Sprint kayak is a type of

canoe sprint Canoe sprint is a water sport in which athletes race in specially designed sprint canoes or sprint kayaks on calm water over a short distance. Prior to November 2008, canoe sprint was known as flatwater racing. The term is still in use today ...

held on calm water. The paddler is seated, facing forward, and uses a double-bladed paddle pulling the blade through the water on alternate sides to propel the boat forward. Kayak sprint has been in every summer Olympics since it debuted at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. The sport is governed by the

International Canoe Federation The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide. 157 countries are affiliated ...

History and design

Boats may have one rudder which must be under the hull of the boat. The rudder is controlled by the feet of the paddler (the foremost paddler in multi–person designs). The boat to be designed to be a sit-in, as opposed to a sit-on

surf ski A surf ski (or surfski, or surf-ski) is a type of kayak in the kayaking family of paddling craft. It is generally the longest of all kayaks and is a performance oriented kayak designed for speed on open water, most commonly the ocean, although it ...

. Crews or individuals race over 200 m, 500 m, 1000 m, or 5000 m, with the winning boat being the first to cross the finish line. In competition the number of paddlers within a boat is indicated by a figure beside the type of boat; K1 signifies an individual kayak race, K2 pairs, and K4 four-person crews. A K-3 kayak has been developed in South Africa for use in the

Fish River Canoe Marathon The Fish River Canoe Marathon is a two-day event taking place on the Great Fish River, Fish River in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It covers a total distance of , from Grassridge Dam southward to Cradock, Eastern Cape, Cradock. The t ...

.{{cite web, title=K3 world record for Fish Canoe Marathon, url=http://www.southafrica.info/news/sport/canoeing-fish-080910.htm, access-date=18 July 2014 Modern sprint kayaks are generally made of lightweight composite materials such as carbon fiber and fiberglass; wood was previously used on older kayaks along with steel for some sections of the boat (i.e. the rudder). They are narrow, extremely unstable, and expensive. Due to this, they are not intended to be used in anything other than flat watercourses - they can capsize and/or be dragged underwater in moderate waves. The beam of a flatwater boat is typically barely wider than the hips of its paddlers and requires the paddler to bend their legs in the boat, allowing for a long and narrow shape to reduce drag. Canoe sprint kayaks are similar to

sprint canoe A sprint canoe is a canoe used in International Canoe Federation canoe sprint. It is an open boat propelled by one, two or four paddlers from a kneeling position, using single-bladed paddles. The difficulty of balance can depend on how wide or n ...

s, with both styles of the boat usually at the same club or with the same team. Paddles used for sprint boats are made out of carbon fiber and/or fiberglass. The paddle blades are usually offset with respect to teach other anywhere from 55 to 85 degrees based on the paddler's preference, although some young paddlers have started to paddle with zero degrees of offset. Commonly referred to as 'feather' or 'pitch', this offset allows the blade of the release hand enter the water squarely (perpendicular the direction of the boat) while the control hand is the top hand. Paddles blades often have a 'tear-drop' shape allowing a powerful catch (where it enters the water) and a lip on the upper cusp so that the paddle may easily exit the water.

References

Kayaking

History and design

See also

References