Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits facing forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle to pull front-to-back on one side and then the other in rotation. Most kayaks have closed decks, although sit-on-top and inflatable kayaks are growing in popularity as well.
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.
Janata Dal (United) ("People's Party (United)"), abbreviated as JD(U), is a social-democratic and secularist Indian political party, rooted mainly in eastern and north-eastern India, whose stated goals are promoting social justice and lifting up marginalised people. JD(U) is recognised as a state party in the states of Bihar, where it heads the government, Manipur, where it is part of the government coalition in the legislative assembly, and Arunachal Pradesh. JD(U), as part of the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance, won 12 seats in the 2024 Indian general election, making it the seventh largest party in the Lok Sabha.
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.
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.
Canoeing has been featured as competition sports in the Summer Olympic Games since the 1936 Games in Berlin, and they were also demonstration sports at the 1924 Games in Paris. There are two disciplines of canoeing in Olympic competition: slalom and sprint.
The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic is an annual marathon canoe race taking place on the Hawkesbury River in Northwest Sydney usually at the end of October. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic consists of a 111 km paddle downstream starting in Windsor and finishing in Mooney Mooney. The race is Australia's fourth-longest annual canoe race after the 404 km Murray Marathon, the 208 km Riverland Paddling Marathon on the Murray River between Martins Bend and Morgan in South Australia and the 133 km Avon Descent in Western Australia. The Hawkesbury Canoe Classic has over 300 paddlers each year. Around 300 paddlers travel 111 km in moonlight, down the Hawkesbury River from Windsor to Brooklyn, to raise money for Charity. Over the years the Hawkesbury Classic has developed into a great event. Paddlers, their land crew and hundreds of volunteers converge on the banks of the Hawkesbury River at Windsor on the day of the event to enjoy the fun and competition of an overnight paddle, and the now famous camaraderie and spirit of the event. Paddlers leave Windsor between 4pm and 4.30pm on Saturday and pass 18 safety checkpoints during the night. The fastest craft arrive at Brooklyn on Sunday morning in less than 10 hours, but the average time is closer to 15 hours. The classic began in 1977 and is made possible by volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of time throughout the year, the landowners who allow the use of their land for the weekend and the paddlers and their support crews. The Classic has raised more than $4.5 million for medical research, the major beneficiary continues to be will be the Arrow Bone Marrow Transplant Foundation.
Danuta Kozák is a Hungarian sprint canoeist. She has won one silver, one bronze and six Olympic gold medals, three of which in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, making her the first female to win K1, K2 and K4 at the same Olympics. At the 2020 Summer Olympics, she won a gold medal in Women's K-4 500 metres, and bronze medal in Women's K-2 500 metres.
Canoe orienteering (canoe-O) is an orienteering sport using a canoe, kayak, or other small boat. Usually, a canoe-O is a timed race in which one- or two-person boats start at staggered intervals, are timed, and are expected to perform all navigation on their own. Portages are allowed. The control points, shown on an orienteering map, may be visited in any order. Standings are determined first by successful completion of the course, then by shortest time on course.
Karakat is one of the 40 Lok Sabha (parliamentary) constituencies in Bihar state in eastern India. This constituency came into existence in 2008 as a part of the implementation of delimitation of parliamentary constituencies based on the recommendations of the Delimitation Commission of India constituted in 2002. Karakat is considered as a Kushwaha dominated constituency.
Canoeing and kayaking in India has become a popular sport. The Indian Kayaking and Canoeing Association (IKCA) is the governing body of the sport in India.
Paracanoe debuted at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. A meeting of the International Paralympic Committee in Guangzhou, China in 2010 decided to add paracanoe to the roster of the Summer Paralympic Games.
Upendra Kumar Singh, commonly known as Upendra Kushwaha is an Indian politician, and a former Member of Bihar Legislative Council and Bihar Legislative Assembly. He has also served as Minister of State for Human Resources and Development in the Government of India. Kushwaha is a former Member of Parliament (MP) from the Karakat constituency in Rohtas district, Bihar, and a former member of the Rajya Sabha. He was the leader of Rashtriya Samata Party (RSP), his own party, which merged into Janata Dal (United) (JDU) in 2009. Later, he formed Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP), which also merged with JD(U) in 2021. On 20 February 2023, Kushwaha resigned from all positions in Janata Dal (United) and formed his own party called Rashtriya Lok Morcha due to his political problems with JD(U) and Nitish Kumar. Kushwaha contested the Lok Sabha election of 2024 from Karakat constituency and finished at a distant third position. However, he was elected unopposed to Rajya Sabha in August 2024.
Paracanoe is canoeing for athletes with a range of physical disabilities. The Paralympic version of the sport is governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF), and a va'a-specific variant is governed by the International Va'a Federation (IVF).
Kimberley Woods is a British slalom canoeist who has competed in C1, K1 and KX1 at the international level since 2011. A six time world and eight time European champion, she won the bronze medal in both the K1 event and the first ever women's kayak-cross (KX1) event in Paris at the 2024 Summer Olympics.
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.
Bhatpar Rani is a constituency of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly covering the city of Bhatpar Rani in the Deoria district of Uttar Pradesh, India.
The 2024 Indian general election was held in Bihar in all 7 phases from 19 April to 1 June to elect 40 members of the 18th Lok Sabha, with the results declared on 4 June.
Canoeing competitions at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris ran across two main disciplines: canoe slalom, which took place from 27 July to 5 August, and canoe sprint, from 6 to 10 August. Both canoe slalom and sprint events were staged at the Stade d'eau vive Vaires-sur-Marne, National Olympic Nautical Stadium of Île-de-France in Vaires-sur-Marne.
Vikram Award is an award given by the Government of Madhya Pradesh, India, for outstanding performance in national and international competitions or contribution in the field of sports. The Vikram Award was instituted on May 15, 1990, with a purpose to acknowledge outstanding individual sporting achievements in events such as the Olympic Games, Asian Games, and National Games of India. It is the highest sports award in Madhya Pradesh, granted to athletes who are residents of the state and have competed in national and international senior-level competitions for a minimum of two years within the past five years. The award includes a cash prize of ₹2,00000, along with a blazer, tie, and certificate, presented by the Madhya Pradesh Government through the Madhya Pradesh Sports Authority. Provisions exist for offering government jobs to Vikram Awardees in Class III and IV category positions.
