International Whitewater Hall of Fame Inducts Class of 2010

The International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHOF) Class of 2010 was inducted on September 25, 2010 outside of Washington, DC in front of 200 whitewater celebrities. This year's induction was held in concert with a Whitewater Slalom Foundation (WSF) reunion fundraiser and the Bethesda Center of Excellence (BCE)'s 2010 National Slalom Championships. Speakers included Scott Shipley, IWHOF Class of '06 and WSF President; BCE President Adam  Van Grack, PIF CEO Ed Councill, Board of Governors members Pamela Dillon and Rafael Gallo, and representative of New England FLOW, Tom Christopher.

Those honored as the  Class of 2010 honorees are MIkey Abbott (NZ) - Explorer, Theo Bock (Germany) - Pioneer, Michal Martikan (Slov) - Champion, and Helen Brownlee (Australia) and Risa Shimoda (USA) - Advocates. Mr. Andre Dorba, representative of the Embassy of Slovakia in Washington, DC was on hand to receive Mr. Martikan's award, and both Michal and Mikey video acceptance remarks were played. Inductee Ms. Brownlee complimented IWHOF for having established and nurtured this young organization and was enthusiastic about the family of 36 who have now been inducted into a family of whitewater's finest.

For more information on ceremony and the fantastic video of this year's inductees produced by Performance Video/Kent Ford '08, as well as the acceptance videos from Mikey Abbott and Michal Martikan, visit www.iwhof.org.

In the photo Members of the International Whitewater Hall of Fame (left to right):
Bill Endicott '05,  Jon Lugbill '05,  Risa Shimoda '10,  Charlie Walbridge '05,  Helen Brownlee '10,  Kent Ford '08, Rafael Gallo '09,  Davey Hearn '05,  Scott Shipley '06

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