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Canoe / Kayak Slalom
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Slalom |
History |
Equipment |
Glossary |
About
The history of the canoe and kayak has been traced back thousands of years to when natives used these craft to hunt, fish and travel. Canoes were used mainly by the native North and South American Indians along with the Polynesian islanders of the Pacific. They were propelled through the water by single-bladed paddles usually made from wood.
The earliest known archaeological evidence of a canoe was unearthed at the tomb of a Sumerian king near the Euphrates River. This relic is estimated to be around 6000 years old. The counterpart of the American Indian canoe is the kayak which was introduced by Eskimos many years ago. These people inhabited the land to the far north of the American continent and Greenland.
Canoe / Kayak Slalom
About
A whalebone and driftwood frame, with a sea-lion skin stretched tautly over it and waterproofed with whale fat, hardly suggests a budding Olympic sport. Yet the kayaks that meant life to the Inuits in the Arctic for centuries have become the racing kayaks of the modern world - even if the building materials have changed.
The link was 19th century British barrister John MacGregor. He studied the ancient kayaks, designed a similar boat and disappeared into the rivers and lakes of Europe's wilderness to become a noted travel writer of his time. When others copied his boat, he founded the Royal Canoe Club, and canoe regattas began a year later in 1866.
The sport reached the Olympic Games in 1924. Almost half a century later, in Munich in 1972, canoe/kayak branched out into the dramatic whitewater version, the slalom.
Competition
The slalom events, involving men's K1, C1 and C2 and women's K1 (denoting one or two paddlers in a canoe or kayak), require the paddlers to negotiate 20 to 25 gates in turbulent water over a 300-metre course. Competitors aim to complete the course in the shortest time, factoring in penalties.
List of events
-- C-1 (canoe single) Men
-- C-2 (canoe double) Men
-- K-1 (kayak single) Men
-- K-1 (kayak single) Women
Canoe / Kayak Slalom: history
Discipline's origin
Although canoe and kayak events were placed on the Olympic programme in 1936, until 1972 they were flatwater racing only. Whitewater slalom canoe racing became popular shortly before World War II with the first known competition occurring in 1933. World championships in slalom canoe racing were introduced in 1949. The first international federation to govern canoeing was the Internationella Representantskapet för Kanotidrott (IRK) which was formed in 1924. After World War II, this organisation was succeeded by the F¨¦d¨¦ration Internationale de Canoë (FIC), which governs both flatwater and whitewater racing.
Olympic history
Whitewater canoeing, or slalom canoeing, was first held at the Olympics in 1972 in Munich. The sport was not contested in the Olympics between 1976 and 1988, but returned to the Olympic programme in 1992. Slalom canoe racing has been contested ever since, with events in 1996 and 2000. During the Olympics and world championships, slalom racers compete in four events, three for men and one for women. Men compete in Canadian singles (C1) and doubles (C2) and kayak singles (K1), while women compete only in kayak singles (K1). During the world championships, slalom canoeists also compete for team titles. There are also wild-water canoe world championships in all four events, contested since 1989. The events have been dominated by Europeans.
In addition to competitive slalom racing, whitewater canoeists also practise by attempting to run very difficult rapids and rivers. There are numerous rating systems, but in North America the rapids are rated from Class I (the mildest) to Class VI (the most difficult). While flat racers must paddle continuously in a straight line, whitewater racers are propelled by the current of the water. They must develop the ability to slow down, stop, and turn around obstacles and racing gates.
Equipment
Bent-shaft paddle
A paddle with a bend in the shaft, intended to increase power but compromising control.
Blade
The wide part of a paddle which passes through the water.
Canoe
A light, narrow, open boat propelled by one or more paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles.
Cockpit
The enclosed space in a kayak or slalom canoe where the paddler or paddlers sit.
Deck
The closed-in area over the bow and/or stem of a canoe or kayak, intended to shed water and strengthen the gunwales.
Double-bladed paddle
A paddle with a blade at each end, used in kayaks to paddle on each side of the boat.
