David Hearn is a sports venue and athletic consultant to the McLaughlin Design Team working in concert with John Anderson and Rick McLaughlin.

David Hearn�s contribution to whitewater sport began in the 1970s with his radical innovations in slalom boat design and paddling technique that helped place the American whitewater slalom canoes on the World Championship award's platform in 1979 to 1989.� Squirt boating can trace its origins to the pivot turns made possible by the new flat hull designs and radical paddling moves used by the American C1s.� Since then, David has paddled on nearly every major natural and artificial whitewater slalom race course in the world, including four Olympic competition sites.� David was a member of the U.S. Whitewater Team for 26 years, from 1976 through 2001.  He participated in three Olympics Games in 2000, 1996, and 1992.  David retired from racing in 2002 to focus on sharing his whitewater knowledge and passion for paddlesports with others.  David's two individual World Championship titles, numerous national titles coupled with over a quarter century of whitewater training and racing expertise enable him to pass on this legacy as a whitewater coach to recreational paddlers, junior and developing racers, as well as National Team members. 

 

David Hearn contributed immensely to the hydraulic model testing and obstacle installation during the 2002-2003 renovations of the Dickerson Whitewater Course.� David also helped develop a second generation of fiberglass obstacles for the East Race Waterway in South Bend, Indiana in 1988.  In 2005, David was consulting on the design and model testing for the re-circulating, artificial whitewater course at the Adventure Sports Center International in western Maryland.