Canoeing

Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. In some parts of Europe, canoeing refers to both canoeing and kayaking, with a canoe being called an 'open canoe' or Canadian.

A few of the recreational forms of canoeing are canoe camping and canoe racing. Other forms include a wide range of canoeing on lakes, rivers, oceans, ponds and streams.

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.

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.

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.

• List of sprint canoeists by country
• Outline of canoeing and kayaking
• Canoe paddle strokes
• Kayak
• Canadian (canoe)

• International Canoe Federation (ICF)
• CanoeResults.eu (results of mayor canoe competitions)