January 30th, 2006
Contact: “Ice”
Telephone – 503.329.7463
Email – IceManRiverboarder@gmail.com
For Immediate Release:
America’s most extreme riverboarders head to the birthplace of modern riverboarding, New Zealand, to ride 7 rivers in 7 days
3 of the most experienced and well-known riverboarders in America, along with an experienced big-water ocean bodyboarder, are heading to New Zealand in February for the extreme riverboarding trip of a lifetime.
This trip is meant to highlight both the sport of riverboarding and the incredible beauty of New Zealand for the whitewater industry in the USA. The trip will be used to draw publicity to the fledgling sport in the USA, where it is quickly becoming THE newest extreme adrenaline sport to try!
It is at once a historical journey to the birthplace of modern riverboarding (called “sledge” in New Zealand) and a propulsion into the future of the sport, as these riders are the ones who have taken it upon themselves to spread the word and encourage the sport’s growth – and have been key figures in the riverboarding scene the past several years.
Riverboarding is a sport which has been likened to “motorcross on your belly”, and its essence is truly captured by the phrase “whitewater at face level”. The adrenaline rush you can experience from boarding through a Class IV rapid with your face just a few inches above the water is akin to the heart-pounding rush from skydiving or any other adrenaline filled activity that you have experienced. In short, it’s exciting, a little scary, and totally fun!
The trip will be heavily documented by video and still imagery, as well as first person perspectives from the riders (who also happen to be highly articulate) – daily updates will be posted online at the trip’s website, www.newzealandriverboarding.com.
While riverboarding is quite popular in Europe (30% of the entire whitewater industry) where it is called "hydrospeed" or "hydrofoil", and very popular in New Zealand, the sport is in its infancy in the United States. This trip is meant to generate publicity for the sport nationwide as the 2006 whitewater begins to flow!
Current corporate sponsors for the trip include: American Rescue, Face Level Riverboarding, & Rocky Mountain Riverboards. Assistance with video footage & production by LaunchPad Productions, an extreme sports film and video production company.
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