Wildwater canoe is a canoe competitive discipline in which kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a river stretch quickly. It is also called "Whitewater racing" or "Downriver racing" to differentiate it from the rafting slalom races and the rafting competition or Freestyle.
Video Wildwater canoeing
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The aim of the sport is to go from the starting point of the course on the river to the end point as quickly as possible. Typical wild water spaces consist of Class II-IV whitewater, in contrast to extreme racing, which occurs in more difficult rivers. Competition matches generally consist of classic races and sprints. The classic course is 4 to 6 miles (6-10 km) long or 10 to 35 minutes in duration, while the Sprint is between 500 and 750 meters and takes about 2 minutes. Although there are some specializations, most drivers compete in both classic and sprint.
Competitors are placed in classes based on gender and types of boats as follows:
- K1 - solo kayak, man
- K1W - solo singles, girls
- C1 - solo canoe, man
- C1W - solo canoe, female
- C2 - tandem dump.
Competitors are numbered in their class based on the results of the previous race and compete in reverse order (the last best rower), usually within one minute intervals. To successfully race, the oars should have fine technical skills, as well as strength, endurance, aerobic capacity, and the ability to "read" the whitewater.
Whitewater racing is also practiced by competing teams; each team is created by a group of three competitors belonging to the same class.
Whitewater racing began in Europe with the International Canoe Federation being formed and having the first World Championships in Switzerland in 1949. Since then, there has been a World Championships every two years. Since 2011 there has been a sprint world championship only, with sprints and classics up for grabs every year (even).
Maps Wildwater canoeing
Boat design
- Wildwater (K1) solos have a length of 4.5 m (14Ã, ft 9 in) and a width of 60Ã, cm (23.6 in);
- Wildwater solo boats (C-1) have a length of 4.3 m (14Ã, ft 1 in) and a width of 70Ã,® cm (27,5Ã, in);
- Wildwater tandem canoes (C-2) are 5 m (16 × 5 in) and 80 × cm (31.5 × in) wide.
The boats all have a round hull profile, making them fast but unstable and difficult to turn. Instead of using a wide sweep of strokes to change the boat, the oarsman tilted the boat to one side, taking advantage of his curved profile to produce turns in a way similar to "ski carvings" in skis. Two "wings" (flaring bulges near the stern hull) meet the minimum width required by the rules of racing and add secondary stability, as well as enhance the effect of bend carvings. When the boat is in progress, most of each wing will be above the water surface so as to minimize drag. The use of the construction of kevlar fiber, carbon fiber and glass reinforced plastic has substantially reduced the weight of wild water boats, while increasing rigidity. The top (deck) and the bottom (hull) are formed separately and then tied together using a kevlar or strip of glass cloth and epoxy or polyester resin. A boat can be made in 2 to 3 days, but without an oven it can take weeks to heal completely.
Before the glass-reinforced plastic boat, the common racing craft is a folding kayak, usually consisting of wooden frames covered with canvas.
Competitors are also required to wear matching whitewash helmets and PFD and River boots or boots and a floating bag for their boats.
Training and race
Racers paddle along the length of the fastest jet. To move quickly, they follow the edge of the wagon train and hold the straight line as close to the river as possible. If it is unclear which line is the fastest, two rowers simultaneously float various options and see which boats are moving forward. Due to high speed, drivers often run the river two or three times a day when practicing for the race.
Some racers practice on the river if they are lucky to live near one. Usually they will paddle 5-10 miles a day, five to six days a week. Others practice in lakes or freshwater rivers. In the north of the rivers and lakes it freezes, so racers sometimes practice in indoor pools, weights, running or cross-country skiing. When rivers and lakes become ice-free then training proceeds outside.
Rivers
Popular whirlwind courses in Scotland include Grandtully and Stanley on the River Tay. British racing courses include Washburn and Tees. Popular rafting racing courses in Wales include Tryweryn, and Dee.
In the United States, races occur throughout the countries of Southeast, Northeast, Northwest and West; Rivers there include Nantahala and Pigeon in North Carolina and Ocoee in Tennessee. There are also well-attended annual races at the Cheat and Gauley Rivers in West Virginia, the Potomac and Youghiogheny ("Yough") Maryland Rivers, as well as in Colorado Arkansas for the annual Fiber Festival that has the oldest ever underwater/wild water race in the United States.
The rivers of Europe that have organized international races include IsÃÆ'¨re in Bourg St Maurice, France, Loisach in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, Liffey in Ireland and TeplÃÆ'¡ in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic. In South Africa races take place in Trichardt Spruit, Umkomaas River, Bushmans River and As River. As River is part of a water exchange program between South Africa and Lesotho and is channeled through a tunnel from the Katse Dam.
The 2004 World Wildwater Championships are held in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany. The 2006 Championship was held from 12-17 June at TeplÃÆ'¡ River, in the Czech Republic. The K1 men's race race was won by Max Hoff from Germany; classic K1 man was won by Kamil Mruzek of the Czech Republic. The 2008 World Championships will run from 5-8 June in Ivrea, Italy.
External links
- The US wild water site
- UK wildwater sites
- Kano Federation International WW Site
- Canoeing on South African sites
- KayakMind (Social network site for rowers)
See also
- ICF Wildwater Canoe World Championship
References
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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