Many outdoor sports start as primarily male pursuits, and Anna Levesque decided it was up to her to equalize the playing field for potential female whitewater kayakers. A member of the Canadian Freestyle Kayak Team from 1999 to 2003 who earned a bronze medal at the Freestyle World Championships in 2001, Levesque founded Girls at Play in 2004 to open up whitewater, yoga, and stand-up paddleboard instruction and adventure travel for women. She started with an instructional and inspirational DVD featuring female paddlers, and she promoted it via a traveling clinic tour. Since then, Girls at Play has grown to offer whitewater kayak, yoga and stand-up paddleboard instruction in Asheville, and the company also leads trips to Costa Rica and Idaho. Levesque has also created four more kayaking DVDs for kayakers looking to increase their skills.

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Gary Cantrell

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Dink Taylor