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West Virginia Wildwater Association |
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The West Virginia Wildwater Association (WVWA) was founded in 1965 with the purpose of paddling and enjoying the wild and scenic rivers of West Virginia and the surrounding Appalachian area. From the original hand full of members, it has grown into a major recreational and conservation organization in the state. West Virginia is blessed with some of the best, and most diverse, whitewater in the country. Our club is dedicated to helping others enjoy, understand, and appreciate the joy of paddling. We sponsor clinics and roll sessions for new and seasoned boaters thoughout the year, schedule trips during the paddling season, and work to keep paddlers aware of conservation and access concerns. We also host a "WVWA/NYSC Whitewater Weekend" each summer. This started in 1975 when Barney Lilly was contacted by the National Youth Science Camp (NYSC) to see if we would be interested in hosting a river trip for some of their delegates on a weekend during their camp. Barney got the ball rolling and WVWA has hosted this event almost every year since then. (We did miss a couple years because of weather/water conditions.) You can read Barney's recollections about how this event got started at www.wvwa.net/wvwa_nysc_Barney.pdf. The WVWA Calendar is the place to look for information about roll sessions, club trips, club-sponsored classes/clinics and other paddling-related events. WVWA also hosts a message board which is viewable by anyone. Club members and non-members who register (free of charge) can post paddling-related messages on the board. (We do encourage those who use the message board frequently to become dues-paying members of the club.) Club meetings are normally held on the second Thursday of each month, in the Charleston area. See the WVWA Calendar for the date, time and place for upcoming meetings. Our club newsletter, Splashes, is available online to all club members in the "Members Only" section of our website. It is also mailed to those members who pay dues for receiving mailings. We encourage all WVWA members to send their articles, trip reports, pictures and other information for upcoming issues of the newsletter to our Newsletter Editor. For pictures be sure to include names, river, rapid, date, water level, and photographer. If you prefer, you can mail the information to Linda Barthwick at her home address (which can be found in our membership roster). Club members are encouraged to post their trip reports in the "Trip Reports" section of our website. We are alway looking for new club members and paddling partners. See our membership page to join today! If you would like more information about WVWA, send us an email. For traditional correspondence via snail mail, write to: PO Box 8413 South Charleston, WV 25303 For e-mail correspondence see the Officers Page. |