CWTA - Resources - Canoe Basics - Canoeing

Connecticut Water Trails Association

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Connecticut Water Trails

Basic Concepts

Paddling Resources

Canoeing

Connecticut Water Trails Program

Canoe Basics

Canoeing - Disciplines

Canoeing means so many different things to different people. It is really several sports rolled into one.

Canoe Sailing

Canoe sailing refers to the practice of fitting a canoe with sails. Canoes have been used for sailing since at least the 1860s. There are several racing classes of sailing canoes: Cruising Class or 4 Meter, C Class or 5 Meter, International Decked Sailing Canoe, and the American Canoe Association Class.

Canoe Sailing

Canoe Surfing

Using either specialist surf kayaks or general purpose river kayaks, surfing is both a competitive discipline and an enjoyable recreational activity. Although Canoe Surfing was originally done with normal touring designs, more specific designs have evolved to get more enjoyment out of the surf. The surf ''slipper as it is often called, is short with a flat bottom and low rails. Many people also use a fin of some sort to prevent side slip, thus enabling a longer ride across the wave. Generally speaking, the waveski has now replaced the surf kayak for popular use.

Canoe Surfing

Flatwater / River Touring Canoeing

This is canoeing on a lake, reservoir, slow flowing river, or other relatively calm body of water. Falling within this category is everything from taking a rental canoe out on a lake for a few hours, to going on a multi-day canoe journey down a gentle river.

Canoe Slalom

Canoe Slalom originated in Europe. The inclusion of slalom in the Barcelona and Atlanta Olympics has had a considerable influence on the development of slalom.

Slalom courses are typically around 500 meters long and consist of good white water with 25 gates suspended from wires across the river. A gate is a pair of poles hanging about 1 meter apart and must be negotiated in either the upstream or downstream direction depending on the color of the poles. Upstream gates have red and white poles, whereas downstream gates have green and white poles.

Each competitor’s time is recorded for the course and 5 second penalties are added to the time for each gate which was hit by the paddler, and 50 seconds added for each gate missed or incorrectly negotiated. Thus the essence of the sport is to negotiate the course of gates in the correct sequence without hitting the poles as fast as possible. This requires a great degree of skill and fitness.

The canoes which have evolved for canoe slalom are very maneuverable, and are low in profile. This allows the end of the boat to pass under the poles with less chance of striking the pole and incurring a penalty.

A divisional ranking system ensures paddlers are matched to each other and the difficulty of the water.

Wildwater Racing

Wildwater racing is an exciting competitive discipline where individuals race down a section of white water in super sleek, high volume boats designed to cut through waves and stoppers. Typical lengths of Wildwater racing courses range from five to ten kilometers of river. Maneuvering boats designed for speed in Whitewater requires exceptional skill. To be fast also requires excellent physical fitness.

Wildwater Racing

Canoeering

Similar to orienteering - using a canoe and compass to follow a course. Canoe-Orienteering is simply a canoe and kayak race with map and compass. Orienteering is a sport in which orienteers use a detailed map and a compass to find a series of specific locations in the lowest possible time. Most orienteering events are held on land and can be enjoyed as a walk in the woods or as a competitive sport. Canoe-orienteering, or canoe-o, is the on-the-water version and is usually open to both canoes and kayaks.

A canoe-o course consists of a series of "control" sites that are marked on the map by circles. At each control site an orange and white flag marks the location. To verify their visit, the orienteer punches their control card with a punch hanging next to the flag. (Every punch has a different pattern)

The route between "controls" is not specified, and is entirely up to the orienteer; this element of route choice and the ability to navigate are the essence of orienteering. An example of a canoe-orienteering route choice would be whether to portage a peninsula or paddle around.

Most orienteering events use staggered starts to ensure that each orienteer has a chance to do their own navigating. The phrase "registration and starts10am-1pm" means that orienteers may sign-in and start anytime during that period.

The sport of canoe-orienteering is growing rapidly with most orienteering clubs staging at least one canoe-o event every summer. The United States Canoe Association has held an annual canoe-orienteering championship for the past ten years.

Canoe-O Guidelines

Canoe orienteering borrows the best features of canoe racing and orienteering. Some events are canoe races with maps; others are orienteering meets with canoes. Meet organizers have considerable latitude to design events that are best for their venue and participants.

Meets follow three rules in the interest of fairness and fun:

The Team Finish Rule:

Competitors start and finish with all crewmembers and equipment. One or all teammates may leave the boat during the event, but at the finish line the crew, boat, and all equipment must be back together again.

The Designated Wet or Dry Rule:

Control locations are designated "wet" or "dry" in the control descriptions or clearly on the map. A dry control is approached by land and is on firm ground while a wet control is punched from a boat. Dry controls are found on hilltops, at trail junctions, or other land features, but never in swamps. Overhanging branches, pilings, or buoys are good places to hang wet controls.

Note to course setters: Some meets ban swimming or wading to controls but this is difficult to monitor. It is better to place wet controls so that swimming or wading will be a disadvantage over using a boat.

The Nothing Yucky or Damaging Rule:

It should never be necessary for a paddler to disembark into mud or unsavory water nor to run a boat up on rocks in order to punch a wet control.

Punches on wet controls should be hung so they can be punched without rising from the center seat.

For more information on the sport of Orienteering

White Water Touring

Travelling down white water rivers gives challenge and excitement, as well as the opportunity to get to places many people never see.

