Whitewater kayaking is an exhilarating and challenging sport or a fun trip down a fast moving river. In order to safely negotiate white water specially designed kayaks are used, usually between six and twelve feet and made from tough synthetic materials.
Different Types of Whitewater Kayaking
Creeking and Extreme racing – this type of kayaking includes waterfalls, running ledges and slides on smaller rivers and higher gradient rapids. Kayaks used for creeking are typically made with rounded sterns and bows to prevent spinning and give better control of the kayak.
River Touring – enjoyable tours along rivers with mixed levels of rapids and gradients. These may be day trips or longer tours with overnight camping.
Slalom – competitive whitewater kayaking negotiating a series of gates in a designated time. Usually twenty to twenty five gates are negotiated either upstream or downstream, usually marked as red for upstream and green for downstream. Gate placements vary depending on how tough the course is intended to be and they must be negotiated without touching any part of the gate. This is the only whitewater kayaking sport in the Olympics. For professional slalom kayaks need to be light, fast and toush so they are usually are made from Kevlar, fiberglass or carbon fiber.
Freestyle Kayaking or Whitewater Rodeo – this is an artistic form of kayaking where maneuvers and tricks are performed usually while staying in one place. Tricks can involve spinning, surfing and vertical moves. Kayaks designed for this type of boating usually have shallow sterns and bows to allow easy submerging.
photo credit: see_sounds
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