Golden Anniversary: TVCC celebrates 50 years

TVCC members pose for a group photo.
TVCC members pose for a group photo.
photo On the Ocoee in '83

Reaching 50 years of something is no small feat, and the Tennessee Valley Canoe Club knows it. Half a century of promoting safe and sustainable paddling practices in Southeast Tennessee warrants a celebration. And with the emphasis the club has placed on growing the local whitewater, flatwater and overnight paddling community, it promises to be one that's well attended.

The club started in 1967 with an ad in the newspaper, a humble request to all area paddlers to come down to the Hiwassee River to canoe and kayak together. Not many showed initially, but the club steadily grew through its annual paddle schools and safety courses.

Recently, the club has placed an emphasis on its whitewater rescue courses, which have brought dozens of amateur paddlers into the fold. Today, the club boasts around 700 members, a far cry from the 1990s, when its numbers dipped below 100.

"I can't overstate how important the paddle school is," says Rebecca Hendrix, a member of the club for seven years and co-chair of the 50th anniversary committee. "People get intimidated by the Ocoee River - and whitewater in general - but by the end of the program, total beginners can solo-paddle the Ocoee successfully."

The schools do more than just encourage safety on the water. They also help grow the community that makes the club possible.

For instance, Hendrix was a complete novice, unfamiliar with the sport, until one of her co-workers convinced her to try a paddle school class in 2010. She had her doubts about paddling down a river, even one as relatively mild as the Hiwassee. Once she learned how simple it was to do it safely, she kept it up. It wasn't just the sport that kept her coming back, though. It was the people.

Jen Maxwell, a veteran paddler who organized TVCC's paddle school that year, took Hendrix under her wing. It was on a trip with Maxwell that Hendrix first executed a combat roll while at Hell Hole on the Ocoee.

"I work in health care, so I've got a pretty high-stress job. Paddling can also be a high-stress sport, but when I did that roll, it made me feel prepared for anything," Hendrix recalls. "I realized that if I could do that, then surely I could handle the stress of work and my life."

Moments like those will be showcased during the anniversary celebration. Hendrix has spent the last several months coordinating with longtime club members to collect and archive pictures and film taken throughout the decades. The goal is to create a 30-minute film about the club to debut at the celebration in September, after a special, one-time-only race.

The race, too, is a throwback to the club's history. TVCC used to organize downriver races which featured mass starts of dozens of paddlers at once, but they slowly fell out of favor as they were difficult to organize. The special anniversary race in September will revive this type of race one last time, and there will be plenty of former members at the starting line, Hendrix says.

In keeping with the club's emphasis on community building, non-members interested in the sport or club are welcome to attend.

"Paddling is a very different type of thing. You end up putting yourself in situations where you have to trust others to get you out of a bad situation if things go wrong," Hendrix says. "I've met all these wonderful people through the club, and I trust every one of them."

Sign up for Paddle School

TVCC's annual Paddle School is June 2-4, but the signup deadline is May 17. For information or to sign up, visit tvccpaddler.com/paddle-school-2. For more information about the club's anniversary celebration and race, open to all, visit getoutchattanooga.com.

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