ICF Paracanoe Committee activities Q1 2025

Preparation of competition programmes

The Paracanoe programme is preparing for a full year of ICF competitions beginning with the World Cup in Poznan in May and finishing with two World Championships, with the Canoe Sprint World Championships in Milan in August followed by the Canoe Marathon World Championships in Gyor in early September. In addition, the Continental Championships in Europe, Asia and the Americas will round off the season.

Classification update

In International Paralympic Committee news, the new IPC Athlete Classification Code has been accepted by the IPC.  This year will mark a transition year for all the International Federations.  There will be no operational change in athlete classification. Changes are in the administrative areas.  A new ICF Athlete Classification code will be drafted based upon the IPC model.  During the 2025-28 period, the ICF will have co-Heads of Classification. Diego Doga will stay on as Head of Classification.  He will be joined by Dr. Fatima Fernandes, who previously held the role from 2016 to 2020.  They will share the position due to the large workload.

LA28 programme

The ICF has submitted 12 events to the IPC for the LA28 Paracanoe event programme. This includes the male and female V1 events.  In addition, the ICF has requested an increase in athlete quota numbers to 12 per event.  An announcement by the IPC is expected in May/June of this year.

World ranking system

Finally, the ICF is developing an athlete world ranking system in Canoe Sprint and Canoe Slalom.  Naturally, Paracanoe is also developing the same model.  A consultation questionnaire will be distributed in the near future.  Interestingly, most Para sports already use world ranking systems, so we are a bit late to the game.  The goals of the system are to boost the sport’s profile and awareness by fostering more competitions, particularly outside of Europe.

By John Edwards, Chair of the ICF Paracanoe Committee