2025!…

  For the fourth year in a row, ACA volunteers joined forces with local paddling leaders to deliver beginner-friendly paddling…

Do you love stand up paddleboarding? Have you benefited from or seen others benefit from SUP instruction and want to…