Canoeing Overview About The Sport

Canoeing is a water sport, in which athletes use small lightweight boats to paddle on the water. Canoeing is a very dynamic sport that can be practiced recreationally by anyone, while also having a competitive side. Recreationally, canoeing is a good way to enjoy a sunny day. There is really no previous knowledge needed to practice canoeing, it is truly not hard to pick it up. Canoeing can be done in white-water, wild-water, rapids, and even the ocean.

Canoeing competitively is a little more challenging. The sport has a solid base of athletes, who focus their lives on improving at the sport, and winning at the highest level. While there are several modalities of competitive canoeing, the most well-known are sprint, and slalom, both present in the Olympic Games.

History

Canoeing, before becoming a physical activity, was a means of transportation, and it is still used as such by many. A central character in turning canoeing into a popular activity and sport was Scottish John MacGregor, who in the 1860s traveled around Europe and the Middle East popularizing canoeing. Around the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, canoeing became increasingly popular in Europe and North America. Several canoeing clubs were founded. In 1936 canoeing was featured at the Olympic Games for the first time. 

Playing Surface

Canoeing is practiced on water. There are many modalities practiced on different types of water bodies. Canoeing can be practiced on lakes, rivers, and even the ocean. While doing it on a lake, waters are calm and it is easy to control the canoe or kayak. Canoeing in a river that has a strong current requires more experience and knowledge.

In the Olympics, one of the most impressive venues is always where canoeing slalom is held. The organizing committee builds an artificial rafting course, something like a huge swimming pool with artificial currents. Canoeing sprint is not held at the same venue, but rather somewhere where water is calm and still, allowing athletes to reach top speed in their canoes.

Equipment

Whether you want to practice canoeing recreationally or competitively, you'll need certain pieces of equipment. In addition, depending on what modality of canoeing you'll be practicing, that equipment you'll need may vary slightly. Check out some of the main pieces of equipment necessary to practice canoeing:

• Canoe or Kayak
• Paddle
• Lifejacket
• Helmet
• Wetsuit

Gameplay

In competitive canoeing, gameplay is usually quick and speedy. For example, in canoeing sprints, athletes are lined up in their canoes and race each other in a sprint, and whoever finishes first wins. Sprints are usually short and so explosiveness and speed are very important. In canoeing slalom, speed is equally important, although skill also plays a big part. Athletes must go down a course, going through gates and fighting strong currents. The winner is whoever finishes the course in the shortest time.

Rules and Regulations

While there are no rules to recreational canoeing, the sport's competitive events are full of them. Check out some of the main rules:

Lanes: In Canoe Sprint, At a race each canoe is assigned a straight lane, to which it must stick all through the race, Athletes cannot invade lanes next to theirs, or else they can be disqualified. The athletes with the best times in qualifying heats are awarded the central lanes.

False Start: In Canoe Sprint, athletes who start before they are allowed to commit a false start. If a first false start is committed, the athlete is given a second shot to start the race at the proper time. If a false start is done for the second time, the athlete is disqualified.

Tie Breaks: In Canoe Slalom, It sometimes happens that athletes finish with the exact same times after going through the course. If that happens in a preliminary heat, all athletes with the said time will advance to the next round. If it happens in the final heat, and the athletes have a tie that puts them in the podium, they shall all receive medals. Simply put, there are no tie-breaks.

Going through gates: In canoe slalom, athletes must go through gates, posted all around the course. Athletes must go through all gates, and they have to do it without being upside down. Missing gates results in time penalties.

Touching gate poles: In Canoe Slalom, when going through gates athletes cannot touch any of the poles that limit the gates. Neither athlete nor paddle or boat can touch the poles, with time penalties being added at the end if that happens.

Referees and Officials

Depending on what modality of canoeing is being practiced, the duty of referees and officials change. For example, the job of a polo canoe referee is a lot different from that of a canoe slalom referee, much because the rules are very different. While a polo canoe referee must pay attention to the interaction between players, in canoe slalom referees have to pay attention to the athlete's performance, and if he or she commits penalties that may result in time being added.

Recently, the job of a referee in canoe slalom has become simpler. A system of video cameras has been implemented to help referees see if athletes touch gate poles or commit any other faults.

Lingo and Terminology

Canoeing has lots of terms that are used by the people who practice it. Most of it refers to parts of boats and the equipment. Take a look at some canoeing lingo and important terminology:

• Belly: The bottom part of the canoe, the part that is in contact with the water.
• Blades: The part of the paddle that goes inside the water
• Bow: The front of the canoe.
• Gunwale: The top edges of the canoe.
• Keel: Ridge on the outside bottom of the canoe, improves stability.
• Paddles: It is used to paddle the canoe or kayak.

Skills and Techniques

Canoeing is really not a hard sport to practice; if done in an easy environment and with the proper equipment, it doesn't require any previous skill or technique knowledge. Nonetheless, doing it more efficiently and in more challenging environments requires more experience and a better understanding of stroking technique. Keep in mind that the stroking technique may also change depending on how many people are paddling in a canoe. There are a few other techniques to think about aside from the stroking method chosen. It is good to use torso rotation when paddling, while also working both upper and lower body.

