Highest governing body | International Canoe Federation |
---|---|
Presence | |
Olympic | 1936–present |
Paralympic | 2016-present |
World Games | Canoe polo: 2005–present |
Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian.
A few of the recreational forms of canoeing are canoe camping and canoe racing. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds and streams.
Canoeing is an ancient mode of transportation. [1] Modern recreational canoeing was established in the late 19th century. Among early promoters of canoeing as a sport was Carl Smith, who introduced canoeing to Sweden in the 1880s. In 1924, canoeing associations from Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Sweden founded the Internationalen Representation for Kanusport, the forerunner of the International Canoe Federation (ICF). [2]
Canoeing became part of the Olympic Games in the 1936 Summer Olympics. [3] [4] which featured canoe sprint using a sprint canoe. [5] . Others competitive disciplines include canoe polo, whitewater canoeing, canoe marathon, ICF canoe marathon, and playboating. [6]
More than 170 national canoe associations and federations are members of the ICF, including the American, Canadian, British, Scottish, and Welsh. [7]
Most present-day canoeing is done as or as a part of a sport or recreational activity. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, [8] [9] with a canoe being called an open canoe [10] or Canadian. [11]
Recreational forms of canoeing include canoe camping. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds, and streams.
Competitive forms of canoeing include canoe racing such as canoe sprint and canoe marathons. The summer Olympics include canoeing competitions. Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on the river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as canoe slalom or canoe/kayak slalom. [12] The other Olympic canoeing discipline is the canoe sprint.
In his lifetime, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, Verlen Kruger paddled the most miles (over 100,000 miles) of anyone in the sport. [13]
A canoe is a lightweight narrow water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles.
Wildwater canoeing is a competitive discipline of canoeing in which kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a stretch of river speedily. It is also called "Whitewater racing" or "Downriver racing" to distinguish it from whitewater slalom racing and whitewater rodeo or Freestyle competition.
Paddle Scotland, formerly the Scottish Canoe Association or SCA, is the national governing body for canoeing, kayaking and other paddlesport in Scotland.
Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.
Ben Fouhy is a New Zealand flatwater and marathon canoeist who has been competing since the early 2000s. He competed in three Summer Olympics, winning a silver medal in the K-1 1000 m event at Athens in 2004. He also finished fourth in the 2008 Olympics and ninth in the 2012 Olympics in the same event. He is the recipient of the 2003 Halberg Award for NZ Sportsman of the Year and is a former world record holder in the K1 1000m event.
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated with the ICF after seven national federations were added at the 2008 ICF Congress in Rome.
Canoe freestyle is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place, as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river. Specialised canoes or kayaks (boats) known as playboats are often used, but any boat can be used for playing. The moves and tricks are often similar to those performed by snowboarders, surfers or skaters, where the athlete completes spins, flips, turns, etc. With modern playboats it is possible to get the kayak and the paddler completely airborne while performing tricks. The competitive side of playboating is known as freestyle kayaking.
Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today but is often used as a hypernym for both canoe marathon and canoe sprint. Similarly, the term 'canoeing' is used to describe both kayaking and canoeing.
The Penrith Whitewater Stadium is located near Sydney, Australia. It is an artificial whitewater sporting facility which hosted the canoe/kayak slalom events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The facility is part of the Penrith Lakes Scheme, which is converting open-pit sand and gravel mines into lakes for recreation. It is close to Cranebrook and is adjacent to the Sydney International Regatta Centre. These lakes are not filled via the Nepean River, but are filled via rain water and ground water. The operation of the facility aerates the water and improves water quality in the flat water rowing and canoeing course.
A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or narrow the canoe is, although regularly the less contact a canoe has with the water the faster it goes. This makes the narrower boats much faster and popular when it comes to racing.
The ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships are an international event in canoe racing, one of two top-tier Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation. They are usually held every non-Olympic year and have officially included paracanoe events since 2010; paracanoe-specific editions of this event are usually held in Summer Paralympic years.
Richard Munro Fox is a British slalom canoeist who competed for Great Britain from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s. He won eleven medals at the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships with ten golds and a bronze. Fox also won the overall World Cup title three times and the Euro Cup four times.
Canoe Wales is the national governing body for paddlesport in Wales. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and rafting to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wildwater racing; flatwater sprint racing and marathon racing; canoe sailing; canoe polo; surf kayaking and canoeing; and extreme racing. The organisation has over 2,700 members including individual paddlers as well as affiliated club members. Full adult members of Canoe Wales are also by default Welsh members of Paddle UK.
Canoe Kayak Canada is the governing body of competitive canoeing and kayaking disciplines in Canada. The three specific disciplines represented are flatwater, whitewater and marathon. Canoe Kayak Canada officially replaced the name "Canadian Canoe Association" in 2005, although the former title is still used by the organization. The name change came about from a desire to include the kayaking discipline in the organization's name.
Sprint kayak is a type of canoe sprint held on calm water. The paddler is seated, facing forward, and uses a double-bladed paddle pulling the blade through the water on alternate sides to propel the boat forward. Kayak sprint has been in every summer Olympics since it debuted at the 1936 Summer Olympics. The sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation.
Alexander Grimm is a German slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 2002.
Canoe marathon is a paddling sport in which athletes paddle a kayak or canoe over a long distance to the finish line. The International Canoe Federation states standard distance races are at least 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) without an upper limit, while short distance races are between 3.4 kilometres (2.1 mi), and 10 kilometres (6.2 mi). Many events are raced down sections of river, including currents or portages around obstacles. Some events attract thousands of competitors and are staged over several days.
The ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships are an international event in canoeing organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every year in non-Summer Olympic years since 2002. From 1949 to 1999, they had taken place in odd-numbered years. The 2001 championships were scheduled to take place in Ducktown, Tennessee from 20 to 23 September, but were canceled in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
Canoeing at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro was contested in two main disciplines: canoe slalom, from 7 to 11 August, and canoe sprint, from 15 to 20 August. The slalom competition was held at the Olympic Whitewater Stadium; whereas the sprint events were staged at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Copacabana. The location for canoeing events was a source of concern for athletes since the Brazilian federal government's Oswaldo Cruz Foundation lab has found the genes of drug-resistant super bacteria in Rodrigo de Freitas lagoon.