| ICF Thun 2009 - Freestyle Kayaking |
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Freestyle Kayaking has been evolving enormously since the end of the nineties. At the riverbanks of the mighty river Zambezi in Africa, a handful of fearless young "big water"-paddlers have played an important role in the development of freestyle kayaking and what it is today. Thanks to rapid developments in kayak equipment and materials, the permanent reduction of boat lenghts and great progress in paddling techniques, the big waves of the river Zambezi provided an excellent place for the invention and development ofnew tricks and figures . Because of the internet and the possibility of fast and cheap distribution of freestyle videos, new tricks were being seen around the world in no time and kayakers everywhere started to imitate them and develop them even further. A new era of kayaking had begun. The interest in this modern form of kayaking started to grow world wide. New kinds of boats were being produced which allowed the riders to stick harder and more complicated tricks than ever before. The industry and massmedia started to show interest in this new and "fresh" activity. New freestyle events and competitions were organised everywhere, and the international freestyle kayaking community started to grow. In 2006 the "International Canoe Federation (ICF)" announced Freestyle Kayaking to be an offical COMPETITION discipline. The first official World Championships took place on the Ottawa River, Canada, in 2007. World Championships are being held every two years, just like the World Cup Series, which take place in the years between the World Championships.
Freestyle Kayaking Library:Movies: Watch the short video clips below to get an idea of what freestyle kayaking is:
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