Message from the OWA President

As President of the Oregon Whitewater Association, I’d like to welcome you to our club!  A bona fide river rat, I’ve been rafting the rivers of the Pacific Northwest since 1992. Being out on the water gives me a sense of peace and freedom like nothing else. I especially enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife, the adventure, and the folks in the club who make up a special circle of friends for me. 

OWA was formed in 2000 by a group of people interested in bringing boaters together for fun, camaraderie and to promote safety while running the rivers. In addition to supporting rafters, we encourage kayakers to join our club. We hold monthly meetings with free pizza, provide opportunities for river safety classes and CPR training, and facilitate networking between members in leading river trips. (It’s also a great way to get on a permitted river!)  

As a large club, we feel that we have an obligation to helping to protect our rivers. We are dedicated to supporting community-based organizations that work to protect and restore our rivers, such as the Tualatin Riverkeepers. We are a part of the annual Clackamas River Cleanup each September and hope to get everyone out there to help clean up the trash and be a part of this great community event.  

As President, I am hoping to strengthen our knowledge in identifying invasive plants that threaten healthy streams and rivers and to increase our commitment to adopting a river and contributing towards helping to remove these invasive plants and/or to report our sitings, as we float down a river, to authorities who can remove them for us. 

Each month at our general meetings, our Vice President, Bruce Ripley, provides us with guest speakers that educate and entertain us on various river topics and stories. Whether you are new to rafting, or an old river rat, we hope that you enjoy and find valuable tips and helpful information on our website. Feel free to browse the website to get to know us better and please send us a message if you have any questions.

Members enjoy our monthly newsletters and river trip calendar. Membership also allows you access to the Forum, which facilitates discussions between members, allows you to post for new trips, share river hazards and to post or view sale items.

We hope that you will consider dropping in on us at one of our monthly meetings, where the people are fun and the pizza is free, and we look forward to your joining our ranks as a member.  

Sincerely,