Team spirit and technical prowess were both at an all-time high at the latest International Canoe Federation Wildwater Canoeing Development Camp in Solkan, Slovenia.
Held on the sidelines of the 2025 ICF Junior and U23 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships, the camp also had other bonding activities, as new skills, friendships, and memories were forged.
A total of 11 athletes from six countries – New Zealand, Hungary, Romania, Senegal, Ukraine, and the United States – took part in the ICF Wildwater Canoeing Development Camp.
Francesco Baldan and Alberto Migliosi from Italy, and Marie Retkova and Alexandra Novakova of Czechia were the coaches who were supervising the athletes.
Apart from technique and choosing the best racing lines, the coaches also took care of equipment and logistics to keep the team spirit high.
The success of the camp was further underlined when three of the athletes made it to the finals at the World Championships.
Denys Kasatskyi of Ukraine was in the junior men's kayak single in the classic, and the US pair of Ava Harchak and Ruby Kosek reached the medal races in the U23 women's canoe double classic.
It was also the first time an athlete from Senegal participated in the camp and the World Championships, with Wally Youssouf Ndiaye competing in both C1 and K1.
Other special firsts included a men's Hungarian C2 crew and a female athlete from Romania.
“Our strategic focus in the development programme for Wildwater Canoeing is now beginning to bear fruit. Already at this World Championship, two athletes from the Talent Identification Programme have qualified for the sprint finals,” ICF Wildwater Canoeing Committee Chair Manuela Gawehn said.
“But what makes me even happier is that we are succeeding in conveying the joy of wildwater racing to the athletes across all our boat categories.
As a result, they are not only being trained in kayak, but also in the canoe disciplines – participating there with enthusiasm and first successes.
“I would hope that all nations take this as an example and use it to motivate their athletes. A special thank you goes to our four development coaches, who were working tirelessly around the clock last week.
“All in all, the 2025 ICF Junior and U23 Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in Solkan were a thoroughly successful event, especially due to the combination with the Junior U23 Rafting World Championships of the WRF.”
“We continue to help more or less the same countries that we have been helping since 2023. We try to create good facilities for them both at races and in the off-season in their own clubs and federations,” Novakova, one the coaches, said.
“Development is a year-round job, it's never just one event or one week of work.
“We want our actions and energy to generate movement in the individual federations we support.”
Pictures by Alberto Migliosi
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