Canoeing

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 (ICF).

Canoeing became part of the Olympic Games in the 1936 Summer Olympics. which featured canoe sprint using a sprint canoe. Others competitive disciplines include canoe polo, whitewater canoeing, canoe marathon, ICF canoe marathon, and playboating.

More than 170 national canoe associations and federations are members of the ICF, including the American, Canadian, British, Scottish, and Welsh. File:Olga, Tatiana, Maria Nikolaevna Romanova, Nicholas II kayaking in the Alexander park at Tsarskoe Selo, 1913 (1).jpg|The tsar Nicholas II and three of his daughters canoeing in the Alexander park, May 1913 File:Canoeing.jpg|Canoeing in the USA, 1920s

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 canoe camping. 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 canoe marathons. The summer Olympics include canoeing competitions. Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater 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 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, Verlen Kruger paddled the most miles (over 100,000 miles) of anyone in the sport.

References

References

1. Nyabongo, A. K.. (1943). "The Role of the Canoe". Negro History Bulletin.
2. Dudley, Marianna. (1 September 2017). ""Muddying the waters: recreational conflict and rights of use of British rivers"". Water History.
3. "Canoe/Kayak Sprint Equipment and History". International Olympic Committee.
4. (3 August 2016). "Rio 2016 Olympics: Know your sport — Canoeing". The Indian Express.
5. "1936 Summer Olympics Official Report".
6. (2021-01-05). "About ICF events - competition levels".
7. (2017-12-15). "About the International Canoe Federation (ICF)".
8. Rebecca. (2024-04-03). "Kayak vs Canoe {{!}} Tips for choosing whether to buy a canoe or kayak".
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10. "Open Canoe Association UK".
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12. "Canoe Slalom".
13. canoekayakmag. (9 August 2004). "Obituary: Verlen Kruger Remembered". Canoe & Kayak.