ICF Canoe Marathon Committee activities

  1. Argentina and Uruguay visit, March 20 to 29

The visit to Argentina and Uruguay had been planned several years ago, but because of the COVID-19 it was not possible. It is good to talk personally with people who have been participating in major events within Canoe Marathon for a long time and it is important to help them with the development of the discipline in that area.

In Argentina, I had time to visit the National Championships and had a personal conversation with Mauricio Caffa, Pan American Canoe Federation’s Technical Delegate for Canoe Marathon. The technical delegates from continents are important for Canoe Marathon. They are the point of contact for us in the continents and then being able to speak to them in person is a plus.

Because of the presence in Argentina, the idea arose to do a seminar for continental representatives in Spanish together with Cecilia Farias and concluding with an exam for the candidates, It was very much appreciated and also to see that many discussions on the facets that come up as an official are very useful.

Afterwards, I visited the regatta course in Montevideo with Uruguay Canoe Federation Vice President Fredy de los Santos. The federation is interested in holding a Canoe Marathon World Cup in Uruguay and that will be interesting in a part of the world where we have never had a Canoe Marathon World Cup before.

There was also an opportunity to attend a Canoe Marathon event in Olemira (Treinta y Tres) in Uruguay and that was well organised. It was the 50^th edition and the concept is very nice. The first stage is 10 km in a lap course, in front of the public and the distances are built up and the next stage is 18 km downstream and the second day 40 km. All-in-all it is four day races with different distances each stage.

In both countries the hospitality was great and the way the races are held there bodes well for the future, although it is financially difficult to raise money, as a non-Olympic discipline, to participate in the World Championships but then it is useful to go in that direction with a major race. We really hope we can organise a World Cup or even a World Championship in this part of the world and a global competition will then give more paddlers a chance to showcase themselves internationally.

2. Site visit to ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships course in Metkovic, Croatia, April 16 to 18

This year, the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships will be paddled in Metkovic, Croatia from September 16 to 22. Together with Balint Vekassy, Global Director of Events for the ICF, we visited the venue and made the necessary arrangements regarding this World Championships. All World Championships are important, but this one is the qualifying event for the 2025 World Games in Chengdu, so that makes it a bit more important. The organisers are on track and doing their utmost to make it a great event. There is still a lot to do, and some challenges, but that is part of the job.

3. World Games 2025 venue inspection in Chengdu, China, April 23 to 29

In 2025, The World Games will be paddled on August 9 and 10, a major event for non-Olympic sports with 35 sports and 5,000 participants. Canoe Marathon and Dragon boat will paddle on the same course and have a joint schedule, so both disciplines will get full attention.

For both Dragon Boat and Canoe Marathon, it is important to pull together and make sure that given the current times, that the aspects of sustainability are taken into account, especially using the same facilities. During the visit, Dragon Boat and Canoe Marathon held discussions with the organisation to go through all the facilities of Canoe Marathon and Dragon Boat and coordinate as much as possible. The schedule will still be discussed in detail with Dragon Boat giving us an interesting programme for both disciplines. I think we can succeed well in this and the communication with the organisation in Chengdu is good and they are doing their utmost to make sure that everything is done according to the requirements.

4. Shaoxing Canoe Marathon World Cup 2025 site visit

The trip to Chengdu was combined with a visit to Shaoxing, which will have a ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup in 2025. The course will then take place not on Didang Lake - where the 2019 World Cup took place - but on the canal where the 2017 World Cup was held, admittedly in a different place but it can certainly meet our requirements for a World Cup. If there is another Super Cup next year, the plan is then to hold the World Cup in Shaoxing after it. Shaoxing is a one-and-a-half drive from Hangzhou where the Super Cup will be paddled.

5. ICF Super Cup in Hangzhou 2024

The Super Cup is an event featuring Canoe Polo, Canoe Slalom, Canoe Marathon and Canoe Sprint and will be held from October 11 to 13 in Fuyang,near Hangzhou.

To have the Canoe Marathon held according to the requirements, I went to Fuyang Water Sports Centre. The requirements for the Canoe Marathon have been gone through with the organisers and there is every confidence that it will be a great event for the athletes.

6. Sit-down C2 in the USA

There are many C2 sit-down boats (other size C class ICF) Canoe Marathon races being paddled in America and it is very popular on this continent with many races. For us, it is important to have contact with this group and with the help of COPAC Technical Delegate Maurix Caffa, Don Stoneman of United States Canoe Association and Suzanne Britt of American Canoe Association, we are doing our best to make contact with these paddlers so that hopefully we can organise a side event during the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships to be held in Sarasota, Florida in 2026 or a World Cup in America. There is certainly a long way to go, but we are confident it will work out.

7. Communication with stakeholders

The season is now in progress and there are a little less discussions with the committee but more preparations for organising competitions where all members are involved and there is a TIP camp scheduled in Metkovic and a webinar and exam for aspiring ITOs. There are some more challenges this year given the qualification for The World Games. What are important are the contacts in the continents and all interested stakeholders. These contacts will also intensify to promote Canoe Marathon worldwide.

By Ruud Heijselaar, Chair of the ICF Canoe Marathon Committee