ICF Paracanoe Committee activities Q1 2026

In-Person Meeting at New Budapest HQ 

The Committee has met in Budapest for its in-person meeting held at the brand new headquarters. Reports on the budget as well as the Classification Subcommittee’s meeting in Sweden was the main focus point as well as discussions on the coming season, and for the Paralympic Games.

The statistics on our athlete populations are as follows:

ICF Paracanoe Bulletin 2026 

We have published our annual bulletin for this season in March. Unlike our sprint counterpart, we publish one bulletin which focuses on the element of classification as all classification related matter are with ICF even for Continental Championships.  

We will have three ICF events for Paracanoe, and 10 global evaluation opportunities for classification (to be confirmed for some events). Classification appointments are made approximately five weeks prior to the classification days, and for uploading documents a four-week rule will be applied same as previous seasons.  

All communications and reminders will be sent out to the member federations through the ICF Members email through a centralized system.

Paralympic Ranking to drive Paracanoe race for LA28 qualification

A new Paracanoe ranking system will take centre stage in determining qualification for the Paralympic Games Los Angeles 2028. 

Running from May 1, 2026 to May 31, 2028, the system is based on the individual athlete performance in the respective categories of men’s KL1, women’s KL1, men’s KL2, women’s KL2, men’s KL3, women’s KL3, men’s VL2, women’s VL2, men’s VL3 and women’s VL3. 

The World Championships, World Cups, Continental Championships and National Championships will offer ranking points over Paralympic cycle. 

The use of multipliers increases the points available at certain competitions, meaning paddlers will achieve greater points at the World Championships compared with other events. 

The introduction of the Paralympic Ranking will dramatically raise the stakes at our competitions.

Over the next three years, anticipation will intensify and competition will become fiercer than ever as athletes across the globe chase qualification for LA28.

For the full Paralympic qualification system for Paracanoe, click here.

UPPER LIMB Impairment Athlete Classification  

The ICF has embarked upon a project to include athletes with upper limb impairments within the official Paralympic athlete classification system. The first step in this process is for National Federations to recruit these athletes. The ICF has designed an athlete classification system for those with Upper Limb impairments. National Federations can apply this system at the national level. When a sufficient number of athletes are recruited, the ICF will conduct a global study for ultimate submission to the IPC.

By John Edwards, Chair of the ICF Paracanoe Committee