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Dear Jack, <br />As the President of the Durango Whitewater Center of <br />Excellence, I wanted to share with you our concerns. We <br />have 35 competitors in our club and they train year round at <br />Smelter Rapid. Durango is one of only four Centers of <br />Excellence (COE) designated by the USA Canoe and Kayak <br />(USACK). This designation requires that there be year round <br />training opportunities in Durango. <br />USACK Center of Excellence designation has brought not only <br />funding dollars from USACK, but also high -level coaches and <br />competitors to Durango for its training facilities and <br />opportunities. Being a Center of Excellence has allowed our <br />program to grow and provides the base of support that is <br />crucial for our community to host National and International <br />level competitions. <br />During the 1990's Durango was the site of the Champion <br />International Race Series, which brought competitors from <br />all over the world and worldwide media coverage. Durango <br />has hosted numerous National competitions such as the <br />National Wild Water Championships 1989, Open Canoe Nationals <br />in 1994, Jr. -Sr.- Masters National championships in 2002, the <br />Junior Team Selection Trials in 2001 and 2003, and last <br />year, 2004, the US Senior Team Trials. These events bring <br />scores of competitors from all over the country and world to <br />compete here in Durango on Smelter Rapid. <br />COE designation has also enabled Durango to host numerous <br />training camps in the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall. <br />Should we not have a year round training site, we would lose <br />the COE designation, and the associated top -level events <br />that have been hosted at Smelter over the years. This would <br />be a serious blow to our program since USACK funding would <br />dry up. Coaches and athletes would move to greener pastures <br />and we would no longer be able to host the big National and <br />International Races and events. We would like to continue to <br />grow our program and the number of top -level events that we <br />host. This is dependent on having adequate year round flows <br />at Smelter to train on. <br />Sincerely, <br />Helen Kunz <br />President <br />Durango Whitewater Center of Excellence <br />