Coach Emeritus – Bill Bragg
Bill Bragg was the founder and person to whom all of the Ventura Olympic Canoe Club (the original name for the club) knew simply as “Coach” and will forever be a coach emeritus for the club. Coach passed away in August of 2023 at age 86.
Coach Bragg is a legend in the American paddling community and is known for his innovation, dedication to learning new techniques, and his scientific approach to the sport. Coach paddled into his 80s regularly and his opinions and perspective still guide the Ventura Canoe & Kayak Club today, and always will.
You’ll see club stickers of Bill’s old surfboard shop logo of a man in a suit holding a sign that reads “Paddlers by Bragg” as we all owe him a debt of thanks.
Coach – Drew Story
The Ventura Canoe & Kayak Club is coached by Drew Story, a Ventura native. He has over 40 years of paddling experience and is a National champion in multiple categories and age brackets. Drew is a two-time Junior World Team member and has been coached, trained, and mentored by Bill Bragg. During his paddling career, Drew competed for the United States in Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Finland, and Mexico.
Drew is an International Canoe Federation and American Canoe Association certified coach. He has also raced outrigger canoes for many years, competing primarily with Dana Outrigger Canoe Club in Dana Point. Today, he still trains at least three days a week and on his “off days” he rides a road bike, runs, and trains for various endurance events.
Coach – Lynn Rimkus
Like Drew, Lynn has over 40 years of kayak experience although she has taken a few breaks along the way to dabble in other sports. Starting to kayak at the age of 15 with the Girl Scouts, Lynn raced marathon for a short while before moving over to kayak slalom, becoming the British Schools and British Universities champion, as well as a member of the British Youth Team.
She moved back into sprint and marathon paddling just before she relocated to the US. She is keen to give back to the sport that means so much to her, and enjoys nothing more than mucking around in boats.
Coach – Claire DuBois
Claire is a graduate student working on her PhD at Cal Lutheran University and is a member of the Rice Creek Boat Club. Claire has competed at both the US Team Trials and US Nationals and is enthusiastic about working with our young kayakers but can also stay upright in a sprint canoe! We are very happy to have Claire training with us and hope we can make use of her design skills with some new uniforms soon.