Statements of Coaches and Peers:

"Eli came to us with the most ability of any canoeist I have ever seen."  John "Lightnin'" Griffith, Coach, Warren Wilson College Whitewater Team

"Eli is the best open canoeist I know."  Frankie Hubbard, whitewater playboat designer.

"Lotus is proud to sponsor Eli.  Eli rocks!"  Brad, Lotus Designs.

"Eli's not-so-good rides are better than most of the competitors best rides."--EJ

"Eli's  "overnight sensation" just shows what more than fifteen years of experience can do."  Dad.

Articles:

The following is from e-mail:  Mon., 13 Sep. 1999 13:37:29 -0400 (EDT)

1999 Jayne Abbott explains omission of OC-1 results from NOWR Web Site:
 

OC-1 was not officially part of the North American Cup or Point Series since there was so little participation in 1998 on a national level. We kept track unofficially to see if OC-1 should be added for next year. No determination  has been yet on that.

Unofficially, here are the results for the No. American Cup:

1. Joe Langman
2. Eli Helbert
3. Frankie Hubbard
4. Darren McDonald
5. Larry Mauzey
6. Tom Fredericks
7. Richard Oldenquist
8. Dave Simpson
9. Phil Foti
10. Jayson Bowerman

Unofficial results for Pt Series:

1. Eli Helbert
2. Joe Langman
3. Frankie Hubbard
4. Darren McDonald
5. Tom Fredricks
6. Larry Mauzey
7. Richard Oldenquist
8. Dave Simpson
9. Phil Foti
10. Jayson Bowerman

Editor's Note:  The situation mentioned above was corrected for the year 2000.  OC-1 results are now reported by NOWR.

Throwing for the Gold Down Under

by Maura Kistler

Article used by permission from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine

The World Whitewater Freestyle Championships will be held in New Zealand in December and two area paddlers, fresh off their most successful competition seasons ever, hope to medal.  Eli Helbert, a 23 year old native of Harrisonburg, will be wearing the red, white and blue life jacket in Freestyle Open Canoe division.  Deb Ruehle, a Fayetteville, W.Va. resident will be throwing down in the Freestyle Kayak division.  Competitors will have 30 seconds to launch themselves into a churning hole and crank out a lightening-quick string of cartwheels, spins and pirouettes.  They will be scored on variety, technicality and style.

Helbert who started paddling the North Fork of the Shenandoah when he was eight, is wrapping up his first year of a post-college five year plan focused on seeing how far he can take paddling.  So far, so good: Helbert placed first or second in every rodeo he entered, winning the North American Point Series.  "Folks think Eli came out of nowhere," says his dad Paul, "but they just don't know about his fifteen year apprenticeship."  Helbert even chose his college, Warren Wilson in Asheville, NC, because of its paddling program.  Eli hopes his business degree will eventually land him a job in the whitewater industry.

The younger Helbert believes there are a lot of misconceptions about the world of rodeo canoeing.  "When people hear the word canoe they envision a big, bulky, aluminum canoe."  Eli's boat is small, highly maneuverable, and filled with air bags, allowing him to throw cartwheels and do spins.  "We're the rodeo clowns.  The crowd loves us because we are a lot more likely to swim (get thrown from the boat) than kayakers."  Still, Helbert is resigned to the fact that open canoeists get a lot less media attention than kayakers.  "There just aren't that many of us," he laughs.

A year ago at this time kayaker Deb Ruehle, 31, was winding down after a frustrating season.  She regularly whipped through the preliminary rounds of competition, only to choke in finals.  Also, her sponsor's boat designs weren't working well for her.  She spent the winter cross-training, and in spring made two positive moves: She broke with her old sponsor and hooked up with Pyranha whose designs better fit her style.  More importantly, she got some help from paddling guru Clay Wright.  "The physical part was there," she says, "I knew I could make the moves, but the last piece of the puzzle was mental."  Clay helped me see that a lot of my problems came from being in a hurry.  Now I take my time before I jump in the hole.  The eddy is mine, the time is mine, I don't go until I'm ready."

Ruehle put it all together this season, coming in first or second in every rodeo she entered and winning the North American Championships.  Now she has her sights set on making the finals at the Worlds, though she adds, "really, my goal for the season was to make the U.S. team, everything that follows is a bonus."

At the moment Helbert and Ruehle are concentrating on getting sponsors to defray the formidable costs of going to New Zealand.  Each plans to arrive a few weeks before the competition in order to have plenty of time to get to know the hole.  One of Helbert's key strategies involves something very simple: smiling.  "It's been proven that smiling relaxes your whole body so that is the last thing I do before I start--put on a big smile."

Race and Rodeo Result & Other Links:

Searching "Eli Helbert" using AltaVista, Google, Yahoo, Mamma or most search engines will bring up scads of linked results.
 

Website construction notes and other concerns:
 

There are reports that Eli (identified by sight) has been seen on cable sports television.  What channel?  When?