Published: October 22, 2006 11:21 am         

Iraq vets tour center

Injured Iraq war vets tour Garrett County’s Adventure Sports Center

MCHENRY — As new members were inducted into the International Whitewater Hall of Fame, veterans of the Iraq war got the opportunity to meet some of those who have gained fame in adventure sports and tour the nearly complete Adventure Sports Center.

“This is a great opportunity for Team River Runner,” Sue Taft, executive director of the hall of fame, said. “They will get to meet the legends of the sport.”

Team River Runner, a nonprofit, volunteer-operated organization, helps to teach injured veterans of either Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom the sport of whitewater paddling.

Because the group had been involved with Adventure Sports Center International in organizing a paddling program this summer, its members were invited to attend the hall of fame induction and tour the whitewater course on Marsh Mountain this weekend. Though the course is not yet ready for use, the group had been scheduled to be among the first to ride the course.

“It’s a big event,” Joe Mornini, executive director of Team River Runner, said. “It’s only the second totally enclosed course in the country, and if you’re disabled, many courses built are wheelchair-accessible. This is a sport that you can participate in all over the countries. We want them to know they can do this.”

The program that Team River Runner offers goes on year-round, where Mornini and co-founder Mike McCormick visit Walter Reed Hospital and invite the veterans to take classes taught by the two, as well as other volunteers, on how to paddle and to learn more about the sport.

The program started just over two years ago and has grown since then, offering at least one and as many as four boating activities per week for the veterans.

“We have worked with 100 to 150 veterans and their families,” Mornini said. “Most (of the veterans) have had one or more limb loss. We’ve become a pretty high-profile program, and many on the board of directors (at Adventure Sports) are also volunteers. They invited us. They want to show that the course is something anyone can paddle in.”

Risa Shimoda, member of the board of directors for Adventure Sports, explained that the group seemed like a natural pairing, and that the veterans involved have had a developing interest in the sport.

“They’re there and interested in learning things they can do in the post military,” Shimoda said. “They are introduced to paddling, and some are pretty darn good paddlers by now. I suggested to Brian Trusty, our executive director, that they might be a great audience at this event and to become partnered with.”

Among the legends the team got to meet were the inductees into the hall of fame: Jim Snyder of Albright, W.Va., who received the Pioneer award for his lifelong and ongoing influence in kayak design, inventing squirt boating; Tom Johnson of Kernville, Calif., and Martin Litton of Portola Valley, Calif., for the Advocate awards for their contributions in the industry where Johnson served as coach and advocate for whitewater sports and Litton fought to preserve the integrity of the West’s natural places, keeping dams out of the Grand Canyon and Dinosaur National Monument.

Gisela Grothaus-Steigerwald of Berlin, Germany, and Scott Shipley of Boulder, Colo., were honored in the Champion category, as Grothaus-Steigerwald is a three-time individual gold medalist and three-time silver medalist in wildwater kayak competition and Shipley is a three-time gold overall and four-time silver overall cup medalist. Herbert Rittlinger, a German explorer and writer who received the Explorer award, was represented by his daughter Judith Steinbacher.

The induction ceremony took place at the Wisp Resort on Friday evening. On Saturday, Team River Runner and other guests got the opportunity to tour the whitewater course and view the features.

Shimoda said that though no one was able to run the course on Saturday, it would be ready in the next week for testing to begin. She added that those who had expected the opportunity to use the course this weekend have already been given spring passes for when the whitewater course officially opens.

Mona Ridder can be reached at mridder@times-news.com.