Budweiser American Ale, an amber beer from the makers of Bud, has announced the signing of Eric Jackson as an ambassador. (see the press release here.)
Eric Jackson (known as EJ) is a remarkable kayaker. He represented the US in the Olympics for slalom kayaking. He has won the World Championships in freestyle kayaking (rodeo) an unprecedented four times. He has even been inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame. He has designed the best-selling whitewater kayaks of all-time and now has his own kayak company (Jackson Kayak), which is number one in North America for whitewater sales, by a long shot. He guy is an icon!
The Bud deal is surely good news for EJ - I wonder how many cases of suds he's going to get? More importantly, it is a good thing for kayaking! EJ will be featured in ads and point of sale marketing (basically ads in the liquor stores/7-11s all over the US), which will introduce more Americans to paddlesports. Additionally, Bud will have a presence at paddling events which will introduce kayakers to their brand (read free beer at events).
I think anything that puts paddlers and paddling in front of the masses is bound to spin-off a number of people curious enough to give our great activity a try. And the more, the merrier - I say! Unfortunately, Budweiser American Ale is not available in Canada, so we won't be seeing any of the ads here.
A 50 year Florida man recently broke his own Guiness World Record for rolling a kayak - 2,018 times in a row. His old record, which he held for 18 years, is 1,796 rolls. How long does it take to do 2,000 rolls?
Kayak rolling is the act of righting your kayak after you have tipped over. We can teach you to roll once in a row (click here to learn about our winter pool clinics). If you are trying to break the record, you are on your own!
Undercurrents will be closed for Remembrance Day, Wednesday November 11th. We encourage everyone to pause at 11 AM for a moment of silence and to remember those that died in the defence of all that we hold dear. Lest we forget.
At Undercurrents, we are trying to decide what would be the best way to extend our hours for Christmas? What would work best for the hectic schedules of our customers - you? And then it occured to us ... we should ask you!
So, what would work best for you? Here are the obvious choices. Stay open late on Thursday nights. Stay open late on Friday nights. Open on Sundays in December. Something else - your idea.
To let us know what you think, please use the forum below, or send us an email at
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The Calgary stop of the Canadian Canoe Museum "National Treasure Tour" was last Thursday at Mount Royal University. It was hosted by Undercurrents. (click here for the previous blog about the tour)
We've been up to our eyeballs in inventory for the last week, so I'm a little slow in getting this follow-up out.
James Raffan awarding the grand door prize.
James Raffan was very entertaining! He had a well-organized and smooth-flowing presentation about the uses of the canoe in society, much of it in advertising. Interspersed were 'plugs' for the museum and related stories, usually with funny endings. The whole evening was great!
There were about 55 people at the event, all of whom were just as enthusiastic as I am. We showed our famous "Calgary generosity" by raising $1,000 for the Canoe Museum through membership sales, merchandise sales and donations.
If you want to read James Raffan's blog about his visit to Calgary, which includes information about the canoe museum's travelling exhibit coming to Calgary, click here.
Here's a presentation that might interest you. Laurel Archer, a friend of Undercurrents, is doing a free presentation about the fabulous rivers of Northern BC! Below is the press release she sent me.
On November 5, 2009 the Calgary Public Library is hosting a multi-media slideshow by Laurel Archer, paddler, guide and author. She will be presenting on canoeing northern BC's wild rivers. The presentation is from 6:00 to 7:30 pm in Meeting Room #1, Lower Level, Central Library, 616 Macleod Trail SE.
If you know IceBreaker, then you know it rarely goes on sale.
Surprise! Undercurrents has all IceBreaker on sale right now! Everything is 15% to 50% off! But, only until October 31st!
If you don't know IceBreaker Merino, then you need to try it now! It is an amazing technical fabric with stylish looks and a great environmental heritage.
For more information on what IceBreaker does and how it works, see our blog on the subject! (click here)
The Profile Throwbag from Fluid Designs has been out of production for a few years, but now it is back! And, it is at Undercurrents! We are so excited about this throwbag! Canadian designed and manufactured - it is simply the best bag out there! And now, even a few improvements have been made in the new design. Instead of building another bag to hold rope like all the rest, Fluid Designs designed a system for throwing rope (easily, far and accurately), and then re-stuffing it.
On Thursday October 29th, Undercurrents will be co-presenting "National Treasure: Canoes, Canada and the Wonders of The Canadian Canoe Museum," a fascinating presentation about canoes in Canadian society as can only be seen through the ‘eyes' of the Canadian Canoe Museum.
My friend, Howard Heffler, just sent me an email with an update on the Calgary Weir/Harvie Passage's progress to date. Howard was one of the original instigators of the weir project ten years ago and has worked tirelessly on it since then.
The details are contained in the pdf file below. The key points are that construction is on time and on budget, and that the weir is as deadly as ever until the construction is completed. For photos and more detail, check out the pdf report he sent.
