canoeing

Canadian-style canoeing, in which the canoeists kneel as they paddle. Modern canoes are modelled on native craft that have been in use in the Americas and the Pacific for thousands of years, and are typically 3–7 m/10–20 ft long. They are easily carried and well suited for use in rugged, heavily wooded terrain.

Sport of propelling a lightweight, shallow boat, pointed at both ends, by paddles. Present-day canoes are made from fibreglass, but original boats were of wooden construction covered in bark or skin. Canoeing was popularized as a sport in the 19th century, although canoes have been in use for thousands of years, primarily as a means of transportation.

Two types of canoe are used: the kayak and the Canadian-style canoe. The kayak, derived from the Inuit model, is closed at the top and the canoeist sits. The canoe is open and the canoeist kneels. In addition to straightforward flatwater sprint racing, there are slalom courses, with up to 30 ‘gates’ to be negotiated through rapids and around artificial rock formations. Penalty seconds are added to course time for touching suspended gate poles or missing a gate. Sprint races for kayak or canoe involve one, two, or four people in each boat; slalom races involve one person per kayak, and one or two people in each canoe. The sport was introduced into the Olympic Games in 1936.