USA Team
    
Pictures at bottom of page

Ken King, Team Captain    
Kenny, "the Snake," King's kayaking resume reads like an encyclopedia. Growing up in Southern California afforded Ken the opportunities to enjoy the surf zone in all ways possible, including board surfing and a try with a 6-man raft! Wave skiing is how Ken prefers to enjoy the surf but he'll occasionally borrow someone else's boat (he doesn't own his own surf kayak) to enter a contest once in awhile! Rarely is Ken awarded anything less than a first place in anything he competes in. Ken is dedicated to leading the United States team to victory in Thurso and is proud to be their leader.

    
David Johnston (Men's)

The owner of Venture Quest, a kayaking business in the Big Surf town of Santa Cruz, California; Dave uses his wave ski experience to push the limits of a surf kayak to get big air off the lip and end his rides with something "creative." He has been on four United States world teams yet is one of their "non-masters" members. Dave splits his spare time among several activities including mountain biking, Ultimate Frisbee and being a family man with his wife, Sheila, and son, Robin, the happiest 2-year-old in the world! Dave found time earlier in his life to earn a university degree in Physics.

    
Rick Starr (Men's)    

Rick has kayaked in rivers and oceans for 20 years and has scored well in many whitewater freestyle and slalom events as well as surfing competitions. Rick lives and works a short hop from the world-famous surf break of Steamer Lane in La Selva Beach but you can also find him on Dawn Patrol with Dennis Judson getting an early morning "workout" at Davenport Landing. His job takes him underwater to study the mysteries of the sea as a marine biologist. Rick's other interests include bicycling, camping, sailing, photography and scuba diving. This is his second time on the United States team.

    
Thomas Baumann (Men's)


Wide-eyed with wonder as he drove the Costa Rican roads to Boca Borranca in 1995, Thomas knew then that the United States team is where he wanted to be! So he's back, this time as a senior competitor, after placing second as a Junior in Costa Rica. Disappointed that he must satisfy his interest in nature by observing sheep rather than toucans and howler monkeys, Thomas is still excited about traveling to Scotland! Thomas is a strong paddler and will catch any wave coming his way! When not doing that he is a kayak instructor, naturalist and wildlife guide and studies music (cello) in college.

    
Dan Crandall (Men's)
   

Dan is the owner and head instructor for Current Adventures, a successful California-based kayak school in the Sierra Nevada foothills. He began his kayak career in Santa Cruz where kayak surfing quickly became and still is the most enjoyable facet of kayaking for Dan. This is Dan's fourth time on the United States team and he's the only member that has previous experience in Thurso. Thus he will act as Team Interpreter until team members adapt to understanding the brogue. Dan holds a college degree in Forestry and Natural Resources and his mom and dad are the team's biggest fans!
   

Dennis Judson (Men's)

    
Mr. Santa Cruz, Dennis co-found the best kayak surf competition in the world 14 years ago, the Santa Cruz Kayak Surf Festival. He is co-owner of Adventure Sports, the happenin' kayak and dive shop in town that earns Dennis the chance to play as a job! Unquestionably The Best Martini Maker in the Universe, Dennis never stops getting better at this sport, despite his 50+ years. A little-known fact about this competitor (besides the fact that he will win the Individual title this year!) is that he has advanced university degrees in Chemistry and Biology! Mike Johnson is Dennis' hero!
    

Robbie Pierce (Men's)

    
Robbie "Free Bird" Pierce has the most energy of all team members combined.
After beginning his kayak career in California, Robbie moved to the Great Whitewater State of Idaho where he now is a college student studying architecture. He has paddled for half of his life, 10 years! He is a strong competitor on the national level in all disciplines of kayaking and spends his spare time building a 1933 hot rod which he plans to the next competition in Santa Cruz! By then he'll need a new car because he just put over 13,000 miles on his truck over the past three months traveling to kayak competitions!

    
Dick Wold (Men's)

    
This 1993 World Men's Champion is always discovering new tricks to try in surfing. Dick follows this desire by designing and building surf vehicles of all sorts, from International boats to wave skis and shoes. He lives in Northern California where the surf is wild and water cold (not unlike Thurso probably). Dick exhibits the most fluid and efficient style of any team member and has been kayaking almost as long as Rick Starr! When Dick can't get enough river running in near his home, he heads off to Idaho, his "second home." It was here that he earned a degree in Earth Science and perfected his whitewater skills.

    
Rusty Sage (Junior)

    
Rusty credits his mom for getting him into kayaking at age 10. Rusty is the number one junior on the United States Whitewater Rodeo Team that competes in the Rodeo World Championships in Ottawa in early September. Of course his favorite position on any wave, be it river or ocean is "cartwheeling" (except in International!). He also is a strong competitor in slalom, often beating the "old folks." He's plays a pretty "mean" saxophone and loves to snowboard. Rusty lives in Sacramento, a short drive from the thrill of whitewater and works in local kayak shops. He and Dan Crandall are the token redheads on the team!

  
William Crenshaw (Junior)

    William started river kayaking with his dad and brother in the Sacramento area and often followed the rest of the Sacramento "kids" to Santa Cruz every spring to compete in the Surf Festival there. Eventually he bought a surf boat and joined the "big boys" at Middle Peak where he earned a spot on the United States team this year. Tell the other Juniors to watch out, William's second love is rugby!! He has no fear of big drops off of glassy peaks or "having his laundry done" for him after being crushed by a big wave!
    

Bret Gideon (Junior)
    

At age 12, Bret is the youngest (but by no means smallest) Junior on the United States team. Living only minutes from the nearest whitewater, Bret has probably logged the most hours in a kayak over the four years he's paddled than any member of the team, including Rick Starr! A quick learner, Bret was but performing his dad and mom within hours of getting into his first kayak! he lives for rodeo, has great promise as a slalom racer and doesn't hold back on the big drops! The future of United States surf kayaking is in young Bret!

    
Diane Bacon (Women's)
    

Diane lives in "the big city" (San Jose, California) but drives "over the hill" to Santa Cruz to surf and teach kayaking. This is Diane's second World Championship, having placed third in Costa Rica in 1995. Though snow skiing is her first love, she finds kayak surfing very similar to skiing powder (only with an avalanche following!). Competition isn't rewarding to her without it being fun first. She enjoys teaching kayaking because she has a captive audience for her "let's all learn to surf" speeches! Diane's real job is with the City of San Jose's Environmental Services Department where she deals with water issues, of course!
    

Jeanne Walker (Women's)    

The up and coming star of the women's team hails from Santa Barbara, a "no wave" California coastal town. She began kayak surfing three years ago on the non-existent waves near her town. She quickly tired of her sit-on-top and abandoned it for a whitewater boat, which increased her enjoyment of the phantom waves. Shortly after this, she borrowed a surf kayak to prepare for the team trials in Santa Cruz, where the waves were real! Apparently her training in the "no wave" environment paid off! She owns a wholesale decorative fabric store and enjoys mountain biking, snowboarding and skiing, traveling and her 19-year-old daughter.

    

Jameson Riser (Women's)
    

Jameson began kayaking as a kid 18 years ago while growing up in Tennessee (almost as long as Rick Starr). She takes rodeo competition seriously. Seriously enough to take off from her job and concentrate on training for a year after winning the Pre-World Rodeo Championships in Ottawa last year. She's always on the road with her cool dog, Rufus. Her home is in Seattle but she'll travel to California at the drop of a hat to surf! She has a degree in Studio Art from the University of Texas and also spends time alpine and rock climbing, mountain biking and snowboarding.