Joe Jacobi’s Post

Learning & Competition… I was 19 years old when I moved the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) to pursue our goals related to canoeing in the Olympic Games. NOC’s remote Appalachian setting on the Nantahala River combined with a community of dedicated paddlers and paddlesports leaders helped shape the environment we believe we needed to pursue peak performance at the 1992 Olympic Games. When I arrived, one of NOC’s cofounders, Relia Kennedy, offered me a job washing dishes one day per week at the restaurant baring her name in exchange for the NOC staff meal plan. This amounted to 20 meals per week all served on-site with other NOC staff members. Little did I know that exchanging work for meals would be with 1000x the value of a currency exchange. At these staff meals, the best kayak instructors in the world broke bread with top competitive paddlers who had chosen to train at NOC for similar reasons that I did. We’d sit at wooden tables over long lunches and dinners and simply deep dive into all things whitewater river technique - progressions, philosophies, innovations, stories, refinements, etc. Everyone seemed to leave these meals a little better - excited to experiment, wiser for new perspectives, and grateful to be a part of an amazing community. Such interactions between world class instructors and athletes were hardly singular occurrences at NOC. Nearly half of the 1972 Olympic Canoe Slalom Team worked NOC in its early years. Soon after that, national team athletes, world medalists, and Olympians took leadership positions there. Culture building here was clear and intentional; its processes were innovative and respectful; the results were exceptional and sustained over a long period of time. This company post from NOC highlights an article that beautifully recognizes the deep and powerful effect of bridging high-level instruction and competition… that build a better culture… that creates a better experience. #adventure #culture #competition