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Single Bladed Paddlers, We Want to Hear From You!

posted July 10, 2008
by Ambrose Tuscano
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American Whitewater is looking for more story and photo contributions from canoeists, rafters, and C1ers. If you've always wished our magazine highlighted more folks who paddle like you do--with a single blade--this is your chance to make it happen.

Sudden Death, Grief, and Trauma Info on the Web

posted June 29, 2008
by Charles Walbridge

The Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards in Swiftwater Rescue honor outstanding achievement in the technical rescue discipline of swiftwater and flood rescue. They are not heroism awards, but rather recognize preparedness, teamwork, and a job well done, sometimes under extreme conditions, where training is vital to the success of rescue missions, as well as the safety of rescue personnel.

The awards were established in 1993 by members of the Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) in honor of Earl Higgins, a writer and filmmaker who lost his life in 1980 while rescuing a child who was swept down the flood-swollen Los Angeles River, and Jeffrey Langley, a Los Angeles County Fire Department firefighter-paramedic and swiftwater rescue pioneer, who lost his life in a helicopter incident in 1993.

There is a special page on the Higgins & Langley Memorial and Education Fund website that features a series of outstanding information brochures about sudden death grief and trauma. The brochures were produced by the Royal Hospitals Trauma Advisory Council in Ireland:

Sudden Death - Grief and Trauma Brochures
http://higginsandlangley.org/death_grief_information.shtml

The brochures will no longer be available on the Royal Hospitals website, as the Trauma Advisory Council is ending in August. We received permission to feature the brochures on our website - they are among the best resources I've found online that focus on sudden death grief and trauma.

The information is broken into three groups - for families who have suffered a sudden death loss, for professionals dealing with these families, and for schools that have children in attendance who are grieving. The brochures are also divided by age group, which is very helpful.

Eventually, this information will be featured on the new Drowning Support Network web site.

posted June 28, 2008
by Charles Walbridge

There is a special page on the Higgins & Langley Memorial and Education Fund website that features a series of outstanding information brochures about sudden death grief and trauma. The brochures were produced by the Royal Hospitals Trauma Advisory Council in Ireland. they are among the best resources online that focus on sudden death grief and trauma.

 

Sudden Death - Grief and Trauma Brochures

http://higginsandlangley.org/death_grief_information.shtml

 

Surprise: More Chattooga Delays

posted March 7, 2008
by Kevin Colburn
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The Sumter National Forest told AW today to expect even more delays in the release of their Environmental Assessment (EA) regarding recreational use in the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River corridor.  Now a full year late, and fraught with problems, it is unclear when the EA will be released.

Guided Rafting Accident Statistics

posted September 4, 2007
by David Brown
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A CNN story on whitewater rafting deaths published in September 2006, which can still be found on the Web, omits the fact that most of the fatalities cited by the article did not occur on commercial raft trips, said to David Brown, Executive Director of America Outdoors (AO).  America Outdoors is a national association of outfitters, which includes many whitewater rafting companies.  The story cites 50 whitewater deaths and infers that they were on commercial rafting trips due to lax state regulation.  Brown says his data shows 10 fatalities on guided, commercial raft trips in 2006.  None of the deaths on commercial trips were the result of a customer not wearing a life jacket.  Of the eight rafting deaths cited in Oregon by CNN, none were on a commercially guided trip.

Jim Segerstrom, Swiftwater Rescue Pioneer, Dies

posted February 11, 2007
by Charles Walbridge
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Jim Segerstrom, founder of Rescue III International and a renowned swiftwater rescue expert, died February 5, 2007 in San Francisco, CA after a massive stroke. He was 60 years old. A former river guide and climbing instructor, Jim was the originator of the Swiftwater Rescue Technician program that has been a huge influence on paddlers and rescue professionals alike. He was the author of several original SRT course texts as well as books on high angle rescue and helicopter rescue. He was a frequent contributor to rescue magazines and a speaker at many national rescue and EMS conferences. A 25-year member of the Tuolumne County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team, he continued to respond to emergencies and train instructors until his death. The strong current of Jim's life work will continue to be felt on rivers throughout the world.