California Watersport Collective is a paddlesports instruction school and community organization based on the South Fork American River in Lotus, California. Founded in 2015, CWC offers whitewater kayak, SUP, packraft, and sea kayaking instruction for all skill levels — from complete beginners taking their first strokes to experienced paddlers pushing into Class IV and beyond. In addition to clinics and guided trips on the South Fork, CWC leads international expeditions to Chile, Italy, and Norway, and partners with Riverbound, its nonprofit arm, to build river access and community for underrepresented paddlers across California.
Womxn’s Program
Research and experience both confirm it — womxn learn differently, and learning alongside instructors and peers who share that experience makes a meaningful difference. CWC’s womxn’s specific clinics provide a supportive, skilled, and genuinely fun environment where participants can build confidence at their own pace without feeling like they need to prove anything. Our female coaching staff brings world-class credentials and a whole lot of stoke to every session.
Holistic Approach
Paddlesports instruction at CWC goes beyond boat handling and stroke technique. We recognize that performance on the water is connected to everything else — how you move, how you breathe, how you recover. Many of our clinics and trips incorporate yoga, movement practice, and nutrition to keep paddlers balanced, injury-free, and performing at their best. River time is training time, but it’s also restoration time.
Community Building
The river has a way of leveling everything. On the water, what matters is curiosity, respect, and a willingness to show up — not your background, your fitness level, or how long you’ve been paddling. Since 2015 CWC has been building a paddling community that reflects that philosophy — diverse, inclusive, and genuinely welcoming to anyone who wants to learn. We believe that confidence built on the water carries into every other part of a person’s life. That’s not just a mission statement. It’s what we see happen, clinic after clinic, season after season.
Based on the South Fork. Paddling the world.
CWC’s home water is the South Fork American River — one of California’s premier whitewater destinations, right in the heart of Gold Rush country in El Dorado County. It’s where most of our students take their first strokes and where our instructors spend their summers. Beyond California, CWC runs guided trips on rivers in Chilean Patagonia, the rivers of northern Italy’s Valsesia region, and Norway. Our instructors are active, traveling paddlers who bring real expedition experience into every clinic they teach.
The CWC teaching team holds some of the highest paddling certifications in the country. Every instructor is ACA certified, actively paddling at a high level, and deeply committed to making the river accessible to everyone.
Crew
Melissa DeMarie
Chief Instigator & Whitewater Program Director
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Laura Zulliger
Saltwater Program Director & Whitewater Kayak Instructor
- ACA L5 Advanced Open Water Kayaking
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Davide Sartoni
Paddleboard Program Director
- ACA L5 Whitewater SUP
Ellie Coffee
Whitewater Kayak Instructor
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Owen Cross
Whitewater Kayak Instructor
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Aaron Root
Whitewater Packraft Instructor
- Lead Packraft Instructor
Tessa Coffee
Whitewater Kayak Instructor
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Shane Koskinen
Whitewater Kayak Instructor
- ACA L4 Whitewater
Mary Ann King
Sea Kayak Instructor
- ACA L4 Open Water Coastal Kayaking
Guest Instructors
Ava Christensen
- Whitewater Kayaking
Jacques Gilardone
- Whitewater Kayaking
Mariann Sæther
- Whitewater Kayaking
Natalie Kramer Anderson
- Whitewater Kayaking
Kelly Marie Henry
- Sea Kayaking
Amber Champion
- Sea Kayaking