River Bugging is a

whitewater Whitewater forms in a rapid context, in particular, when a river's gradient changes enough to generate so much turbulence that air is trapped within the water. This forms an unstable current that froths, making the water appear opaque and ...

sport where a single person navigates a stretch of river in a craft known as a River Bug. The river bug is a small inflatable craft with an inflatable tube at each side of the user and an inflatable back rest behind. The user sits between the tubes and can be secured into the craft by means of a waist strap. The user would normally wear a

wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on water. It ...

, swim fins and paddle mitts whilst 'bugging'. The swim fins and paddle mitts are the only means of steering and propulsion, as no paddle is carried on a river bug. Bugging is done 'feet first' which helps the user push off rocks etc. whilst navigating the rapids of a river. The river bug was inspired by the desire to improve on the practice of descending a river on an inner tube. River bugging is largely done as a sport organised by

rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

activity providers. The sport originated in New Zealand, but is gaining popularity in the UK, and mainland Europe. River bugs are also now being used for other activities such as BugPolo a sport similar to

water polo Water polo is a competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the ball into the opposing team's goal. The team with th ...

References

Whitewater sports Boating Boat types {{Water-sports-stub