Home > List > Paddle Sports > Canoeing

Canoeing is a type of paddle sport. In this type, the rider kneels or sits facing forward in an open or a closed-decked canoe. The rider propes the canoe using a single-bladed paddle.

Sometimes, canoeing can be referred to both canoeing and kayaking. The common difference is that in kayaking, the riders are always seated and they use a double-bladed paddle, in canoeing, the riders kneel and they use a single-bladed paddle.

Canoeing as a sport was introduced by Scottish explorer, John MacGregor. He founded the Royal Canoe Club in 1866. The first canoeing competition, which was called the Paddling Challenged Club, was organized by the club in 1874.

Other forms of canoeing as a sport are: canoe racing, canoe polo, canoe freestyle (playboating), extreme racing, canoe marathon, canoe slalom, and surf skiing. Some recreational uses are: small-craft sailing, whitewater, sea kayak, and canoe camping.

Back in the early days of canoeing, canoes did not have seats; the riders knelt on the bottom of the boat.

---

---

Sports Involving Canoes

• Sprint Canoe — sprint canoe racing on flat water over distances from 200m to 5000m.
• Canoe Slalom — a kayaking and canoeing sport in which athletes use a kayak or canoe to navigate through a course that consists of hanging gates on river rapids.
• Canoe Freestyle / Playboating — a whitewater sport in which athletes on kayaks or canoes perform various moves in a fixed place called the playspot.
• Wildwater Canoe — kayaks or canoes are used to negotiate a natural stretch of river as fast as possible.
• Canoe Marathon —  athletes paddle a kayak or canoe over a long distance, often with out-of-water sections.
• Outrigger Canoeing — racing using a type of canoe featuring one or more lateral support floats known as outriggers, which are fastened to one or both sides of the main hull.
• Ice Canoeing — a team sport in which a five-member crew completes a course, in which riders have to push their canoe on the frozen parts of the river as well as row in the water.
• Canoe Tilting — participants on canoes attempt to knock each other off and into the water (old sport).
• Canoe Hurdling — a sport in which participants in canoes attempt to paddle over logs placed in the water (old sport).

---

---

Similar Sports

• Kayaking — boat races using a small, narrow boat propelled using a double-bladed paddle.
• Canoe Polo — players in kayaks attempt to score by throwing or hitting a ball through a goal suspended two meters above the water.
• Rafting — the objective is to navigate downstream on river rapids using an inflated raft.
• Dragon Boat Racing — a paddling sport using a long boat with many paddlers.
• Rowing — a sport in which competitors propel a boat using oars.

Related Pages

• Canadian Canoeing was a demonstration sport at the 1924 Olympics.
• Canoe/Kayak at the Olympic Games
• About Para-canoe at the Paralympic Games
• All about Paddling Sports
• Canoeing Equipment
• The complete list of sports
• The Encyclopedia of Sports