Archive News
Whitewater
Makes a Big Splash in McHenry, Maryland (pdf)
McHenry, MD October 20, 2005.
The inaugural Induction Ceremony of the International Whitewater Hall
of Fame and Museum was held Friday, October 14, 2006. A throng of dignitaries,
officials, students, friends, family and other well-wishers attended the
evening event. They gave standing ovations as accolades and awards were
presented to the Honorees by members of the IWHOF Board of Governors for
their outstanding accomplishment and contributions to whitewater sports
and activities in the categories of Pioneer, Explorer, Champion and Advocate.
A special Life Time Achievement Award sponsored by the Adventure Sports
Center International Board of Directors was also presented at the ceremony.
The six Honorees inducted into the Hall of Fame were selected from among
many well qualified individuals through a rigorous process of nomination,
evaluation and election by peer groups throughout the nation and world
spanning a period of ten months. Nominations submitted by IWHOF Affiliate,
whitewater related, organizations were reviewed and evaluated by a diverse,
knowledgeable and experienced Screening Committee that identified Candidates
for election by a world-wide Electorate body of whitewater practitioners.
The Honorees and the categories for which they were presented an award
during the evening’s proceedings were as follows:
Pioneer: Bob McNair of Massachusetts who wrote THE manual
for basic river canoeing techniques was instrumental in forming the American
Whitewater Affiliation uniting clubs across America and was a key proponent
for forming the American Canoe Association Slalom Committee. His award
was accepted by his widow, Edith, assisted by his daughter Matty.
Explorer: Rob Lesser of Idaho, who set the standard for
exploratory kayaking on big, Class V, water, was first to run the Grand
Canyon of the Stikine in Northern Canada, the North Fork of the Payette
and made several first descents on very difficult rivers in U.S. and Canada.
Champion: Davey Hearn of Maryland is a two time World
Champion Gold medalist in single canoe, a six time team gold medalist
and an eight time silver medalist. He has been a dominating force in canoe
slalom producing paddling techniques and boat design innovations over
a twenty six year competitive career and is a holder of the Top Ten Sportsman
of The Year award by the U.S. Olympic Committee.
Champion: Jon Lugbill of Virginia has the distinct honor
of being the only athlete in history to have one twelve World Championship
Gold medals. He is generally recognized as the best paddler ever to compete
in whitewater canoeing (C1). He has been an NBC commentator in two Olympics,
a winner of theWheaties “Search for Champions”, an holds the
U.S. Olympic Top Ten Sportsman of The Year and several other national
awards.
Advocate: Payson Kennedy from North Carolina is the co-founder
of the Nantahala Outdoor Center and built it into the largest outdoor
education and training center in the world. He won six National championships
in two-man canoe (C-2), is an ardent supporter of slalom and wildwater
racing and helped produce several U.S. Olympic racers.
Advocate: Charles Walbridge of West Virginia is known throughout
the world for his work in whitewater safety and rescue which has resulted
in countless lives being saved. He has made numerous accomplishments and
contributions including the development of several safety and rescue devices,
delivering many speeches and producing several publications over a forty
year career. He has received many National honors for his work.
The Life Time Achievement Award was given this year to Bill Endicott
of Maryland in recognition and honor of his outstanding and substantial
contributions to whitewater sports and related activities nationally and
internationally. He vastly influenced whitewater slalom in the United
Sates and Internationally over a thirty year period. As a Whitewater Team
coach, he trained athletes who won fifty-seven medals in World Championships,
World Cup and Olympic competitions, twenty-seven of these were Gold medals.
He co-created the Canoe Slalom World Cup featuring multiple major international
competitions on at least two continents every year since 1988 and is the
author of five books on whitewater sports.
Bill gave the keynote speech of the evening providing an historical perspective
of the development of whitewater sports in this country.
Two Special Recognition Awards were also presented during
the ceremony. The first was presented to Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Finan Jr.
for their contribution that helped launch efforts to develop the Hall
of Fame recognizing Adventure Sports. The other was given to Don Storck
for his outstanding contributions and vision in the development of the
Hall of Fame.
Ceremonies were concluded with the enshrinement of the six Honorees into
the International Whitewater Hall of Fame as the inaugural class of 2005.
A rendering of the hall of fame and museum building developed locally
by Deep Creek Lake Design Studio was on display to portray the structure
planned for future construction at the Adventure Sports Center International
on Marsh Mountain in McHenry, Maryland. Until this structure is completed,
a “Wall of Fame” containing photographs and information on
this year’s Honorees will be created in the Deep Creek Lake –
Garrett County Visitors Center.
Media Contact
Brian Trusty
(301) 387-3250
btrusty@adventuresportscenter.com
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