TN Paddlesports Association - Facts about Professional Paddlesports in TN

Tennessee Paddlesports Association

Growing, Protecting, Supporting Tennessee's Paddlesports Businesses

Has there been recent growth in paddlesports? The availability of inexpensive recreational kayaks led to a spurt in use of recreational lakes and rivers by non commercial, private paddlers. Stand-up paddleboarding is another area of growth in both commercial and private use but most of this use is on lakes or calmer rivers. Both of these trends have flattened out in the last couple of years. Commercial rental outfitters have steady demand for their services, but there is no dramatic growth occurring.
Paddlesports are prominent for about 24 days per year on less than 100 miles of the state’s rivers. On the other hand, thousands of miles of state streams are available for fishing. Over a thousand miles of streams are stocked with trout, which is an important recreational asset in Tennessee. Many of the recent kayak sales have been to kayak fishermen.
Paddlecraft rental outfitters have a good safety record. TWRA’s 2018 Boating Accident report found only 1 incident among paddlecraft rental businesses. 6 others were private paddlers.
TPA has developed best practices to help resolve user conflicts. On busy Saturdays some TWRA boat ramps can get backed up. Paddlers should clear the ramps as soon as possible and follow TPA best practices to reduce the potential for user conflicts.

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Tennessee Paddlesports Association, PO Box 66, Strawberry Plains, TN 37871

+1 833 304 6484

admin@tnpaddlesports.com

TN Paddlesports Association is a non-profit corporation