Canoeing is an activity which involves

paddling Paddling, in regard to waterborne transport, is the act of propelling a human-powered watercraft using at least one hand-held paddle. The paddle, which consists of one or two blades joined to a shaft, is also used to steer the vessel via generatin ...

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, 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. In British English, the term ' ...

with a single-bladed

paddle A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...

. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and

kayaking 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 fac ...

, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

. A few of the recreational forms of canoeing are

canoe camping Canoe camping, also known as touring, tripping or expedition canoeing, is a combination of canoeing and camping. Canoe campers typically carry enough supplies with them to travel and camp for several days via a canoe. Description A canoeist ...

and

canoe racing A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, 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. In British English, the term ' ...

. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds and streams.

History of organized recreational canoeing

Canoeing is an ancient mode of transportation. 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 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 ...

(ICF). Canoeing became part of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

in the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. which featured

canoe sprint 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 ...

using a

sprint canoe 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 n ...

. Others competitive disciplines include

canoe polo Canoe polo, also known as kayak polo or polo (to players and fans), is one of the competitive disciplines of kayaking. It incorporates ball-handling skills into a contact team game, wherein group tactics and positional play are as important as in ...

whitewater canoeing Whitewater canoeing is the sport of paddling a canoe on a moving body of water, typically a whitewater river. Whitewater canoeing can range from simple, carefree gently moving water, to demanding, dangerous whitewater. River rapids are graded lik ...

canoe marathon Canoe marathon is a paddling sport in which athletes paddle a kayak (double-bladed paddle) or canoe (single-bladed paddle) over a long distance to the finish line. The International Canoe Federation states standard distance races are at least wit ...

ICF canoe marathon ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships is an International Canoe Federation competition in canoe marathon in which athletes compete over long distances. The race usually starts and ends at the same place, and includes portages. Race categories vary ...

, and

playboating Canoe freestyle (also known as playboating) is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater kayaking, whitewater canoeing or kayaking wh ...

. More than 170 national canoe associations and federations are members of the ICF, including the American,

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and Welsh.

Recreational canoeing

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 or Canadian. Recreational forms of canoeing include

. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds, and streams.

Competition

Competitive forms of canoeing include canoe racing such as canoe sprint and

s. The

summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

include canoeing competitions.

Canoe slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a Spraydeck, decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time pos ...

(previously known as

whitewater Whitewater forms in the context of rapids, in particular, when a river's Stream gradient, gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that foam, froths, making t ...

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 Rapids are sections of a river where the river bed has a relatively steep stream gradient, gradient, causing an increase in water velocity and turbulence. Flow, gradient, constriction, and obstacles are four factors that are needed for a rapid t ...

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. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is the canoe sprint. In his lifetime, according to the

Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

, Verlen Kruger paddled the most miles (over 100,000 miles) of anyone in the sport.

References

External links

International Canoe Federation (ICF)CanoeResults.eu
(results of mayor canoe competitions) {{Authority control * Summer Olympic sports

History of organized recreational canoeing

Recreational canoeing

Competition

See also

References

External links