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American Canoe Association
ACA provides paddlesports leadership, structure, and instructional resources to promote our sport’s many health and social benefits to fuel membership growth and enrich the experience of all participants.
Core Values
We believe every paddlesport participant has a right to define their path on the water, from fun recreational activities to elite athletic pursuits, and we share these core values:
Enjoyment: We develop programs, instruction, training camps, events, and competitions that provide a fun, satisfying, and rewarding experience for all. We paddle because it is fun.
Safety: We create tools, programs, policies, and procedures to ensure that safety is a top priority for all our members and other paddlesport participants. Paddling is fun when we’re safe and healthy.
Inclusion: We promote a culture and atmosphere of honesty, camaraderie, and sportsmanship to enrich lives and unleash the full potential of all participants. We maintain an environment of respect, fairness, and kindness and embrace the value of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives. Everyone is welcome in the paddling family.
Teamwork: We work collaboratively with our volunteers and partner organizations. We nurture connections throughout the paddlesport community and with the US Coast Guard, the US Olympic & Paralympic Committee, the International Canoe Federation, the Outdoor Alliance, and other partners. We cannot achieve our mission alone.
Excellence: We are committed to the pursuit of excellence at the individual, team, and organizational levels. We strive to provide the best possible service to our members and the paddling community. We are accountable for how effectively we achieve that goal.
The ACA has over 15,000 members and 300 paddling clubs and affiliated organizations. The ACA provides insurance to hundreds of events and races every year. The ACA education program has an estimated reach of over 800,000 people per year. ACA members reside in all 50 states and over 35 countries worldwide.