instead of resorting to an online survey, I'd like to invite other boaters to chime in on this very subject right here and now on this thread. In fact, I know that there are a tons of you that would like to explain what motivates you to whitewater. And, to be honest, I think that some of you don't even know why you love this sport.
There are two things about whitewater kayakers that I think are very apparent and needs no digging to find.
Number one is that kayakers are passionate people. Number two is that kayakers are intelligent people (though some beg to differ and others prove to the contrary).
Why passionate? Well, not very many people are willing to push themselves to the limit that kayakers do, challenging their skills, mental functions, rationale and reason, physical limitations etc...
Why intelligent? Because kayakers are always thinking of a way to stay alive. From beginner to expert, survival takes intelligence.

I've recently been asking myself why I do this sport. I have had one friend die on the river. His name was Bill Studebaker. I remember one river trip that we went on in which he encountered some trouble. He went through a rapid and was knocked over. When he came up he was bleeding from his forehead and blood was running down his face. His boat tipped again and he bailed out. The river was sweeping him towards a log jam. His son was on the river as well. His son jumped out of his kayak into the whitewater after him. They landed in the log jam and by the grace of God Bill's son pushed them through the log jam. Everyone survived. To make an even longer story short, I ended up running the rest of the river by myself, about 7 miles class III in the dark.
I had another group of kayaker friends find a dead body on the river.
And recently, there has been a death on the Green River which, the stretch that he died on, I now consider my staple run.
I have all of this to consider at a time that I - a class IV boater - am training to do class V. On top of this, I'm married and I'm also a stepfather. Further more, I'm a Christian which adds another far more interesting element to the equation.
So, here I am, faced with my faith, the harsh reality of the sport, and my desire to become better. Being better for me simply means that I get to enjoy the rivers that I want to run. Those rivers are class V runs so that means I better have my sh*t together before I run them. Why do I want to run them? Well, that leads me back to being passionate about this sport. How am I going to get to run those rivers? That leads me back to intelligence, which every kayaker has.

I gotta say I was interested in your comments, though, Oscar. And if you find God at all I'm confident you can find God on the river :)

Mark47n- your response to Oscar's heart felt expression came across as crudely crafted. I mean, I'm not offended, but I bet if I was a Christian I would be. And that's not to beat you up, but perhaps its a simple illustration as to why people don't express themselves openly in this medium.

For what its worth, Oscar, I appreciate your openess. I may have made different lifestyle choices than you, and as a result I may not be defined by the same concerns you have in the same ways. But I can still dig where you are coming from and respect it.

This sport has always been composed of individuals. As such we have different motivations for what we choose to do as well as for what we choose not to do. Since the survey doesn't even ask any questions about the specific elements of kayaking, I still am forced to question its validity. Even its authenticity.

For example, if it had a question about portaging a difficult drop (of any class), it might hope to illuminate something about an individual's motivation. But still, you'd need some specifics because a devout christian is more likely to be a devoted hasband and father, and therefore will look at that rapid differently than a full time whitewater junkie who lives out of a van and has little better to do than run that drop or seal launch into that canyon.

I'm not trying to give you ideas, Dr. Phreekenstien, but that survey doesn't seem to contain much substance. Thats why I am suspicious.

Mark47n - I did consider responding, but then I remembered that this is a thread about whitewater. I have a better idea. Why don't you and I go surf a rodeo hole, or run a gnarly stretch of river together. You're a class V boater right? I'm looking to run a strong class IV with a couple of class V's that I can take a look at and see if I'm ready to run them. It would be great to have a class V boater escort me down. And before I drop into the class V, I'll say a little prayer for God's blessing . And when I finish the run I'll say a prayer of thanksgiving

You never asked how his choices were informed by his religion, you said, "Is there something consequential about dying on the river that will have your soul boiling in the lake of fire?" I'm not even a Christian but I can certainly see a number of ways that religion (any religion) would inform decisions on any aspect of life. Sorry you had a bad experience with some "Christian" before but I bet it wasn't him.

You'll note that what I said was, in fact, a question.  The implication in his statement was that there was something specific to boating and being a Christian.  You'll also note, that I've already performed a mea culpa, specifically to Oscar, more than once.  I made no disparaging remarks about Christians, or Oscar, in any of my statements save that there are many out there that wield it as a club or as a device in argument, which I also specifically excluded Oscar from. 

i am not a christian.

So what did the Rabbi say?

Plus what makes you a Jew?
Tradition / Heritage or Personal Belief or both? I just ask because I have quite a few Jewish friends that don't practice and don't actually even share the beliefs it is really just a heritage, almost a nationality of types for them... Then I have other Jewish Friends that are quite the opposite, Gentile by birth, but convert from personal belief. And I am not talking about simple proselytes, I am talking about full on conversion all the way to Circumcision. I love learning about belief structures so it is a blast to chat with my friends that support the Rabbinic or Karaite views.

Dog gone it I might be taking this thread off topic myself here....

I dont ww kayak camp very often. Because its hard to stuff all the gear in and also makes the ww kayak heavy and no fun.

Okay. Give me a little bit of time, and I will give you an answer.

The question was asked - What does Christianity have to do with boating?

I'm going to attempt to answer that question. Since I'm that one who put the words 'Christianity' and 'boating' in the same sentence, I think we can all agree, that I'm the one that needs to clarify. Let me preface, I'm about to present to you my personal opinion. I would ask that you do not attack my opinion, just state your own. Feel free to ask clarifying questions, and I'll attempt to answer them.

Once again, the questions was asked - What does Christianity have to do with boating? Let's really think about that question. Let's put that question into perspective and think about what we are really asking.