Whitewater canoeing is about finesse and precise control in a very chaotic environment. From easy class one or two rapids, to very difficult class four and five, you can run most of it in an open canoe. It takes a lot of forethought and practice, but running whitewater in an open canoe can be the most rewarding thing you've ever done.

Whitewater Canoeing

Whitewater Kayaking & Canoeing Safety

White Water Racing

White water racing is the competitive form of white water touring. Paddlers have to paddle the length of the course as fast as possible, negotiating rough water, bends, shallows and other river obstacles. It is also called "downriver" racing.

The object, simply stated, is to go from point A to point B on a river as quickly as possible. Typical wildwater venues consist of Class II - IV whitewater, in contrast to extreme racing, which takes place on more difficult streams. Match competitions generally consist of a classic and a sprint race. A classic course is 4-6 miles (6-10 km) in length or 25 to 35 minutes in duration, while the Sprint is between 500 and 750 meters and lasts around 2 minutes. Although there is some specialization, the vast majority of racers compete in both classic and sprint.

Competitors are placed in classes based boat type as follows:

C1- individual canoe, male

C2- two-man canoe.

They are numbered within their class based on results from previous races and compete in reverse order (best paddler last), usually at one-minute intervals. To race successfully, paddlers must possess refined technical skill, as well as strength, endurance, aerobic capacity, and the ability to "read" whitewater.

Whitewater racing is also practiced by competing teams; each team is made by a group of three competitors belonging to the same class.

Open Canoeing

Also known as Canadian Canoeing, Open Canoeing uses the traditional native American open boat propelled with a single bladed paddle. Ideal for camping and family use, the boats are also paddled on white water, punted and sailed.

Xtreme-Canoeing

Although canoeing might seem like the ultimate calming and peaceful activity, it's also evolved into a high-paced, exhilarating extreme sport. Whitewater canoeing and kayaking are very popular in Europe. Canoeists and kayakers navigate through raging rivers or embark on extreme expeditions to faraway locations, carrying all of their equipment in their canoe.

YouTube - Extreme Canoeing

Canoe Racing

Canoe Flatwater Racing (Sprint) and Marathon Racing, are competitive forms of canoeing on more or less flat water. This sport is are governed by the International Canoe Federation (ICF).

Flatwater Racing (Sprint)

Sprint canoes are extremely specialized; they are designed only to go fast on flat water in a straight line, with little or no provision for stability. Any high winds, waves, or currents will make these boats very difficult to handle, and could easily result in a capsize.

Racing takes place in singles, doubles and fours in both canoe and kayak classes.Which is referred to by the IOC as "canoe flatwater", is one of the two forms of the two canoeing disciplines that feature in the Summer Olympics, the other being canoe slalom.

Flatwater racing takes place on a straight course divided in lanes, on calm water. The distances recognized by the ICF for international races are 200 m, 500 m, and 1000 m. Each boat has its own designated lane, except for races over more than 1000 m, where there also may be turning points. Men race in canoes, women's canoe racing is an event only held in Canada, raced at both Canada Games and National Championships. For each race a number of heats, semi-finals and a final may be necessary, depending on the number of competitors. Flatwater racing has been part of the Olympic Games since 1936 (Berlin) for men, and since 1948 (London) for women.

Introduction to Canoe and Kayak Flat Water Sprint Racing

Sprint Kayak

Sprint Canoe and Kayak

An Introduction to Canoe and Kayak Flat Water Racing

Marathon Racing

Marathon racing is an event combining skill, stamina and tactics and covers a wide range of events. Marathons are long distance races which take place on flatwater only such as rivers, lakes, or even open sea. The course may include obstacles such as shallows, rocks and portages. Under ICF rules, the minimum distances for international races are 20 km for men, and 15 km for women. The races may be divided in several parts and/or several days. World Cup and World Championship races normally are about 35 to 40 km long.

As there are no maximum distances, marathon racing has its extremes, such as the Devizes to Westminster Marathon in England (125 miles, i.e. about 200 km), the Tour de Gudenå in Denmark (120 km), the Texas Water Safari (262 mi), the Weyerhaeuser Au Sable River Canoe Marathon (nonstop 120 miles), the Berg River Canoe Marathon in South Africa (248 km), the Red Cross Murray Marathon, 404 km down the Murray River in Australia, and the longest annual canoe and kayak race, The Yukon River Quest (742 km), The Missouri River 340, the longest non-stop river canoe and kayak race (340 miles). Marathon racing is not an Olympic sport.

In a canoe the paddler is kneeling on one knee. The ICF rules for these boats define among others the maximum length, the minimum weight and the shape of the boats. Paddles for propelling are single-bladed for canoes, and are usually made of carbon fiber with epoxy. For racing canoes, the blade will typically be short and broad, with a 'power face' on one side of the blade which is either flat or scalloped out. The shaft will typically be longer than a tripping canoe paddle, because the kneeling position puts the paddler higher above the surface of the water.

Snow Canoeing

The idea of canoeing on snow is not new. However, although there have been informal downhill and slalom competitions, it is only now that the sport is beginning to take off. There aren't any hard and fast rules yet, but these are bound to develop soon. There are two main forms emerging, firstly freestyle, which is a blend of skills from freestyle skiing or boarding. How long before moguls and half-pipe make an appearance?

YouTube - Snow Canoeing

Canoe Polo