Jason Craig Jackson Kayak

Jackson Kayak

Jason Craig

Age: 15
Height: 5’4
Weight: 120lbs

Favorite kayaks: Star, Punk Rocker

Corporate Sponsors: Truckee River Foundation, Kokatat Watersports ware, Snap Dragon Designs, Jackson Kayaks

Hometown: Reno, Nevada USA

Favorite subjects: Math & Literature. GPA 3.8

Favorite quote: Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you’ve imagined.

Henry David Thoreau

Kayaking Accomplishments:

2008

2nd Overall Standings World Cup of freestyle kayaking Junior Class – youngest competitor
1st Thun, Switzerland event of World Cup of freestyle
5th Augsburg, Germany event of World Cup of freestyle
2nd Prague, Czech Republic event World Cup of freestyle
2nd qualification for United States freestyle Junior team
2nd Jr. National Championship & FibArk
5th Place Men’s Professional Division Teva Mountain Games Vail
2nd Reno River Festival

2007

3rd Jr. National Championship, ASCI
1st , Junior Olympics Boatercross
3rd Jr. Olympics & USA Cadet Team Member Slalom
Spirit of the Olympics Award, Jr. Olympics
2nd Freestyle FibArk
2nd Slalom, FibArk
1st Jr. Freestyle, Reno River Festival
1st Jr. Boatercross, Reno River Festival
1st Jr. Downriver, Reno River Festival
2006 Jr. National Freestyle Kayak Champion (Youngest ever at age 12)

I am fifteen years old and when I not traveling as a kayaker I call Reno Nevada home. I love kayaking because it allows me to see the big world and meet new people. When I am creeking, at a play-spot, or just by the river I feel relaxed and happy and my love for kayaking will last my whole life long. As an athletic kayaker, what I do is fun and competition is an excuse to kayak even more. I find joy in the pressure of competition and the mental and physical games that are played there. This year as a sophomore, I am attending the Academy of Huge Experiences. I am paddling in New Zealand, Canada, USA, and Chile while getting high school credit. I am on the road traveling, competing and training eight months of the year. Leaving my family for months at a time is not easy. My family sacrifices for me to live my dream and I am grateful to them. Off the water, I enjoy editing video, watching movies, and hanging with my friends. My future goals are to have fun and compete at the highest levels as a kayaker and student. I feel it is important to help make this a better world and be a good person.

Media Clips

Teva Mountain Games Finals – Video

CBS National: Hold Your Breath! Young Freestyle Kayaker (Reno, Los Angeles, Minneapolis)

Boater Talk- Combo Moves, 12-year-old raise bar at US National Freestyle Championship

Outside: In the “men’s” division, 14-year-old Jason Craig won the crowd over

Jason’s videos:

Ice Box: Part II (2008)
Jason’s Promo (2007)

Reno River Festival (2007)

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Whitewater ---

Joel Kowalski sends 'Keeners experience Creeking on '7 Sisters' of the Rouge, QC'

Posted by claywright, 30/08/2010

[caption id="attachment_6281" align="alignnone" width="150" caption="Dane sets safety while Keaton airs it out"][/caption] [youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLnzv7ycG48&feature=player_embedded#%21[/youtube] Joel Kowalski is not only a coach for the 'Keeners' kids kayak program of Wilderness Tours on the Ottawa River, he also placed 5th at the World Freestyle Championships in Thun and creates and appears in Extreme whitewater videos such Read More
Posted In: 2010 Villain series, Featured Post, Heros, JK Team Posts, Rockers, Team JK, Uncategorized, Videos, Villain, Whitewater, creeking, featured, hero, jacksonkayak.com, news

Daunting expedition boating in Mexico with the Hotel Charley crew

Posted by jessecoombs, 27/08/2010

Hi Everyone! One of the great international trips we did this year in the filming of Hotel Charley 5: First Descent happened in August 2009 near Mazatlan Mexico. This trip was the first descent of that turns out to be the deepest canyon in North America: Barranca de Piaxtla. Having Read More
Posted In: Heros, Uncategorized, Whitewater

KC turns 2 and Today is Kristine and my 22nd Anniversary!

Posted by Eric Jackson, 27/08/2010

Lots to celebrate right now. It is 7am on our anniversary and Kristine is still asleep. the sun is rising over the Ottawa River and the fog from the cool morning is beautiful over the river. i wanted to put up a few photos from KC's birthday, where he started his paddling Read More
Posted In: JK Family Posts, JK Team Posts, Kid's Kayaks, Recreational, Stars, Team JK, the athlete, the family man

The Midwest Freestyle Championships 2010

Posted by colinkemp, 27/08/2010
Lower Muddy Fork

Posted by brettbarton, 26/08/2010
MISSION: Goldy Locks and the 5 bears.

