International Canoe Federation

In early November 2010 we were fortunate to have the participation of instructor Jorge Blasco, member of the Spanish selection of kayak polo, to teach us basics concepts of Canoe Polo and the game rules. Students of the canoe and kayak federation, sports coordinators and kayak polo directors were trained in the Olympic house of Puerto Rico and at the “Laguna del Condado” in San Juan. This course was possible through the collaboration of the "International Canoe Federation (ICF) and efforts of the President of the Canoe and Kayak Federation of Puerto Rico (Victor G. Ruiz).

At the end of the training the participants mention to us “Kayak polo is here to stay in Puerto Rico”. It looked like a completely new sport, we can say with conviction that it will be well accepted in a short time in the island, due to the similarity it has with the
basketball. In Puerto Rico basketball is the number one sport in the island. Basketball and Canoe Polo have a similarity that each team has 5 players where a ball is used to get a goal or points.

In just three months after the first seminars, we have outlined our plan and we can proudly say that we already have all the equipments needed to practice and to organize local and international events. We have in February a meeting with all the Sport Director of each university in Puerto Rico to explain this new sport or kayak discipline in the island. The meeting were successful and we hope in the coming months will begin a program with the universities. We built the first kayak polo field, in “Laguna del Condado” in San Juan and soon will be preparing the second course in Lake Cerrillo in Ponce to cover the southern area. Lake Cerrillos is where we have the Flat water facilities were we used during the Centro American and Caribbean Games in 2010. We create our distinctive logo that will differentiate Kayak Polo Puerto Rico from other countries and we are working with a marketing firm to launch our campaign to recruit athletes and finding sponsors that will allow the acquisition of funds.

This money will be used to contract a full-time coach, management, and advertising jobs, acquire new equipment and have funds available to sponsor teams that qualify for international events.

In summary it was an enthusiast and very productive training course. In the near future we plan to have and international event for the new countries to be develop and the one that develop in Puerto Rico. For more information and updates about Canoe Polo in Puerto Rico see Facebook: Kayak Polo Puerto Rico.

Document can be downloaded here.