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Alpine Quest Sports/Alpine Kayak School 34510 US Hwy #A-1 Edwards, CO 970-926-3867 info@alpinequestsports.com Alpine Kayak organized the whitewater kayak demonstrations at the Vail Whitewater
Park every Tuesday from May 18-June 22 (June 29th) from 5pm-7pm. The purpose of this event was to help promote the Vail Whitewater Park and bring people into Vail Village during a slower
time of summer and give existing visitors an additional venue of entertainment.
The event was very well attended and every week we would start the demo with 20-30 spectators waiting for the event to start. The event attracted many pedestrians on the way to dinner,
shopping or their lodging. There was a wide range in the age of spectators; families on the banks and groups watching from the bridges. We estimated approximately 100+ people watching
at some point during each event. These were approximate counts made by our instructors during the event. We had 2 or 3 instructors on hand and about 5-15 other kayakers that would join
in on the event each week depending on the weather & river flows. The demos were promoted via a large TOV sandwich board signs that we would place at the International Bridge the morning
of the event listing the time, place and sponsors of the event. We received press from both local papers and our daily KZYR ads mentioned the event. http://www.vaildaily.com/article/20100518/NEWS/100
519560&parentp rofile=search We also listed the event in town talk for all demo days. Thru KZYR we had live interviews for the event on Tuesdays. For the first demo we coordinated with
the Town of Vail for a Denver Channel 4 taping featuring the whitewater park http://cbs4denver.com/entertainment/whitewater.park.vail.2.1710901. html) We were also featured on Plum TV
on June 4th for the Plum Daily segment Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.http://www.plumtv.com/videos/plum-daily-vail-june-4-2010/index.html (please forward to 15:10). We advertised
the event at our store in Edwards with signs and mentioned the event on our AQS facebook page every Tuesday.Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=4976724&id=4446
614 5862#!/album.php?aid=188005&id=44466145862 The event attracted many people to the international bridge to linger and watch the event. We had many local kayakers that enjoyed using
the park and subsequently went back other days to
use the features. The ability for our employees to manipulate the bladder system during the event was a benefit for the kayakers and spectators. The kayakers were able to demonstrate
larger and better tricks to wow the crowds, due to the fact that we could change the feature. It was also beneficial for beginner play-boaters to be able to tone down the feature making
it more user friendly for beginner tricks. We were able to solicit product from Alpine Quest Sports’ whitewater vendors and were able to do give-a-ways after the event. Participants
were able to sign up each week for a raffle that was held after the final demo. The more demos that you attended, the better your chances of winning a prize. We were able to gather about
$300 worth of product in prizes. Next year, if we could get a marketing firm involved to help promote the event and possibly gaining some additional publicity during the Teva Mountain
Games would help this event to grow. If additional funding was made available for next year, we could promote the event better with additional posters, print ads and internet ads. We
would also visit Vail Village concierges, restaurants and local shops to post flyers to be distributed to guests. The ability to have high profile pro-kayakers in town to help with the
demo would also further promote this event. Building on the raffle that was started this year could help to grow the participant numbers. The Vail Whitewater Demos definitely had a sense
of community bringing together locals kayaking and displaying their skills to local and tourist spectators. There are not many places that people can observe freestyle kayaking so close.
The Vail Whitewater demos were a green event using the river as entertainment for both spectators and kayakers. We used one set of signs borrowed from the TOV to aid in the promotion
of the event, internet advertising, an email blast and promotion through Alpine Quest Sports in Edwards. Due to the limited funds provided and that our instructors needed to be in the
water to make the event possible, we did not hand out or fill surveys from spectators. We would be able to complete surveys from spectators with additional funding for one employee.
We did not have a demo on June 8th due to the unusually high water levels. Since we were unable to have the demo on that date we extended the demo series to June 29th. On June 29th Gore
Creek was running at a lower than ideal level. Our staff brought a SUP (stand up paddleboard) to the demo to try a new element. The SUP was a big hit as the river was able to be surfed
like an ocean wave. The budget for the event is listed below with funding in the amount of $2000 received: Expenses Revenue Instructor fee $2,100 $0 Marketing $200 $0 Materials $100
$0 CSE Funds $0 $2,000 $2,400 $2,000 Net: (-$400)