Portfolio Items

Oliver Cock

Oliver J. Cock’s contributions to whitewater kayaking became an integral part of the foundations of the British Canoe Union (BCU). His whitewater films, many from the 1940’s and 1950’s provide a valuable documentation and history of early whitewater paddling and training.

Milo Duffek

Milo Duffek was one of the first paddlers to escape communist Czechoslovakia for the west, setting the pattern of frequent international migration that is central to the paddlesport community. Historian Bill Endicott writes: “Duffek never won a gold medal. In Merano Italy at the Worlds he won something even more precious: His Freedom.”

Ramone Eaton

Ramone (Ray) Eaton was an outstanding leader of networking among paddlers from the 1950’s through the 1970’s. As Vice President of the American Red Cross, his knowledge and expertise in whitewater instruction and safety influenced ARC’s role and involvement in whitewater canoeing and safety.

Hermann and Christa Kerckhoff

Carving out a unique learning program, entrepreneurs and national whitewater champions Hermann and Christa Kerckhoff were pioneers in their field by opening the first commercial whitewater school in the world.

Bunny Johns

Bunny Johns stands out for her sport-changing facilitation of how the process, technique, and safety of whitewater paddling instruction was taught and shared across the USA.