August, 2007, Dora Baltea Italy: ~Ice~ was appointed as an "International Hydrospeed Instructor" by key members of RIPH, including leader Raphael Besson.

Based on completing a list of criteria established by RIPH in 2002, Ice was invited to join an exclusive group of Hydrospeeders and Riverboarders worldwide, being only the 15th person to be appointed as an International Hydrospeed Guide, and the first American to be named such.

Criteria include riverboarding on at least 2 continents besides one's home continent, guiding a Class V river on a different continent, and having a minimum of 5 years riverboarding, among other requirements.

In order to complete the induction into the exclusive group, Ice had to take a swig of "River Tonic", which is a special tonic created by Frenchman Marc (one of the 3 Hydrospeeders, along with Raphael and Charl, to take on the mighty White Nile in Uganda in 2006). Marc was one of the original 4 Instructors.

The ceremony took place in Italy the last night before Ice left to continue his '007 summer tour of Europe. Given the option of the "clear" tonic or the "yellow" tonic, Ice, who doesn't typically drink alcohol (he's a health nut) said, "Well, I like my rivers clear, but my helmet and drysuit are yellow, so I'll go with yellow." Upon Raphael's translation to the crowd they all roared with laughter - apparently it translated funny.

Later Ice reflected on the honor: "I'm proud to be included in an international group which has covered much of the globe in the past 5 years. It's a great honor to be the first American to be appointed an I.H.I., and I'm looking forward to continuing the great success of the guides who have gone before me around the world over the years. The international riverboarding communities are further along in their evolution, in some ways, than we are in the USA, and there's a lot that we can learn from them, both from their successful expeditions in the far reaches of the world and from an organizational standpoint."

While inclusion in the exclusive club doesn't come with huge perks, Ice said he's more excited to simply be a part of bringing the world together.

"We've all been so segregated for many years, and there's no excuse for it. With technology and the fact that travel is easier than ever, we need to have a more involved international community. I'm proud of Face Level's efforts to join with RIPH and other entities around the world to make one big international community of riverboarders, whether they ride a Hydrospeed, a Sledge, a Carlson Riverboard, a Ripboard, whatever. I'm impressed with the Europeans especially, because unlike a lot of factions in other areas - like the US - they WANT to see other groups of riverboarders getting involved, they're not intimidated by the growth of the sport. And really, if anybody deserves to take credit for starting the sport, it's the French - but instead of trying to keep it as their own, they want it to spread to the world."

He added, "They told me that they've been hoping that the Americans would get involved because they see us as business savvy, and they think that the sport will grow quicker if we get involved. I'm planning on proving them right, and in the coming year you're going to see a lot more international involvement in the industry." 

For the record, Ice has been riverboarding for going on 14 years now, and has riverboarded in North America, Central America, Europe (mainland), Scandinavia, and New Zealand. He'll be joining Docta P and Kevin Yount in February 2008 for an excursion in South America, and hopes to visit Charl in South Africa at some point in the coming year as well.