Joe Jacobi became America's first ever Olympic Gold Medalist in Whitewater Slalom at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. Today, as one of the industry’s top ambassadors for paddlesports, he instructs and speaks at numerous events around the world while remaining active as a US National Slalom Team athlete.

Joe is now preparing for his 17th year of international competition. Much of that training takes place in Joe’s own “backyard” on the Ocoee River in Tennessee, home of the 1996 Olympic Slalom events.

Bob Campbell has coached the USA Canoe & Kayak Slalom Team since 1993. An Olympic Team coach for both the 1996 and 2000 Games, he also served as the Slalom Team Leader in Sydney and was named US Olympic Committee “National Coach of the Year” for Canoe / Kayak.

Bob combines over 20 years of paddling and teaching experience into a personalized brand of instruction. He has developed a variety of educational programs for aspiring paddlers, including some close to his home on the Roaring Fork River in Colorado.

Tom Long is a noted authority on successful youth paddling programs and all forms of whitewater instruction. He has served as a US National Junior / Development and Regional Coach at various stages over the last ten years.

Tom is the Founder and Director of the Cascade Kayak School, headquartered on the banks of the Payette River just north of Boise, Idaho. Tom has 25 years of whitewater instruction and coaching experience and is a strong advocate of learning to paddle without fear. His captivating teaching style insures an easy transfer of concepts and techniques to all those he works with.

Chad Long is Head Instructor at the Cascade Kayak School and is one of America's foremost innovators in paddling instruction. When it comes to working with kids especially, he is the "pied piper" of the whitewater world. Chad, along with his brothers Kenneth and Tren Long, grew up paddling and teaching on the Payette River. Chad and Kenneth competed on the US National Slalom Team for many years in double canoe, while brother Tren was a member of the US Junior National Team in single canoe. They follow in their father Tom's dynamic instructional tradition, bringing their many years of paddling, teaching, and competing to the Gold Medal experience.