Since Christianity has to do with God, another way that that question could be asked is - What does God have to do with boating? It's kinda like saying - Why doesn't God mind His own business and stay out of this people sport? I'll come back to this form of the question.

Since Christianity is comprised of people, another way of asking that question is - What do people have to do with kayaking?

Since Christianity is imbued with deep, complex, human thought, another way the question could be asked is - what does deep, complex, human thought have to do with kayaking?

Since the story of Christianity is undeniably an amazing story of creation, redemption, and salvation (whether you like the story or not, you can admit that it is spectacular), another way you can ask the question is - what does the art of story telling have to do with kayaking?

I understand that real bad connotations come with the word Christianity. The reason for that is because Christianity is made up of people and with people come many problems. That Christians are assholes, shouldn't surprise anyone, especially since Christians recognize - or should recognize - the depths of their wickedness and their need for a savior. Their evil runs so deep that only God Himself , the creator of the universe, could save them.

Okay, so back to the question. The question I want to camp out on is this one - What does God have to do with kayaking?

God, for me, has EVERYTHING to do with kayaking and is the chief motivator for me. Now bear with me as I preach a sermon :)
None of us had any control over how we were knitted in our mother's womb. God masterfully wove us together in that dark place. We were born and He breathed life into us. He has already numbered our days and knows exactly when we will die.
God is the one who designed the human body with the mind and body working in partnership and unison enabling us to even do a sport like whitewater kayaking.
As a Christian, I pray to God that He will sharpen and strengthen those abilities so that I can be a better kayaker. My bodies functions and mental stability rest in His hands. So, I pray to Him for health.
As a Christian, I believe that God created the heavens and the earth. When I look at a river I see something about the character of God. For me, the river has no personality, rather, it points to the personality of God who meticulously placed each rock in its place. The river points to the creative and artistic power and abilities of God. God put the stars in their place and He knows all the details of life like how much snow will fall from the sky during winter. He knows how much snow pack is in the mountains and when runoff comes, He knows how much water will flow down to the last drop. God formed the river bed and it's topography. He created the laws of physics that form river hydraulics. Considering all of this, I think God's a badass! And it makes me really happy to be able to enjoy creation.

A question was asked - How does being a Christian motivate me as a kayaker. Let me start with scripture:
Ecclesiastes 10:10 If the axe is dull and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed but skill will bring success.
As a Christian, God tells me to train hard.
I believe God has called me to improve my kayaking abilities and master it to the point that I am able. That doesn't mean that I should let it rule my life or that I should put more effort into it then into loving my wife and leading my family. If I did then kayaking would be meaningless. But I do feel God has called me to excel in this sport.
God put a paddle in my hand and said paddle hard.
I asked God about waterfalls? He said, as long as I don't settle for 10 footers, but go for 30, 40, 50, and 60 footers.
I asked God about big water? He said, when the floods come that other boaters shrink away, I want you out there running rivers at flood stage!
I asked God about gnar boating? He said, to find the gnarlies gnar boaters out there and run sh*t with those guys!
I asked God what if I fall into a big beefcake hole and get stuck? He said, ride that hole until the plastic falls off!
I asked God about playboating? He said only aerial, 360, twist, blunts will do!
Well, I'm not as good as any that, but I believe God will be with me throughout the years as I improve.

I want to mention one last thing as a Christian boater. My wife and I work full time jobs. I get out and kayak a couple times a week. She is with me on the weekends. A big 'other' part of our lives is ministry. In ministry we have the opportunity to walk with people at various stages in their lives. We live in downtown Seattle so ministry can get intense. We care for and counsel people anywhere from women who are walking away from prostitution, children who have been abused, to people who are getting married.
As a Christian, I hope someday to use the river and this sport as a healing ground for people. It would be great to partner with an orphanage and plan camping and river trips for kids that are fatherless. Even older adults that are pulling out of hard circumstances, the river is a great place to get a piece of mind and have a moment of clarity. I think we can all agree that the river and this sport helps with that.
For me, whitewater kayaking is so much more then 'whitewater' and 'kayaking.' The sport in itself is not much to boast about because it's not like we are curing cancer or anything. There is much more to the sport then the sport itself.
Anyway folks, I hope this helps in understanding how Christianity and kayaking tie together for me. Feel free to tear this apart now     

church

I thought you might like that one Jed!! I really like Jedediah Cooper. Lydia never goes for my ideas though, like Ava's name was supposed to be Hanna Picosh Amandus. Then after that got killed I tried for Rica Shea Amandus... Another denied...

So on to Osmelendez... No point to inviting people to tear you down. Be positive I was just looking for your reasoning behind the phrase "Further more, I'm a Christian which adds another far more interesting element to the equation." . As I mentioned I can see how God has plenty to do with the sport but many people don't know what being a christian really even means, often times not even "Christians" even know. Your phrase was clearly not about God but rather Christianity and Boating which is totally different. I was never trying to call you out, just find out more about your views on the matter.

See I believe a lot of similar things that you do, although we have not really gotten into a deep theological discussion. I would disagree with using any scripture to back whitewater kayaking considering that whitewater kayaking was not even a thought back then. I mean I could quote Proverbs 22:6 and say that when the scripture says "train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." Well to me that means teach your kids how to read whitewater and when they are old they won't get stuck in holes.... LOL but that would be clearly way off the context of previous and following passages... Again that is not what I was trying to discuss or check out. So I will leave that for me and you to have fun chatting about on a rivers bank!!!

I was just interested to hear your perspective. I would tell you what I think about the subject of boating and Christianity but I was never asked to divulge in detail as I so repititously requested of you!!!

Thanks for being willing to share, it takes courage to voice your opinion when you don't think people will support it!