Va’a events could be included in 2020
The International Paralympic Committee has approved six Paracanoe kayak events for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Paracanoe became a Paralympic sport in 2010 but research needed to be conducted on the classification system before the sport could be officially adopted into the Paralympic program. The IPC Governing Board Meeting this past weekend in Abu Dhabi, UAE was the final opportunity to have Paracanoe events added for 2016. Paracanoe has also been confirmed as a sport for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games and specific events have not yet been decided.
While getting Paracanoe kayak events on to the Paralympic program is a great achievement, unfortunately Va’a events were not accepted for 2016. Further research on Va’a classification must be conducted in order for the single-bladed Paracanoe discipline to be included. There is potential for this change to happen as early as 2017. This omission comes as a disappointment to athletes who have been training hard in V1 in anticipation of 2016.
“Making headway at the international level is no easy task and we applaud the work of all those who have worked tirelessly to advance the sport so far in such a short time,” said Casey Wade, CEO of CanoeKayak Canada. “We were of course hoping to see V1 events included on the list and I know how disappointed those athletes must be. We will continue to push the canoe discipline forward for both Para and able-body events and we remain optimistic for 2020.”
The program for the ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships will include Va’a events and all Paracanoe athletes must be reclassified based on a newly developed system before competing.
2016 Paracanoe Events
Men
- Kayak (KL1) 200m
- Kayak (KL2) 200m
- Kayak (KL3) 200m
Women
- Kayak (KL1) 200m
- Kayak (KL2) 200m
- Kayak (KL3) 200m
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For more information:
Ian Miller
Communications and Marketing Officer, CanoeKayak Canada
613.314.1352
imiller@canoekayak.ca