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Historically, whitewater kayaking has been a key component of some institutional outdoor programs, offering low-cost instruction that emphasizes safety, skill, and the spirit of down-river travel. Each year, several thousand students are introduced to the sport of kayaking through instructional seminars offered by university outdoor programs. Classic teaching boats were long and skinny and had round bottoms. They rolled easily and offered excellent stability on their sides. Many programs found these boats increased participants' confidence and helped them stay with the sport after instruction. During the 1990s, whitewater kayaking saw exponential growth due to strong economic times and mass-market appeal. Boat designs followed the growing sport of rodeo "play-boating," and had features intended to make freestyle kayak moves possible. Long boats with round displacement hulls were replaced by their short, flat-bottom descendants. In addition, retail prices of boats increased because of additional design costs. This rapid growth left many program directors wondering where their instructional programs fit into the matrix of industry standards. Eventually, all institutional kayaking programs will need to upgrade their current equipment inventory. Program staff must reexamine its teaching philosophy and restructure the instructional curriculum to capitalize on the advantages and accommodate the limitations of the new equipment. (TD)