Regional Team Initiative
Go Here for List of 2011 Regional Team Members
2012 Regional Teams
a program of the Whitewater Slalom Foundation
Summary of Regional Teams Criteria
Athletes who have raced in three regional spring races before June 15th, and who are ranked in the top two in their age-group and event, are eligible to be named to their Regional team. Those athletes who go on to race in the 2012 Junior Olympics, Age-Group Nationals, Junior Worlds, or one of the Canadian Slalom Series races, will each be awarded $200 to offset travel or other expenses; their coaches will each receive $100. The same criteria and awards will apply to all three age groups.
Rules for 2012 Regional Teams
Although the selection of the regional teams will be left up to each region, the WSF requests and requires that the teams be selected according to objective racing performance, and that the selection committee not include the parent of any athlete competing for that region's team. In addition, the Whitewater Slalom Foundation (WSF) will limit its awards according to the following criteria:
1. Awards will only be given to athletes who have completed three (3) regional spring races by June 17, which races will be used to rank the athletes according to the rules of the regional racing series, or other rules that the region may set forth. The athlete must finish each race counted toward this total (i.e., those receiving DNF's on both runs will not count as having attended that race). Regional teams should be announced and submitted to the WSF by the end of June.
2. Awards will be limited to two boats per class in each of the three age categories: Junior, 16-and-under, and cadet. Racers will be eligible only in their appropriate age category. Awards will be made only in the following classes: K-1M, C-1M, C-2 (one class, may be either men, women, or mixed), K-1W, C-1W.
3. Money will only be awarded only to athletes who have gone on to race in the 2012 Junior Olympics, Age-Group Nationals, Junior Worlds, one of the Canadian Slalom Series races, or other designated races. The awards will be made after the designated competitions are completed, and evidence of athlete and coach attendance is received.
4. Each athlete may receive only one monetary reward.
5. The WSF will not apply a regional residency requirement. As far as the WSF is concerned, for example, a Pennsylvania athlete may be named to the Northeast team. Regions may, however, have their own requirements.
6. Recipients of awards must be USACK members.
7. An athlete’s eligibility for selection to a particular team category is determined by the athlete’s “competition age” (age on December 31 of 2012). Junior's "competition age" must be 18 or younger; 16-and-under for that team; and 14 and under for the cadet team.
8. The total award (including matching funds) will be $200 to the athlete, and $100 to the athlete's coach.
9. In order to receive WSF funds, coaches must be approved by their region.
10. In addition to the criteria above, it is recommended, though not a WSF requirement, that the regions employ the following percentage cut-off. Percentages are all calculated off the single best result among the youth classes. Junior and Junior 16: K-1M 150%; C-1M 160%; C-2 170%; K-1W 170%; C-1W 180%. Cadet: K-1M 175%; C-1M 185%; C-2 195%; K-1W 195%; C-1W 205%. Regions may choose to use other percentages.
11. Regions should send matching funds directly into the WSF account (Whitewater Slalom Foundation, P.O. Box 671, Lakeville CT 06039). Checks should be made payable to "WSF," with "Regional Teams" in the memo line. Although we ask that each region contribute one half of the amount to be awarded in their region, in 2012 we will continue to rely on an honor system. All monies contributed will go into a single national fund, instead of being earmarked by region.
Regions
For the purposes of the Regional Teams program the regions are designated as follows. Although the initial basis for the regions was the USAWS divisions, some regions were divided to reflect the realities of volunteer activity, and to help reduce young racers' travel time.
1. Northeast: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, and Connecticut.
2. Mid‐Atlantic: New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, District of Columbia, West Virginia, Virginia, and Delaware.
3. South‐Atlantic: Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Florida.
4. Northwest: Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Alaska.
5. Southwest: Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico.
6. Western: California, Nevada, and Hawaii.
7. Northern Mid‐Continental: Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota.
8. Southern Midwest: Texas, Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas.