International Canoe Federation

In a few weeks time the worlds best Freestyle paddlers will descend on a small town in Germany. There, in Plattling they will see whether their training has paid off as they compete to become the Freestyle Champion of the world.

Plattling is a great place for Freestyle, when the water level is right; it produces a perfect feature in which just about every hole move can be achieved.

To some it may not have the wow factor of the big wave features, but for shear technical kayaking ability it has to be the ultimate test & may just produce the best World Championships ever. I predict that we will see a display of skill never before seen within the discipline, with combination moves going off so fast that they will be difficult to score & with overall scores even higher than those of the last World Championships in Thun.

As always every class & every category will be keenly contested and it is within the big two, the senior men’s & senior ladies that we can look forward to some real fireworks. The preparation of the Americans is legendary and it is this, combined with their positive attitude that makes them so difficult to beat. However this year there are some Europeans who are determined not to let them have it all their own way. Of course it’s not just about the USA & Europe, the Worlds always throws up a few surprises and who knows we may just get an Aussie, a Russian or Japanese World Champion.

All the big names of Freestyle competition will be there, they have done this many times before, they know just how to prepare mentally & physically for the big events and they know what works for them. However, there will be others, for whom Plattling will be their first major international event, they have got to work out their own strategy for getting the most out of this beautiful yet demanding feature.

As for the site of the competition, a better spot would be hard to find; a lovely little town next to the river Isar with camping right by the feature, it is a kayakers heaven. When the marquees and the grandstands, the TV monitors & judges platform are all in place, and when the crowd are cheering and the music is playing, the atmosphere will be perfect.

Right now the organisers will be making sure that all of their plans are being put in to place so that when the big day comes & the championships start, everything runs as smoothly as possible.

Plattling is no stranger to Freestyle competition, Robert the organiser has been running some of the best national & international events for years, this means he knows exactly what is needed to make this years world championships a great event for competitors & spectators alike.

Register now via your National Federation. This is one event that you don’t want to miss.

03 June 2010: 2010 CANOE FREESTYLE WORLD CUP, Plattling Germany

Rising water level of the Isar River

Currently, the water level is 305cm, this is about 65cm over the level at which we can run the event. The forecast is more rain and rising water levels until tonight. The peak wave will be around Friday noon.
On Friday 4th June at 9 a.m there will be a Team Leaders meeting on the dam next to the wave. We are expecting the water levels to fall, starting Friday afternoon through to Saturday. We plan to hold the event on Saturday and Sunday or if the water is still too high on Saturday we will run the event in one day on Sunday.

For more information call: (49) 171 758 5532

31 May 2010: 2010 CANOE FREESTYLE WORLD CUP #1 - Augsburg
The results of the first event of the 2010 World Cup have been released. Find them here!

10 May 2010: Appendix
The proposed changes to the Canoe Freestyle appendix submitted by the Canoe Freestyle Commitee were accepted by the Board of Directors in Budapest in April.
You can find the documents updated in the Rules section of the ICF Website.

2013 World Championships
It's confirmed that the hosts of the 2013 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Championships will be USACK in the Nantahala Gorge. The venue will have a chance to host a World Cup one year before in the 2012 ICF Canoe Freestyle World Cup Series.