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Apr. 21, 2011
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has awarded the 2014 Canoe Slalom World Championships to Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI), based in McHenry. Following presentations at its April 15 spring board meeting in Paris, ICF selected ASCI's Deep Creek 2014: ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships bid over competing entries from Vienna, Austria, and Krakow, Poland.
The event, to be held September 16-21, 2014, will mark the 25th anniversary of the 1989 World Championships held on the Savage River in Garrett County and represents a return of world championship whitewater canoe and kayak racing to the United States for the first time since the 1989 event.
"Deep Creek and Garrett County deserved to win this bid," said Matt Taylor, ASCI's executive director and himself a two-time Olympic canoe racer. "Garrett County has done more than any other rural community in the U.S. to build infrastructure to host international-caliber whitewater events. We have a perfect whitewater venue for the return of the World Championships, and a historically significant date to celebrate the long heritage of whitewater paddling in the region. ASCI is very proud of its bid, and is grateful for the significant support it has received from local business leaders, Garrett County, the state of Maryland, and Maryland’s federal delegation."
Letters of support were submitted from U.S. Senators Barbara Mikulski and Benjamin Cardin, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley, Senator George Edwards, Delegate Wendell Beitzell, Maryland Sports marketing director Terry Hasseltine, the Garrett County commissioners, Garrett County Chamber of Commerce president Nicole Christian, Wisp Resort owner Karen Myers, and Garrett College president Richard MacLennan.
"The 2014 World Slalom Championship is a transformative sporting event for Garrett County that will place the county on a national and international stage over the next several years," said Garrett County Commissioner Crawford, who accompanied Taylor to France this week to submit ASCI's bid. "This momentous event reinforces the vision for ASCI, as well as allows Garrett County to showcase our region and other outdoor recreation activities. It will allow us to forge new relationships and opportunities with the competitive paddle-sport community that includes out-rigger canoe racing, dragon boat racing, marathon canoe racing, and sprint canoe, which is an Olympic discipline."
He continued, "The county and state benefited economically from media coverage of the 1989 World Championship, and I'm confident that the 2014 World Slalom Championship will provide economic opportunities leading up to the event that will carry over beyond 2014. I'm excited and supportive of the possibilities that this event creates."
The 1989 Worlds attracted more than 600 competitors representing 26 nations. More than 40,000 spectators attended racing events and the opening ceremonies.
ASCI's Deep Creek 2014 bid was submitted at the end of February and was reviewed in March by the ICF Slalom Committee. It received high marks by the committee and was formally accepted as the recommended bid, but the committee members stressed the need for a high-level delegation to make a personal presentation of the bid at the Paris board meeting. The presentation was given by Joe Jacobi, CEO of U.S.A. Canoe/Kayak; Commissioner Crawford; Taylor; and Suzanne Nicolas, ASCI's event coordinator.
Read the full article here.
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