Whitewater Kayaking
By Kevin Madel

Whitewater kayaking is an adventure water sport, which involves moving the kayak in the whitewaters, and can range from simple smooth movements in gentle carefree water to dangerous and demanding situations in turbulent water. This sport is exciting and adventurous, but has its own challenges. There are special trainings available to those who are interested in the sport. There are many training institutes in the country, which provide detailed training for the same and explain the importance of the needed equipments and personal safety. Over all, it educates you about the hazards of the sport and educates you about river safety and potential hazards. You will also need to invest in the personal safety gears and it is better to go for good durable products, even if they are a bit expensive.

There are different types of whitewater kayaking, according to where you are kayaking. The simplest type is probably the River running, which is just going down the river on the kayak and enjoying the adjacent scenery. Then we have Creeking, which is somewhat similar to river running, though it involves a higher gradient and more technical moves with very steep descending. Creeking requires extra gears like float bags, throw bags, elbow pads, pin kits, repair kits and a face mask, along with the helmet. Then we have Slalom kayaking, which are actually a more competitive form of whitewater kayaking and the only one to be in the Olympics. The kayaks needed for this purpose are made of heavy fiber glass and nylon, and it is normally priced between $1200 and $3000. The length of the boat has also changed from 4 meters to 3.5 meters and the weight of the boats can range from 9 kilos to a maximum of 15 kg.

Whitewater kayaking has also undergone some changes, and innovations are added to it, thereby making the game more specialized; and Playboating is one of those. Also known as Freestyle or Rodeo, it has become a very artistic type of kayaking and involves gymnastic moves. It involves various moves like spinning, front and back surfing, cartwheels, flips, combo moves, loops, rock moves and others. Another type that we have is the Squirt boating, involving low volumes and special techniques, and the boat used is somewhat flat with 80% to 90% of the boat remaining under water.

Whitewater kayaking involves a number of techniques back stroke, forward stroke, ready position, paddle strokes, low brace, back sweep, rolling, duffeck to name a few. As far as equipments are concerned, in addition to the main ones, it is also important to carry personal floatation device, safety whistle, and buoyancy aid and spray deck or the spray skirt.

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