Posted by Nick Troutman, 25/08/2010
Justin Kleberg's Silver Run

Posted by claywright, 22/08/2010
Heather Herbeck's Summer Update

Posted by claywright, 22/08/2010
Industry trade mag shines spotlight on new Coosa, Hero

Posted by leehart, 20/08/2010
Face Time Intro: video

Posted by Nick Troutman, 19/08/2010
ICF Athlete of the Month: Nick Troutman

Posted by Nick Troutman, 18/08/2010
Current Experiences organizes kayak training camp with Devon Barker

Posted by leehart, 17/08/2010
The Grand Canyon

Posted by Nick Troutman, 17/08/2010

View News Archive

JK in the Press

Press Releases

Press Coverage 2010

Press Coverage 2009

Press Coverage 2008

Press Coverage 2007

Press Coverage 2006

Press Coverage 2005

All Media interests should contact Lee Hart of Brand Amp at the following address:
Lee Hart
Brand Amp
Salida, CO
719.539.7788
lee@brandamp.com
http://BrandAmp.com

JK Super Schools

US and Canadian Super Schools:

International Super Schools:

Photos | Videos

2008 Photo Gallery

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2007 Photo Gallery

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2006 Photo Gallery

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2005 Photo Gallery

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Photos | Videos

Jackson Kayak Dealers

Jackson Kayak dealers are chosen by the quality of service they provide you, the customer. Our dealer network may not be the biggest, but we think you will find it to be the best the sport has to offer. We will be adding dealers on a one by one basis.

US and Canadian Dealers:

International Whitewater Kayak Dealers:

Resources for JK Dealers

:: High-resolution downloadable JK Logos and Graphics
:: Animated Logo

Dealer Packets

Jackson Kayak Accessories to make your kayak all it can be
Creek Floats- Villain, Rocker, Hero
Fun Floats- Stars, Funs
Gear Bag
Happy Feet Footbags- Super Linear Stars, Funs, all playboats under 7'
Happy Seat- Stars, Funs, Villain, Rocker, Hero, All-Water, Journey, Dynamic Duo
Happy Seat / Thruster Combo- Stars, Funs, all playboats.
Happy Thruster- Stars, Funs, all Playboats
Sweet Cheeks- All Super Linear kayaks, any non-jackson, Journey, All-Water
Day Tripper Skirt- Mini-Skirt to keep your legs dry
Minicell Foam Block
Foam Footblock
Foam Seat Pad

Addition Paddler Tools
PaddleStation- get fit and ready for paddling
Kids Paddle- Because they aren�t so easy to find

Warranty

About Jackson Kayak | Contact Jackson Kayak

Jackson Kayak was born in October of 2003. We are a family owned business, dedicated to making paddling better for everyone. I’m Eric Jackson, co-founder along with Tony Lunt, my kayaker friend from Arizona. David Knight and I design the kayaks together and have been doing so since 1994. David Knight is a C-1er from the Washington, DC area. His full time job is at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Bethesda, Maryland. There, he is a naval architect with a special interest in structures (he likes to blow things up, then make them stronger, and try to blow them up again) David will retire from the government in a couple of years and move to Rock Island where we can play with him every day. My wife, Kristine is my external hard drive, my conscience and reminder of things, and my advisor. She is a partner for me in every way. You will see the attention to detail that Kristine brings to Jackson Kayak in everything we do. My partner, Tony Lunt, adds a strong business focus along with the financial support needed to strengthen the bootstraps that we have started Jackson Kayak with. He is a destination kayaker that must normally travel to find water. When not “street surfing” during the occasional downpour in Tucson, AZ, you can find him riding his stallions and roping cattle on his expansive desert ranch. Jackson Kayak is located at Rock Island, Tennessee, home of the Ultimate playboating spot as well as a river running and creeking paradise during the rainy season.

We have a 92,000 square foot factory in Sparta, TN that we purchased in 2006 when we grew out of our 735 square foot ex-laundry matt. In 2008 we installed two large ovens, brining our manufacturing in house for the first time. We have a true dream team in manufacturing with John Ratliff, John Shepherd, Brad Cisco, Leif Koehler, Jase Bouldin, Tony Lee, and more! My Right hand man is Dave Olson, who I have worked with since 1999 in my former company. Dave is a genius that loves business, especially the hard stuff. He has helped me grow up as a business owner, keeping pace with the challenges of running a company that is growing and getting more complex each year.

