Hey there!  My name is Sarah Ruhlen. I am 18 years old, and live in the Southeastern region of the United States. 

The Southeast is a hub for whitewater, with rivers running year round featuring a wide spectrum of difficulties. I’ve been in a boat for as long as I can remember, and started out paddling tandem canoe with my dad. From there I ventured to C1, then canoe, and occasionally kayak. I’m really pretty comfortable in all three. I also really enjoy paddling C2 and Tandem Canoe. In 2010 I began racing Canoe Slalom in C1, and have since raced C1, C2, OC1, and OC2. My true loves will always be Oc1 and C1 though.

I developed an interest in photography in 2011 when I had a knee injury and was unable to paddle for quite a while. I still went to the races, but instead of watching from waterlevel inside of a boat, I was looking on as a spectator. I wondered what other people who sat on the shore were thinking, and how it differed from what the athletes felt that they themselves were doing.

As a paddler, I know how it feels to nail the perfect line, to perfect a move, and I ALWAYS imagine that it looks 10 times as good as my body tells me it does. I wanted to capture the way paddlers crash through the waves, then make it so observers saw the picture and thought to themselves “Oh YEAH! That’s so awesome, to just explode through the water and do these crazy things with a boat, a paddle, and a body!” 

Since that time, I have worked to get interesting angles, and cover all aspects of paddlers, racers, and the way people interact with each other on the water. I work not just to capture the glorious moments of the best paddlers, but a lot of the struggles of the average boater. Regardless of discipline, gender, or motive for being a paddler, I think we all find a connection out there on the water. It doesn’t have to be the waterfall, it doesn’t need to be Class V; it can be the beauty which encompasses so many rivers, or it can be the companionship of people who we love and trust. I just want to show the passion for the sport as best I can.

I really like Sportscene for two reasons: 

1. Today we live in a technologically oriented world that is heavy on the social media. Sportscene posts to Facebook, where a lot of people spend their time. As much as I hate to say it, I am much more likely to notice and read an article if it pops up in my newsfeed.
2. Sportscene is an international and interdisciplinary source for paddling news. They cover everything from  Australia to Denmark, and Flatwater racing to safety on your average river trip. The Sportscene contributors are an insanely varied and talented group of people who can advise on a range of subjects more than competently.  This provides the ability for the general public to access their expertise on subjects that they can both relate and aspire to. 

 

Thanks very much to Rob for adding me to the team here at Sportscene. I’m very excited, and can’t wait to get started! Stay tuned for some interviews and photos with some of the United State’s most fierce and passionate athletes and paddlers!