Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other activities such as canoe camping, or where canoeing is merely a transportation method used to accomplish other activities. 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, with a canoe being called an Open canoe.
Canoeing at the 2000 Summer Olympics was held at the Sydney International Regatta Centre for the sprint events and the Whitewater Stadium in Penrith for the canoe and kayak slalom disciplines. The repechage rounds that ran from the 1960 to the 1996 Games were eliminated in the sprint events while qualifying rounds were added to the slalom events. Additionally, a quota system for each event was enacted, meaning each event had a limited number of competitors that could compete.
Canoeing at the 2004 Summer Olympics was held at the Schinias Olympic Rowing and Canoeing Centre for the sprint events and the Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre at the Helliniko Olympic Complex for the canoe and kayak slalom disciplines. A total of 16 events were contested, 12 sprint events and 4 slalom events.
Canoe sprint is a sport in which athletes race canoes or kayaks on calm water.
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 canoeing, one of two Summer Olympic sport events organized by the International Canoe Federation. The World Championships have taken place every non-Olympic year since 1970 and officially included paracanoe events since 2010; since 2012, paracanoe-specific editions of this event have been held in Summer Paralympic years.
Canoeing and kayaking have been featured as competition sports in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin, although they were demonstration sports at the 1924 Games in Paris. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.
The canoeing races at the 2012 Olympic Games in London were contested in two main disciplines: the slalom, from 29 July to 2 August, and the sprint, from 6 to 11 August. The slalom competition was held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre and the sprint events were staged at Eton College Rowing Centre, at Dorney Lake, known as Eton Dorney.
The Canoe Sprint European Championships is an international canoeing and kayaking event organized by the European Canoe Association (ECA). It was first held in 1933 in Prague under the auspices of the International Canoe Federation. In 1997, the European Championships were resumed, and now take place annually.
The canoeing races at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro were contested in two main disciplines: the slalom, from 7 to 11 August, and the sprint, from 15 to 20 August. The slalom canoe competition was held at the Olympic Whitewater Stadium; whereas the sprint events was 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.
The canoeing races at the 2018 Asian Games in Jakarta and Palembang were contested in three main disciplines: the slalom from 21 to 23 August, and the sprint from 29 August to 1 September. The slalom canoe competition was held at the Bendung Rentang in Majalengka Regency, West Java; whereas the sprint events were staged in Jakabaring Lake at the Jakabaring Sport City, Palembang. Additionally, the games also contested the canoe polo discipline as demonstration sport. Also in part of canoeing event was the dragon boat event.
The men's K-4 1000 metres competition at the 2017 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Račice took place at the Sportcentrum Račice.
The 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships was held in Montemor-o-Velho, Portugal, from 22 to 26 August 2018.
The men's K-2 1000 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The men's C-2 1000 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The men's K-2 500 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The men's K-4 1000 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The men's K-1 500 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The women's K-4 500 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
The men's K-4 500 metres competition at the 2018 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Montemor-o-Velho took place at the Centro de Alto Rendimento de Montemor-o-Velho.
