Hello World Class Academy students, families, and alumni,

With great excitement, the Kayak Academy would like to announce our Spring fundraising event! On May 4th, students will complete as many laps as possible on the famous Wellerbrucke rapids of the Otz river in Austria. This pristine section of the river was host to the biggest race in kayaking for over a decade., Students will push their endurance as they earn their turns and hike each lap over 3 hours to help raise donations for our scholarship fund.

World Class is proud to offer financial aid to students who otherwise would not be able to attend the Kayak Academy. Through the scholarship fund, we hope to increase access to our school and the sport of kayaking in general. We believe that World Class Academy offers an incredibly unique experience to our high school students. Through attending World Class Academy, students have an opportunity to not only kayak around the world while completing their high school education, but an opportunity to learn about themselves, others, and the world around us through cultural and interpersonal experiences in the communities the academy visits. As an academy, we appreciate being able to offer this experience to as many students as we can. We want everyone interested to have the opportunity to attend.

We are reaching out to our community of parents, families, friends, alumni, and more to help us support current and future students through our fundraiser, creating scholarships so more students have the opportunity to attend WCA, a life-changing and rewarding high school experience.

So without further ado and with a drumroll, please....

Students are preparing for a challenge of distance and determination, stamina, and grit. On Sunday May 4th, within the beautiful Otz Valley, the Kayak Academy - individually and as a team - will complete as many laps as possible famous Wellerbrucke rapids of the Otz river in Austria..

To support the Scholarship Fund, we are encouraging current students to connect with their communities at home to collect pledges to support this challenge in 1 of 3 ways financially:

Pledge an amount per lap an individual completes. Ex. I pledge $10 for every lap completed by Tom Sawyer. 10 laps completed by Tom would equal a $100 donation
Pledge an amount per lap whole team completes collectively. Ex. I pledge $1 for every river mile completed collectively by the team. 200 total laps would equal a $200 donation
Donate a set amount to support the challenge. Ex. Pledge $50 in support of the Kayak Academy's Distance for Donations challenge.

As a registered non-profit educational organization, all donations made to WCA are Tax deductible.

Students will use an individual pledge sheet to keep track of potential donations, and once the challenge is complete, we will follow up with distances covered and the resulting donation.

In the lead-up to this event, we ask for your support.

Follow along as the team prepares for this challenge; we will post videos and updates on the fundraising page and our social media.

With gratitude,

The Kayak Academy

The Kayak Academy's Donations for Distance Fundraiser

By World Class Academy

The Kayak Academy's Donations for Distance Fundraiser

Otz, Austria | May 4th, 2025

Team Members