Whitewater Racing Gains New Status

As a person looks across the years in the course of a lifetime certain events stand out as unusually memorable. Such an event occurred in August when a group of Dartmouth people competed at the World Whitewater Championships held in the French Alps under the shadow of Mt. Blanc on the Isère River. Some 336 contestants from 17 nations traveled to the town of Bourg St. Maurice to join in friendly international competition. Even faraway Japan sent a delegation of five.

Chosen as members of the United States Whitewater Team were John Burton '69 from Lake Forest, Ill. who was the leading American in wildwater canoe racing at the 1967 World Championships, and Dartmouth sophomore Eric Evans '72, the 1969 U. S. national slalom champion.

Other Dartmouth people involved in this effort were manager Bill Riley '63, currently a history instructor at Kimball Union Academy; Dave and Peggy Nutt — son and daughter of Prof, and Mrs. Dave Nutt '41; and Lucile McKee from Randolph, N. H., who worked in the Dartmouth Information Services office. Jay Evans '49, on leave from the Admissions Office, was appointed by the American Canoe Association as head coach. Riley first became manager of the team in 1967, and both Burton and Eric Evans were members of that squad which competed at Lipno, Czechoslovakia.

These Dartmouth racers, all members of the Ledyard Canoe Club, joined with 23 others chosen by the A.C.A. from all parts of the United States to compete for the 1969 world titles in canoe and kayak racing in Whitewater.

The entire United States team first met as a unit on the evening of July 15 at the campsite near Bourg St. Maurice. There followed an intensive period of training in both slalom and wildwater racing. During the course of these preparations some of the racers were sent to various parts of Europe to compete in regional and national competitions. At the Swiss National Wildwater Championships Peggy Nutt won a "bronze" by placing a surprising third in the ladies' class, and Eric Evans, in a borrowed boat, took sixth out of a field of 20 kayaks.

Eric's high point came at the Spittal Slalom held on the Lieser River in Austria, where he placed fourth in a large field of 82 kayaks. In doing so he placed higher than any previous American at this race and became the first member of the U.S. team to outplace a member of the World Champion East German team. This, together with John Burton's third place in the canoe class and Peggy Nutt's remarkable Eskimo roll in the middle of the race course, was enough to draw some attention to the U.S. team for the first time.

The United States first competed in the World Championships in 1961 when three racers crossed the Atlantic to enter. As late as 1967 we still managed to place either dead last or next to last in four out of ten events. It was clear that America had a long way to go to catch up. However, when Peggy Nutt took second at the Augsburg Slalom, with Eric Evans placing sixth out of 46 in the men's division and John Burton placing first among 22 in the canoe class, it became obvious that we had ceased to play the role of doormat and had begun to force the contenders to look over their shoulders.

Word travels fast in sporting circles and we were pleasantly surprised to be received with so much courtesy and attention at Bourg St. Maurice - especially after seeing signs along the highways of southern France reading, "Johnson assassins — go home!" Since we had arrived somewhat early, the French coach granted our squad equal practice time on the course. Later on several countries registered surprise that we were given one of the choicest campsites in the area, and our team was honored by a visit from Herman Breiter, the fabulously successful coach of the East German team. He and his trainer, Warner Lempert, stayed well over an hour as we exchanged information as well as pleasantries. At the opening ceremonies of the Championships, when our team paraded past the reviewing stand the loudspeaker identified the U.S. squad by announcing, "And now comes that popular American team," while a provincial French band struck up Marching Through Georgia.

Early in our training period John Burton was elected captain by the U.S. team members. A natural leader, he represented us well and did much to unite our 28-man squad.

As the day approached for the opening of the races, as if by secret signal several Dartmouth men appeared at our campsite to offer their services to the team. To mention a couple, Andy MacCornack '66, former president of the Ledyard Canoe Club, assisted in training the team, and Nick Brandt '70 handily worked the Dartmouth Outing Club walkie-talkies that we had brought along for communications.

The Championships themselves were spread out over five days and, as can be expected with a squad of 28 people who ranged in age from 16 to 56, there were surprises, disappointments, and pleasures, as well as frustrations. Clearly the most outstanding single feat was accomplished by John Burton, who surprised himself and everyone else by placing seventh in the canoe wildwater race out of a field of 27 of the best boaters in the world. The top ten in any category in world competition is pretty fast company and so we were all delighted that he did so well.

Closely following John was Dave Nutt who uncorked a sizzling first run in kayak slalom which gave him an unprecedented tenth place out of a very tough field of 45 boats. There is no question that kayaks are the hottest class in Europe. Just the faintest suggestion of a hesitation on the course, resulting in a 50 point penalty, for example, dropped Eric Evans from 12th place to 20th in slalom. Peggy Nutt also had tough luck in the slalom event. She capsized at Gate 3 and the overeager safety crew leaped to her rescue just as she was completing an Eskimo roll. The crew cannot really be blamed because few European women paddlers are as accomplished rollers as Peg. Nevertheless, she came back strong in the wildwater race by placing 12th. Lucile McKee, in her first year of international competition, placed 14th in slalom and 22nd in wildwater.

In retrospect, it appears that solid gains were made by the entire U.S. team this year. No one placed last and four Americans made the top ten in world competition for the first time. Internationally we moved up to a position somewhere in the middle of the pack, close on the heels of the French, the Czechs, and the Germans. But most important, from an international point of view, the fine group representing the United States made many friends - with local villagers, race officials, and the racers from other lands.

In addition, it was encouraging to see the role of Dartmouth in this new and exciting sport which is developing much the way skiing did at Dartmouth in the 1930's. This spring the Dartmouth College Athletic Council became the first such organization in the country to grant freshman numerals and letter awards for Whitewater Sport. Supervision of the sport is under the aegis of the Ledyard Canoe Club. With whitewater slalom now officially recognized by the I.O.C. as an Olympic sport, we may yet see the Dartmouth Green and the Ledyard seal on display in Munich in 1972.

The Dartmouth group who were members of the 28-man U. S. Team at the WorldWhitewater Championships held at Bourg St. Maurice, France, in August. Left toright: Coach Jay Evans '49, Lucile McKee, John Burton '69, Peggy Nutt, EricEvans '72, Dave Nutt, and Manager Bill Riley '63.