ThePADDLER 40 RAFT RACING AT THE CONTINENTAL AND WORLD LEVEL IS HELD IN FOUR DISCIPLINES: • •
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Sprint: fastest from top to bottom. Head-to-Head: teams battle it out one to one over the sprint course but this time with buoy navigation mandatory – full contact is permitted in a knockout competition where the winner is decided not necessarily on who is fastest but who plays their tactics the best. If you’ve seen BoaterX – increase the contact and obstacles and you’ll understand head-to-head. Slalom: very similar to canoe/kayak slalom with the best of two runs counting but more complex with a larger craft and more heads to pass through the gates in the correct direction. Downriver (Endurance): a gruelling test of working together as a team - race rules dictate this should be more than 20 minutes but less than 60 minutes.
This year was R4, on the Rio Aluminé and Rio Ruca Churoy. The Rio Aluminé caught some teams unaware as the Endurance was a long, demanding and unrelenting river – it started with a calm and welcoming flat where Lake Aluminé empties and forms the headwaters of the Rio Aluminé, before quickly dropping and starting the never ending class II/III interspersed with class III+/IV rapids. No rest for the blessed, let alone the wicked.
The forecast storms didn’t materialise and racing commenced in the relatively long sprint. The snow melt waters were cold but the sun shone down on teams with world class speed, strength and teamwork on display. The Junior (Under 19) and Youth (Under 23) divisions were dominated by the Argentine, Czech and Russian teams. Relative newcomers to the international stage, Costa Rica U19 Men, caused an upset to the expected results with their millisecond advantage winning them a silver medal ahead of Russia. Big favourites and no stranger to the IRF Euro Cup and World Cup series this year, Rafting Team Gimpex from Slovenia (U23 Men), proved they deserved the gold.