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Page 2 <br />Appendix 3 <br />The Durango Whitewater Park has been used by many members of the national team for <br />winter training. Rebecca Giddens trained here in the winter of 2003 -2004 to prepare for the <br />Olympic Games in Greece. Rebecca went on to win a Silver medal at the Olympics in <br />Greece. Eric Southwick trained in Durango the winter of 98 -99 in preparation for the Kayak <br />Freestyle World Championships in New Zealand. Eric went on to win the World <br />Championships that year in NZ. It's not idle speculation that athletes train in Durango <br />through the winter, and that this training facility has helped to hone these athletes skill so that <br />they can accomplish International and Olympic success. <br />There are 7 former US slalom team members including 2 World Champions and one current <br />US team coach who moved to Durango for many of the same reasons as myself. Now we are <br />developing home grown talent. Currently we have athletes like John Gerstenberger who <br />grew up in Durango. He is the top ranked US junior both in 2005 and 2006, and 4 th place <br />finisher at the 2005 Junior Pre - Worlds. Athletes like John are the tip of the iceberg. There <br />are 5 other Durango athletes on the US development team. <br />Durango became a whitewater destination shortly after it developed the first Whitewater Park <br />in the country. Durango's reputation as a Whitewater destination comes from its Whitewater <br />Park, the boaters that live and train here, and the events that it holds. It is the combination of <br />the park, and the athletes who provide the core of expertise and community support that <br />enables Durango to host the premier Whitewater events. <br />The proposed Whitewater Park at Smelter will be a great addition and improvement to the <br />existing facilities. It will draw more world -class boaters to the community to complement <br />some of our homegrown talent. The Whitewater Park will be of great benefit to the Center of <br />Excellence and the athletes that train here. Durango will continue to be able to attract high <br />caliber events as a result of these improvements. However, if Smelter becomes only a <br />seasonal training site due to inadequate flows in the winter, then Durango will lose its Center <br />of Excellence designation, it will lose its World class competitors, and the racing community <br />and event hosting will wither and die on the vine. The new Whitewater Park, year -round <br />training and Center of Excellence designation will enable Durango to continue its fine <br />tradition of being a training ground of World Champions and Olympians, and the host to <br />some of the premier Whitewater events in the country. <br />We are proud of the past and current accomplishments of our locally trained athletes and how <br />they represented Durango and the US at the International level. We would like to continue <br />and improve upon this proud heritage. It's good for our kids, it's good for our community, <br />and it's good for our country. <br />I would like to close with a short visual demonstration. <br />Brian Brown <br />2030 Meadow Road <br />Durango, CO 81303 <br />(970) 259 -2694 <br />