A unique Canoe Polo competition format featuring blind draws and knockout matches is set to increase excitement at the International Canoe Federation Hangzhou Super Cup.
A total of 24 teams are ready to battle it out for the men’s and women’s crowns at the Fuyang Water Sports Centre on October 12 and 13.
Canoe Polo will be featured along with Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom and Canoe Marathon as part of the first-ever multi-discipline Super Cup, which will offer a massive prize total of $350,000.
It is a thrilling time for polo players with two major events taking place in seven days with the Super Cup in Hangzhou swiftly followed by the ICF Canoe Polo Senior and Under 21 World Championships in Deqing.
The competition in Hangzhou will be played under an exciting new format that will put spectators and players on the edge of their seats.
Four draws will be made over the course of what is set to be a gripping opening day of action on October 12.
At 7am local time, the 12 teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be randomly drawn, meaning the two top-ranked sides could face each other in the first round.
All six winners of the opening-round matches will progress to the quarter-finals while the six losers will go into the second round where they will have another chance to advance.
Another draw will be held to determine those three second-round ties.
The two teams with the best goal difference from their first two games will progress to the quarter-finals.
The three losers and the winner with the worst goal difference will be randomly drawn to play for ninth to 12th place.
Once the four quarter-final matches have been completed, a fourth draw will take place at the end of the day that will decide who the winners will play in the semi-finals and the losers will meet in the fifth to eighth placement games.
The competition will conclude on October 13 when the men’s and women’s semi-finals and final and all the placement matches will all be staged.
“We didn’t want to recreate the World Championships the weekend before so this unique draw system will be fantastic,” said Greg Smale, Chair of the ICF Canoe Polo Committee.
“It will add extra levels of tension and jeopardy.
“Teams will have to play very well from the very start otherwise they are out.
“Even if you are one of the winning teams in the second round, they still have to get a high enough goal difference to make it through so they need to go for it from the outset.
“Blind draws mean teams will have very little time to react with their planning which adds another level of excitement for viewers and stress for the players and coaches.”
Reigning world champions Germany will be the team to beat in both the men’s and women’s competitions as they aim to do the double in Hangzhou.
Spain, Italy and Great Britain are the other nations in the world’s top four that will compete for the men’s title.
The men’s field also includes Portugal, Switzerland, Poland, Chinese Taipei and New Zealand as well as China and the host nation’s under-21 team.
World number three Italy will be aiming to challenge Germany for the women’s crown in Hangzhou.
Other contenders include New Zealand, Spain, The Netherlands, Denmark, Great Britain and Chinese Taipei which are inside the world’s top 10.
Singapore, Japan, China and China U21s are also among the teams in the women’s competition.
“The Super Cup gives us a unique opportunity to not only show our sport to a huge number of new viewers but also some of the top athletes in the other disciplines,” added Mr Smale.
“It is a big logistical challenge to move 300 people and 206 kayaks from one venue to the next but the Hangzhou organisers have been wonderful in how easy it has been to work with them.
“It will be intense but exciting for Canoe Polo so I cannot wait for the competition to begin.”
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