We are becoming a full service kayak company, opening up our products to the flatwater paddlers with the All-Water, Day Trippers, and Journey’s in 2009. This is just another step to bring the Jackson Kayak flavor and dedication to making paddling a lifestyle, not a commodity. With manufacturers moving to China, and going for cheap labor instead of dedicated paddlers with years of experience and skills in making boats under the JK motto: “Build it like it is yours”. We can certainly put our boats up for the most intense inspection and you will find workmanship in every corner, every trim job, and every piece of assembly.

We back up our product with a lifetime warranty on workmanship and go above and beyond the written warranty in case of anything going wrong. You will always have access to the president of this company, me, by emailing (ericjackson at jacksonkayak.com) or calling me on my cell phone at 931-224-1721 . I answer all of my own emails and come from the paddler’s perspective, as I most likely was on the water that day, and every other day you try to get me. This is my dream, for myself, my family, my friends, my partners, and my staff. Most of them fall in more than one of those categories. We are living our dream and working to make this company something we can all be proud of for years to come and pass off to our children.

You and your local dealer are our company advisors; we are making this company to cater to you. We are doing what we can to be your company of choice. Feel free to provide any input, at any time.

So, you have never seen a Jackson Kayak and you want some specifics, Check out the Kayaks section to learn more.

About Jackson Kayak | Contact Jackson Kayak

Jackson Kayak
325 Iris Dr
Sparta, TN 38583
Main number: 931.738.2628
info at jacksonkayak.com

Become a dealer: Marty Cronin, 303.517.2621; ,marty at jacksonkayak dot com
Dealer Service: Teri Lee x101; teri at jacksonkayak.com or Tara Etter x107; tara at jacksonkayak.com
School/instructional program sales: Colin Kemp, 931.314.3414, colin at worldkayak.com
Warranty issues: Please fill out the downloadable customer warranty info form and email to: warranty at jacksonkayak dot com. Download the form here: WARRANTY FORM
Please allow up to five days for a reply
JK store customer service: Lorraine Valet x118; websales at jacksonkayak.com
Accounts Payable: Debbie Sopha, x105; dsopha at jacksonkayak.com
Accounts Receivable: Donita Koelhler x117; donita at jacksonkayak.com or Camile Collins x100, ccollins at jacksonkayak.com
Shipping: Brandon Rains x102; brandon at jacksonkayak.com
Parts Vendors: Jane Bouldin x103; jane at jacksonkayak.com
Human Resources: Shannon Phillips x104; shannon at jacksonkayak.com
Media Relations: Lee Hart, Brand Amp, 303.898.4141; lee at brandamp.com

Jackson Family:
EricJackson at jacksonkayak.com
Kristine at jacksonkayak.com
Emily at jacksonkayak.com
Dane at jacksonkayak.com

Who makes Jackson Kayak fly? I am a business owner who is successful because my team is running like a well tuned racing engine. Each member of the home team is responsible for more than the tasks their title suggests. They don’t ever say, “that is not my job”, but instead, it is “how can I help?”. Kristine’s mom does accounts receivable, payable, the accounting, banking, and accessories. She is 65 years old and her career is just blossoming. Get in between her and her job and you’ll see one New Yorker you’ll side step before it is too late. Goat has been shipping our kayaks to your dealers, and to random locations, one boat at a time for over two years and when I get to the factory and want to get the quick version of what’s up, I go back to where he is staging shipments, and anticipating boats that are still on the line but will ship that day. When I want to get to the real deal, where it all counts everyday, I go to the line, where our team of assemblers have been building your boats since 2004. We have some new faces, but we still have the original ones; and for that we are blessed. Built it like it is yours isn’t a slogan it is a way of life in that plant. Look at any cockpit rim trimming job on a Jackson Kayak and you’ll see a smooth, beautiful hand trimmed, hand shaped boat. What makes them so much better? Time, time, and more time, by trained, practiced, hard working, kayakers who don’t want you to cut yourself on their rim. Who is that sweet southern voice on the line when you call in? Carman Ratliff. Carman is to customer service what hot water is to coffee. She adds the service to the customer. Her husband John is my right hand man, the Chief of Operations. He is the team leader that everyone falls under, but he doesn’t have to run the plant like a classroom. People show up to work, do their job, and then some, bringing new projects to the table on their own, without having to be told to get to work.

I am very lucky to have this team of individuals that definitely fall under the “The Whole is greater than the sum of the parts.” Concept. There is no limit to what this team can do. They care like it was their own baby. I just hope that I can help them become all they want to be as part of this team, known as Team Jackson Kayak/ Home Team.