2022 is set to be the busiest year on the water in the history of the International Canoe Federation, with no less than 12 world championships scheduled as paddling sports look to bounce back after two years of competition uncertainty.
Every ICF discipline will hold world titles this year, and with borders starting to re-open around the globe, competition organisers are hoping for a return to near-full strength racing.
Among the highlights in 2022 will be the ICF canoe and extreme slalom world championships in Ausgsburg, Germany, the same course where slalom made its first Olympic appearance exactly 50 years ago.
The canoe sprint and paracanoe world championships will be held in Halifax, Canada, while Poland, France, Great Britain, Italy, Ukraine and Hungary will also entertain the world’s best paddlers.
The 2022 The World Games in Birmingham, Alabama, will feature two ICF disciplines, with canoe polo making its fifth appearance, while canoe marathon will officially join the programme.
The busy season will finish with a world championship double-header in Portugal, with the ICF canoe marathon and ICF ocean racing titles to be held on consecutive weekends in September and October.
Alongside the world championships, there will also be several world cups in most disciplines, including, for the first time, three stand up paddling world cups in the lead-up to this year’s world titles in Gdynia, Poland.
The popular invite-only canoe sprint Super Cup format will also return, with two events in Russia in August.
“We have in front of us almost five full months of world-class events, which will be a great signal to the world we are back,” ICF President, Thomas Konietzko, said.
“Our athletes, officials and volunteers have been itching to get back on the water to take on the best in the world after two years of real uncertainty. We have responded by providing them with the opportunity to race for world titles.
“As always, we are very grateful to our event hosts for making these opportunities available. This year we will go to a handful of new venues, a further sign of the continued growth of paddle sports around the globe.”
The one-year postponement of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games has created a shorter Olympic cycle ahead of Paris 2024, and with many paddlers unable to travel during the pandemic, opportunities to race internationally have been restricted.
The 2022 international calendar begins with an ICF canoe sprint world cup in Racice, in the Czech Republic, in May. Organisers have already received almost 500 entry applications.
