Paddlesports Trade Coalition

What Paddlesports Trade Coalition does

The Paddlesports Trade Coalition (PTC) is a member-driven nonprofit trade coalition organized under Section 501(c)(6), founded in 2023 and headquartered in Jay, Vermont. PTC serves the North American paddlesports industry by bringing together brands and manufacturers, retailers and outfitters, sales representatives, and community organizations under a single advocacy and industry-development umbrella. Its stated purpose is to strengthen the trade through collaboration, shared best practices, education, and a unified industry voice in policy conversations at the local, state/provincial, and federal levels.

PTC's core product is the Gold Standards & Best Practices Hub, a framework that includes a Code of Ethics & Industry Framework and role-specific self-assessment tools for brands/manufacturers, retailers/outfitters, sales reps, and community organizations. Supporting programs include the annual PTC Colab conference (2025 held with ACA PaddleFest at the U.S. National Whitewater Center with 150+ attendees; 2026 scheduled at Montgomery Whitewater Center, October 14-16), the Go Paddle Day industry-wide participation initiative (scheduled June 20, 2026), regular webinars hosted on Zoom and Google Meet, and Reports & Trends industry data. The technology platform is built on Odoo for website, ecommerce, subscriptions, and event registration, with Stripe for payments, Mailchimp for email, and Google Analytics/Plausible for web analytics.

PTC's revenue model combines recurring membership dues from brands, retailers, sales reps, and associate members (pricing not publicly disclosed) with transactional revenue from PTC Colab exhibitor booth sales ($1,250-$1,850 per booth depending on size, with early-bird discounts) and paid Super Clinic slots ($100 each). The organization is governed by a volunteer Board of Directors representing each member segment, led by Chair Stig Larsson (CEO of Level Six), Vice-Chair Simon Coward (Owner of AQ Outdoors/Aquabatics), and Treasurer/Secretary Rob Bossen (Blue Water Trading/Grey Duck Outdoor). As of December 2025, Executive Director Jeff Turner resigned and the Board paused the Executive Director role, forming a Board Advisory Committee to preserve institutional knowledge and redirect resources to member-facing programs.

Name

Paddlesports Trade Coalition

Legal name

Paddlesports Trade Coalition

Website

https://paddlesportstradecoalition.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Paddlesports Trade Coalition is a 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade coalition serving North American paddlesports brands, retailers, outfitters, sales reps, and community organizations through the Gold Standards & Best Practices Hub, the annual PTC Colab conference, Go Paddle Day, webinars, and industry advocacy.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Trade Association Services

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Regional/Continental Confederations & Associations (MPAKAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Partner, Channel & Alliance Summits (THAHAMAC), Amateur & Grassroots Sport Associations (Community/Youth Governing Orgs) (MPAKAFAF)

Keywords

• Trade association services
• Industry best practices
• Trade event management
• Paddlesports advocacy
• Nonprofit trade coalition

Headquarters

HQ city

Jay

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: The PTC operates as a member-driven nonprofit (501(c)(6)) trade coalition. Membership tiers and dues provide recurring revenue from brands, manufacturers, retailers/outfitters, and sales reps in the paddlesports industry.
2. Event Registration & Booth Space: Revenue generated from PTC Colab event registrations, exhibitor booth/ tent space sales (10x10: $1,250, 10x20: $1,450, 10x30: $1,650, 10x40: $1,850), and potentially paid educational sessions (Super Clinic slots at $100 each).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Paddlesports Trade Coalition (PTC) is a member-driven 501(c)(6) nonprofit trade coalition serving the North American paddlesports industry. It offers membership-based programs including the Gold Standards & Best Practices Hub, the annual PTC Colab conference, the Go Paddle Day participation initiative, recurring educational webinars, and industry data Reports & Trends. The coalition unites brands, manufacturers, retailers, outfitters, sales reps, and community organizations around shared standards, advocacy, and collaboration.

