Leif and Natalie

I am excited and honored to be invited to the 2012 Whitewater Grand Prix (WWGP) in Chile. The WWGP in its second year is fast becoming the event which defines and showcases the current elite group of paddlers in the world. I am one of only five females competing in this event and am super excited to get to know my fellow female racers, Congrats girls! Below is the video entry that earned me my spot. Here is a second video that is a bit more light-hearted that Leif and I made in 2011 when we thought that the 2012 WWGP would be in Canada and would include playboating. Natalie Anderson Grand Prix entry video from Leif Anderson on Vimeo . Although many people, kayakers and non kayakers alike, view this event as extreme and dangerous, I see it as a gathering of highly skilled athletes gracefully accomplishing a set of challenges laid out in front of them. I have worked hard to be where I am as a paddler today and I invite you to read my essay below detailing some of the reason...

In order to help fund our trip to the 2012 Grand Prix in Chile , our sponsors have graciously donated some gear that we are selling to support our trip. If you are interested in any of the items below,  make a bid in the comments section at the end of the blog.  Bidding ends the day we leave, Nov 26th.  If you are the winning bid, after you pay us we'll get the items shipped to you.  If you win the drysuit you may just have to wait until after we get back in January.  The other items will ship straight from the sponsors. Also, note that this whole thing is sort of informal. We reserve the right at any time to totally change the rules, and by "bidding" here you are not entering into any formal legal agreement. This ain't ebay. And we don't want to get sued. New Men's Large Bpod with neoprene gasket from Stohlquist. $700 value. The suit shown in the link above is black, but the one we have for sale is that nice yellow/mango type color. We have the s...