Outdoor Central Oregon Issue 7 | September/October 2018 | Page 12

12 SEPT/OCT 2018 THE WORLD CLASS KAYAK ACADEMY| A SEMESTER IN CHILE BY AARON ANDERSON | PHOTOS BY KALOB GRADEY During this school year I joined a unique high school called World Class Kayak Academy. This school is an international traveling high school for kids that white water kayak. During the school year, World Class takes kids all over the world to differ- ent places that are known for the amazing white water they provide, while teaching proper safety and kayaking skills to prog- ress faster in this sport. World class also requires kids to take a minimum of four main classes and three elective classes and does a great job of mixing academics with athletics in order to meet all the nec- essary requirements each kid needs. During the semester I traveled down to Chile. We started in Pucon and made our way down to the Patagonia region kayak- ing every step of the way. In Pucon, we got to paddle some incredible sections of white water that where a great introduction to Chile. After Pucon we went to the Fuy river which was an awesome and challeng- ing river depending on the section we did. While we were at the Fuy, seven kids got to run a difficult section called the middle Fuy, this section was not only intimidating and committing but also had a 50 foot waterfall th