Product overview

The Paddlesports Trade Coalition is a member-driven nonprofit (501c6) trade coalition offering a unified platform of industry development programs. The core offering is the Gold Standards & Best Practices Hub—a comprehensive framework of self-assessment tools and resources for Brands & Manufacturers, Retailers & Outfitters, Sales Reps, and Community Organizations. Supporting programs include the annual PTC Colab conference at Montgomery Whitewater Center, the Go Paddle Day participation initiative, regular webinars, and industry Reports & Trends data. The portfolio is designed to strengthen the paddlesports industry through education, advocacy, collaboration, and communication.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 30 million Americans participated in paddlesports in 2024 - an all-time high according to Outdoor Industry Association research
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• ACA (American Canoe Association)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025PTC Colab 2025 was delivered in partnership with ACA PaddleFest at the U.S. National Whitewater Center. The collaboration brings together the paddlesports industry's largest trade coalition with the primary paddlesports instructional and advocacy organization to deliver a combined conference experience.
• Outdoor Industry AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPTC leverages Outdoor Industry Association participation research and data to inform industry strategy. The latest figures showing nearly 30 million American paddlers come from OIA research, which guides PTC's participation growth initiatives.
• Montgomery Whitewater CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerVenue partner for PTC Colab 2026 (October 14-16). Montgomery Whitewater Center provides the setting for the three-day conference with its paddlesports-focused facilities, outdoor recreation environment, and community atmosphere.
• NASBLA Paddlesports CommitteesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerNASBLA Paddlesports Committee collaborates with PTC on safety initiatives including World Drowning Prevention Day workshops at Colab and the presentation of industry honors during the annual conference.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• American Canoe Association: The primary paddlesports instructional and advocacy organization in the U.S., directly intersecting with PTC's constituency. PTC partnered with ACA on the 2025 Colab event, evidencing substantial functional overlap and shared members.
• Outdoor Industry Association: The broadest U.S. outdoor recreation industry trade association. PTC explicitly partners with OIA for participation data and treats it as a parent-style industry body, making OIA the closest comparable in mission and structure, though at much larger scale.
• Surf Industry Manufacturers Association: Trade association representing surf and water-sports brands and retailers. SIMA offers a directly comparable member-driven trade coalition model for an adjacent action water-sports industry, making it a strong functional peer.

Broad incumbents

• Running USA: National trade organization for the running industry. Running USA's industry-research, event, and member-driven trade body model is structurally comparable to PTC's data-and-events-led offering.
• National Marine Manufacturers Association: Trade association serving the U.S. recreational boating industry. NMMA represents a broader and adjacent water-sports industry with an established trade show (IBEX) and advocacy arm, overlapping with PTC on boating/paddlesports policy and manufacturer representation.
• National Sporting Goods Association: Trade association serving sporting goods retailers, dealers, and manufacturers. NSGA's retailer/manufacturer trade body model is comparable to PTC's structure, though its scope is far broader than paddlesports.
• Snowsports Industries America: National trade association for the snow sports industry. SIA operates the same brand/retailer/rep trade association model as PTC but for a different sport, making it a strong structural and operational peer.
• PeopleForBikes: U.S. bicycle industry trade and advocacy coalition uniting brands, retailers, and riders. PeopleForBikes mirrors PTC's coalition-building, advocacy, and member-recruitment playbook in an adjacent outdoor sport.
• Bicycle Product Suppliers Association: U.S. bicycle industry trade association representing suppliers and manufacturers. BPSA shares PTC's brand/manufacturer-led trade coalition model and advocacy focus, but in a different sport category.

Others

• The Conservation Alliance: Coalition of outdoor industry businesses funding conservation advocacy. While not a direct trade association, The Conservation Alliance shares PTC's member-driven industry coalition structure and outdoor recreation advocacy mission, making it thematically adjacent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/paddlesports-trade-coalition

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Paddlesports Trade Coalition