The International Canoe Federation is issuing a final call for National Federations to submit bids to hold next year’s Wildwater Canoeing World Championships in sprint and classic races.
The ICF is also looking for NFs to hold Wildwater Canoeing World Cups in 2026, while next year’s European Canoe Association Junior and U23 Wildwater Canoeing European Championships remains without a host.
A fantastic calendar of Wildwater Canoeing events is in store for 2025 with World Cups in Skopje, North Macedonia and Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the World Championships in Ceske Budejovice, Czechia, and the Junior and U23 World Championships in Solkan, Slovenia.
There is also excitement for 2027 with Sort in Spain in place to host the World Championships in two years’ time.
But gaps are yet to be filled in the 2026 calendar as the ICF Wildwater Canoeing Committee looks to stage a World Championships and World Cups next year.
Manuela Gawehn, Chair of the ICF Wildwater Canoeing Committee, is hoping to receive offers for 2026 events before the start of next month.
“We said at the Nations Meeting in Sabero last year that there was a lack of organisers for 2026 and this still hasn’t changed,” said Ms Gawehn.
“There are no proposals yet for the 2026 World Championships.
“If we do not receive bids by the beginning of February, it will be difficult to have a World Championships in 2026.
“It’s the same situation for the World Cup events and Junior and U23 European Championships in 2026.
“If the NFs are interested in bidding for events and are not meeting all the technical requirements set out by the ICF they can still raise their hands to start the discussion to know what is possible.”
The events calendar was among the topics discussed at the latest Nations Meeting held online on January 8.
A total of 52 people from 24 nations attended the meeting to look ahead to the 2025 season and discuss issuing facing the Wildwater Canoeing community.
Wildwater Canoeing’s development activities formed part of the discussions with ICF Talent Identification Programmes planned during the Junior and U23 World Championships in July and World Championships in September.
The ICF is looking for new Wildwater Canoeing coaches to volunteer their services to support its development activities.
If you are interested in helping this season, simply fill out this form.
Any NF looking to bid for a major ICF Wildwater Canoeing event in 2026, should contact manuela.gawehn@canoeicf.com.
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