Coaches

The best canoeing coaches in the world do not have celebrity status, or are well-known around the world. Nonetheless, that doesn't mean that they haven't been legendary, or that they haven't been successful. Below are some of the best canoeing coaches in history, and the athletes they trained:

• Ivan Paitzachin: Romanian National Team
• Jesús Morlan: Isaquias Queiroz, David Mol
• Katalin Rozsnyói: Hungarian National Team

Coaching

In canoeing, it is the coaches job to work the athlete's skills and techniques, strength and fitness, and mind. For that, canoeing coaches must be very knowledgeable about the sport. Although some think that canoeing is purely physical and there are no tactics involved, that is far from the truth. Coaches, their training techniques, and relationship with athletes can make a strong difference. In addition to that, canoeing is a sport where it often comes down to seconds or centimeters. With such a slim margin between being successful and unsuccessful, a coach's leadership skills, and psychological work are extra important. 

Strategy

In canoe sprint, the strategy is similar to that of track and field events. Athletes must know to control their power, strength, and speed. Understanding their strengths and weaknesses, they must decide when to increase speed and when to go to that final sprint. This can give the athlete a medal if done at the right time, or can wear them out if done at the wrong time. In double's or 4 people events, all members of the team must be in sync, and understand each other's rhythms to do the best sprint possible.

Drills

Canoe drills vary depending on your goals in the sport. While canoe athletes who train to fight for an Olympic or World Championship medal may have more intense, fitness focused workouts and drills, people who do canoeing recreationally may focus more on improving their paddling technique and general boat control. To improve paddling technique, a good idea is just to stand in the water, with water up to around the knees, and paddle. That allows for technique improvement, and better understanding of water movement when doing so. If you are also looking to do drills that improve your fitness, working the core, abs, and chest is a good idea to improve in canoeing.

Olympic Canoeing

Canoeing is very popular in the Olympics. The sport is present in the Games with two disciplines, Canoe Sprint and Canoe Slalom, each with multiple events. Canoe Sprint was the first one to be added to the Olympic program, back in 1936. Sprint has Kayak and Canoe events, with singles, doubles, and four athletes per boat. The distances also vary, with the shortest event being 200 meters and the longest one 1000 meters.

Canoe slalom is much more recent; it first appeared in the Olympics in 1972, and it would only make its second appearance in 1992, in Barcelona. There are four slalom events in the Olympics: Men's and Women's singles canoe and kayak.

Players and Athletes

Canoeing is filled with celebrated athletes in its long history. The athletes in this list have all been dominant in their respective disciplines, and have been Olympic and World Medalists multiple times. Here are some well-known canoeing athletes:

Brands

If you want to practice canoeing on a regular basis, it might be a good idea to buy your own boat. Naturally, depending on your needs, what you'll need to buy will vary, and it is a process to find the best equipment for you, within your price range.

Check out a list of the best brands below:

• Pelican Kayaks
• Astral Lifejackets
• Nelo
• Plastex Boats

Youth Organizations

Canoeing is a rather easy activity to be taught to children. Therefore there are plenty of organizations and programs that teach kids how to paddle canoes and kayaks, most focusing on the recreational side of the sport. The Boy Scouts of America teaches its members about canoeing and paddling in general, with awards given to canoeing, kayaking, and whitewater. There are also plenty of summer camps that are centered around canoeing, wilderness, and adventures on water.  Check out some of those camps and other youth organizations that are related to canoeing:

• Long Lake Camp
• Northwaters Wilderness Canoe Camp
• Boy Scouts of America

Tournaments

The most important canoeing competitions are the ones endorsed by the sport's international governing body, the International Canoeing Federation. Although not all events are organized by the ICF, most of them are recognized by the entity. Those include events, competitions and tournaments from many different canoeing disciplines such as Sprint, Slalom, Marathon, Wildwater, and others. While canoeing athletes always want to win any competition they take part in, the most desired podiums are those in World Championships and the Olympic Games.

Books About Canoeing

There are plenty of canoeing books out there to be read. Novels, guides, handbooks, and many other types of books that somehow relate to canoeing. In addition, there are books that are more adequate to beginners at the sport, others that focus on more experienced people, and some that may please athletes with all types of canoeing experience.

With so many options, check out some interesting canoeing books of different types:

• Canoeing With the Cree: Eric Sevareid
• Canoe Country: The Making of Canada: Roy MacGregor
• Song of The Paddle: Bill Mason
• Basic Essentials Canoe Paddling: Harry Roberts

Websites

Canoeing is a popular sport worldwide, mainly practiced recreationally by many people. In addition to that, with the sport being in the Olympics, many people also have interest in knowing about athletes, rules, and the competitive side of canoeing. There are quite a few canoeing websites, related both to canoeing competitions, and just general information about practicing the sport recreationally. Check some of them out:

• Canoeicf.com: International Canoeing Federation website. Information about athletes, disciplines, and international competitions.
• Canoeing.com: Focused on being a guide to people who want to practice canoeing recreationally.
• Jacksonadventures.com: Focused on outdoors adventure kayaking and canoeing.

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