LIQUID ADVENTURES KAYAK SCHOOL: instructors and their goals

What unites us as Liquid Adventures' staff is a love for river adventure and a passion for instructing others. We are all avid paddlers ourselves, each of us with a special interest in one of the variety of white water disciplines, whether river running, down river racing, slalom paddling, or playboating. On every class or trip, we dedicate ourselves to providing expert and sensitive kayak instruction .

Your first experiences on the river may set the tone for the rest of your paddling lifetime. Our first interest is in your personal enjoyment and success. With patience and insight, we will stick with you until you have achieved your goals.

We hope you join us in this rewarding and addicting sport! Find out what others say about us by reading student comments.





leadership:
Tom McEwan, Director Tom grew up in the D.C. area and is a true pioneer in the sports of whitewater canoeing and kayaking. He was one of the first to explore some of today's most popular rapids on West Virginian, Canadian and Mexican rivers. Tom has competed internationally on the U.S. Wild Water Team and with friends, was the first to run Great Falls on the Potomac River in 1975. Over the years, he has coached many of the nation’s top competitive athletes, including several Olympians, National Champions and U.S. National Team members. But he is most proud of the hundreds of recreational kayakers that he has introduced to the sport. In 1998, Tom and several friends attempted a National Geographic-sponsored first descent of Tibet’s legendary Tsangpo River. You can read about this expedition in team member Wick Walker's book, ‘Courting the Diamond Sow,’ published by National Geographic Adventure Press in 2000. back to top		Sarah Park, Director at Large Growing up in Zamibia, Africa, Sarah spent most of her childhood playing in and around the Zambezi River. She first sat in a kayak on this river at the age of 8. Since then, in the midst of traveling and living in different countries around the world, she discovered the Washington, D.C., area and the Potomac River. She quickly developed a passion for paddling Class IV and V whitewater in West Virginia, Canada, Colorado and Mexico. When not away leading a trip or competing on the National Whitewater Slalom Circuit as one of the top U.S. paddlers, Sarah can be found enthusiastically sharing her knowledge of kayaking with groups of students on the Potomac River.


instructors
The core of Liquid Adventures instructors mostly are from our own programs. Liquid Adventures continues to be a source of white water adventure for our staff who still love to participate in our many programs. Minimum certification for instructors is American Canoe Association (ACA) Whitewater certification and have undertaken Wilderness First Aid, American Red Cross CPR and Advanced Swiftwater Rescue. Those who lead our trips and teach intermediate courses also have ACA Advanced Whitewater certification. If you are interested in joining the Liquid Adventures team of instructors, please mail an application form and call our office. We’d love to hear from you. If you are not yet certified but are interested in becoming an instructor, Tom is an ACA Kayak Instructor-Trainer and with Mark Moore teaches an ACA certification in the spring. This program is ideal for anyone who would like to become an instructor or for those who would just like to advance their individual understanding of skill and technique.

2007 staff:
John Boylan Ted Bradley Emily Cohn Clay Deming Bryon Dorr Pablo McCandless Tom McEwan AJ McIntyre Jeff McIntyre		Mark Moore Joe Mornini John Munnell Nathan Nahikian Hollie Noble Grayson Taff Sarah Park Middy Tilghman Kristin Wood

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website design: Beth Laundon designs