Enter the Great Gauley River Trivia Contest

Enter American Whitewater’s Great Gauley River Festival Trivia Contest!

Answer these questions about Gauley whitewater history correctly and you will have a chance to win a specially signed, first edition copy of Sue Taft’s new book "The River Chasers". This new book is a comprehensive history of whitewater sport drawn from the people who influenced it most in the U.S. and abroad. Well researched through personal interviews and illustrated with many personal photos this book should be in every whitewater boater’s library. Meet Sue at the 2001 Gauley Festival where she will be signing copies of her book.

Answer these Gauley River Whitewater Trivia Questions

1- Who was the trip leader of the first recognized closed boat trip on the Upper Gauley?

2- What prompted the establishment of the Gauley Festival?

3- What group started the Gauley Festival?

4- What year was the first Gauley Festival held?

5- In what year was the iron ring stolen?

6- Lost Paddle Rapid is named because of who’s lost paddle?

Contest Details:Put your answers to the Gauley Trivia questions in an email along withyour name and send it to Quizmaster Nick@amwhitewater.org by Sept. 17th. Emails with the correct answers will be thrown in a hat and the final winner picked during the raffle at the Gauley Festival. You must be present to win.

About the Author

Sue Taft’s adult paddling career began as a flat-water marathon racer in the early 70’s. Sue abandoned flat-water when she built a fiberglass whitewater kayak in 1976, the first of many whitewater boats she has built throughout her career. In the fall of 1978, she ran the Gauley for the first time with fellow Keel-Haulers from Cleveland, Ohio. The rivers of West Virginia were her “home” rivers although paddling vacations included trips to the Southeast, New England, Colorado, Idaho, Washington, and Wyoming.

Sue has also been involved in both instruction and river rescue sponsored by the Keel-Haulers.
In addition to paddling kayak, Sue also paddled C-1 and C-2, often with another woman making them an anomaly, particularly on rivers in the West. She was also a sometime weekend racer, competing in K-1W as well as C-2M.

Sue continues to paddle whitewater although not as intensely as in her earlier days. She still paddles kayak and in the past few years has gotten back into C-paddling as an OC-1 paddler. She continues to design and build woodstrip whitewater kayaks and canoes for her personal use.

The River Chasers is the culmination of five years of research. The story of the evolution of white water as a sport continues with in-depth studies of the design, geography, and biography associated with The River Chasers.