A racer runs the rapids during the Great Rappahannock Whitewater Canoe Race sponsored annually by ACA. FILE/ROBERT A. MARTIN/THE FREE LANCE-STAR

American Canoe Association may begin moving to its new Fredericksburg home as early as February

Date published: 12/16/2007

By RUSTY DENNEN

The American Canoe Association could move its offices from Northern Virginia to Fredericksburg as early as February.

The nation's largest nonprofit paddlers' group will initially be housed in temporary offices provided rent-free by the Silver Cos.

Martin Bartles, ACA's new executive director, and two staffers were in town last week.

"We're trying to be close to the Central Park area. We expect to make a decision within a week," Bartles said Thursday.

The association hopes to have a permanent home overlooking the Rappahannock River in the Silver Cos.' Celebrate Virginia development within two years.

As part of a local incentive package, the Silver Cos. agreed to donate an acre for a new headquarters to house 15 employees and a planned paddling museum.

The site is adjacent to the planned U.S. National Slavery Museum in Celebrate Virginia. The land abuts Fredericksburg's 4,200-acre conservation easement on the Rappahannock.

Kevin Gullette, Fredericksburg's director of business development, said ACA is still working out logistical details of the move.

Following a months-long nationwide search, ACA in August announced that it had selected Fredericksburg as its new headquarters. Sites along rivers in Lake Luzerne, N.Y., and Eden, N.C., were runners-up.

Fredericksburg and its partners, the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance and the Silver Cos., offered incentives and tax breaks worth an estimated $2.3 million. The city hopes ACA will promote tourism.

Bartles said it's possible ACA could forge a connection with what promises to be one of Celebrate Virginia's biggest draws--Kalahari Resorts water park.

He said he hasn't talked to Kalahari, but that paddler training and education could be done there, "and the opportunity to get people in the water in kayaks and canoes it's nice to have a safe and warm place to roll a kayak."

Kalahari, which has African-themed resorts in Ohio and Wisconsin, wants to build a 710-room hotel and 295,000-square-foot water park here.

Bartles said he's still getting to know the Fredericksburg area but likes what he has seen. "There's great support from people in the community," he said, noting that Friends of the Rappahannock has had a strong presence for years. "I see us growing that partnership quite a bit."

He added that ACA would be "working closely with the University of Mary Washington in supporting its paddling programs." UMW will develop an internship program with ACA.

ACA has been renting landlocked office space in Springfield for years and wanted to find a place on a river to expand its programs. Its lease expires in April.

The American Canoe Association bills itself as "America's premier canoe, kayak and rafting organization." The nonprofit organization publishes "Paddler" and "Paddle Dealer" magazines. 1880: Year ACA was founded 50,000: Number of members 300: Local ACA affiliates 1,400: Paddling events ACA sanctions each year 3,000: Certified canoe and kayak instructors in association 125,000: Students taught by ACA-certified instructors each year

Date published: 12/16/2007

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