You have chosen Quebec as the spot to host the Whitewater Grand Prix. What is unique about this location that allows for this type of competition?

I chose Quebec as the location for the Grand Prix for a few reasons: its unique abundance of high volume rivers, our knowledge of its rivers in flood, the diversity of styles of rivers (high volume + steep creeks), and simply because it's proven to be the best place for advanced freestyle features.

What inspired you to create this event?

I guess I just think there isn't enough done to promote whitewater kayaking by those that profit from it i.e. 'the industry'.  There are some great grass roots initiatives that are trying to tackle that problem and this is one of them.  The core community is working hard to get kayaking in front of more eyes. We need more viewership on our sport if we want to grow the size and strength of our community.  More viewership leads to more interest in whitewater and eventually will grow the awareness and understanding of river related causes (water quality, dams, water rights).

Is this event going to change the way the world looks at competition kayaking?

All I hope is that it makes more people want to check out our scene.  We get access to something special with whitewater, and I think the community reflects that...  it's like a big family with many shared experiences over the years, and by bringing everyone together at once for this project I think we've got something that could go far... if nothing else it is different from what hasn't been working.

People say that kayaking is a “fringe” sport and that is why it hasn't received as much attention as other extreme sports. How is the Grand Prix addressing this lack of media attention to the sport?

Kayaking may be fringe, but it is about as core of a sport as it gets.  The world's main features are oceans, mountains and rivers... kayaking takes you into the heart of two of those.  At the top end it is truly explorative and forces it's participants to challenge their mettle in intimidating and demanding situations.  It may be fringe, but it deserves more attention than it current receives.  This style of event will help make that happen more effectively than promoting a tiny featured event as our sports top championships (ie. current icf freestyle world championships)... Because of the latest big waterfall descents that have broken through the mainstream media in the last couple years we have a more captive audience than before and an opportunity to showcase more aspects of top-level whitewater boating, and we are working to fulfill that potential.

What has been the greatest challenge in organizing this event?

By far the biggest challenge in organizing this event has been its lack of funding.  We do have a number of great event sponsors to whom we want to thank for seeing the vision and supporting the event (check our partners page), but the truth is that any kind of financial support from the industry is next to non-existent, even in the face of the overwhelming support from the community and the fact that before we've even begun the 1st edition of this thing we have secured over 5.5 million in viewership for the event.   I understand that everyone has limited funds, and have to make hard choices with their budgets, but if companies want to increase their bottom line they need to be long-sighted and support the initiatives from within the community that are working to get more people into boats.

Website: www.whitewatergrandprix.com