Hometown

Cashmere, Washington

Favorite Hala board

Atcha 86

How many years have you been SUPing?

9 years

Which SUP discipline(s) can we find you competing in this year?

Whitewater Racing, SUP Cross,

and All-Watercraft, Friendly Community Building Competitions

Tell us a little bit about yourself

Life has randomly brought me to a beautiful little valley with an amazing river for whitewater SUP at a time when equipment for such a thing even exists. I feel pretty lucky. After spending most of my springs on dry land committed to pole vaulting as an athlete and as a coach, I had no idea that I was missing out on the amazing world of whitewater sports. Now, it's hard to imagine life without it. Standing through a powerful rapid or recovering from a swim puts me in a place where I'm forced block out all the other complexities of life and simply be present in the moment . The river can be so different from day to day and even moment to moment. That element of uncertainty and lack of control, even if just for a moment, is something I've come to appreciate in contrast to the boring modern ideals of security and predictability.

I'm competitive by nature, but there's not a lot of organized events in the PNW. I'm usually just competing with myself on my local river, setting little goals like trying to surf an elusive wave or paddle rapids on my weak side. There is a local series of friendly competitions that is mostly for kayakers, but they are pretty welcoming to me. My biggest official accomplishments were getting 1st and 2nd in the SUP X and Endurance SUP races at the Upper Clackamas Whitewater Festival before the event took a 3-year hiatus due to Covid and wildfires. My favorite moments on a SUP are always paddling the Lower Salmon river self-support style and cleaning "Snow Hole" rapid. There's always a bunch of raft parties on the rocks scouting their line and there's something about having an audience that makes it all a bit more exciting.