Gate
Two striped poles suspended just above the water from a wire stretched across the course.
Grip
The end of a canoe paddle opposite from the blade.
Hull
The frame or body of a boat.
Kayak
Any of various light canoes imitating an Inuit hunting craft made watertight by a flexible closure around the waist of the seated occupant.
Single-bladed paddle
A paddle with a blade at one end.
Paddle
The canoe paddler uses a paddle which has one flat blade on one end of the paddle shaft, which may not be fixed to the boat in any way.
Spray skirts
Paddlers wear spray skirts which attach around the cockpit and seal them into the boat to prevent water from entering.
Helmet
Life jacket
Glossary
50-second penalty: A penalty against slalom paddlers for, usually, failing to pass through a gate.
Beam: The widest part of a canoe.
Bow: The front of a boat.
Bowhand: A paddler who kneels or sits in the forward position of a canoe or kayak; also know as a "bowman".
Bowman: A paddler who kneels or sits in the forward position of a canoe or kayak; also known as a "bowhand".
Broach: To become caught in the current against an obstruction and turn sideways, a dangerous situation.
Chute: An area where a river is suddenly constricted, compressing and amplifying the current's energy into a narrow tongue of water.
Downstream: In the same direction as the flow of the water.
Downstream gate: A green-and-white-striped slalom gate negotiated in the same direction as the flow of the water.
Draw: A stroke pulling in towards the paddler at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, causing the bow of the canoe to turn in the direction of the drawing side when performed by the bowhand.
Eddy: A pool of calmer water out of the main current of a stream, where upstream gates often are placed.
Eskimo roll: The rolling over, or capsizing, of a canoe, with the paddler remaining in place, and the subsequent righting of the canoe at the completion of the roll.
False start: A start when one or more boats take off too early.
Five-metre rule: A rule prohibiting any boat from coming within five metres of the boat positioned next to it, thereby preventing it from riding the other boat's wash.
Flat water: Lake water or a slow-moving river current with no rapids.
Gunwale: The upper edge of a canoe's side (pronounced "gunnel").
Heat: The early divisions of a competition, with the top finishers advancing to the finals or semi-finals.
J stroke: A paddle stroke that ends with a rudder manoeuvre.
Keel: The ridge running the length of a canoe on the bottom.
Kevlar: An extruded fibre, composed of synthetic long-chain polyamides, which is extremely strong and resistant to high temperatures.
Line: The path a whitewater paddler chooses to take through the gates.
Riding the wash: Gaining an unfair advantage in sprint events by travelling in the wash of the next boat and being pulled along by it.
River left: The left side of the waterway as it appears to a paddler facing downstream.
River right: The right side of the waterway as it appears to a paddler facing downstream.
Rudder: 1. to drag the paddle to create resistance, causing the stern of a canoe to turn in the direction of the rudder side when performed by the sternsman. 2. a board or plate of wood or metal hinged vertically at the stern of a sprint kayak as a means of steering.
Run: One trip on the course.
Shaft: The narrow part of a paddle, gripped by the paddler.
Slalom: A zigzag contest for canoes, similar to a downhill skiing race, over a winding course defined by artificial obstacles.
Spray skirt: A cover worn by paddlers in whitewater events that attaches around the cockpit and seals the paddler into the boat to prevent water from entering.
Stem: The forward part of a boat.
Stern: The back end of a boat.
Sternsman: A paddler who kneels or sits in the back position of a canoe or kayak.
Sweep: A stroke made in a broad curve, turning a canoe in the direction opposite the sweeping side when performed by the sternsman.
Thwart: A supporting member of a canoe's structure, extending across the canoe from side to side between the gunwales.
Two-second penalty: A penalty assessed against slalom paddlers who touch a gate pole while attempting to pass through a gate.
Upstream: Against the flow of the water.
Upstream gate: A red-and-white-striped slalom gate that must be negotiated against the flow of the water.
Wash: The rough or broken water left behind a moving boat.
Whitewater: Denoting a race over turbulent, heavily aerated water caused by the water flowing around or over obstacles in the current.
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