Canoe

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Paddle UK

Competitors sprint over 200m in a kayak and much like its Olympic counterpart, paracanoeing is a race in lanes to make it to the finish line first.

There are currently six different events (three for men and three for women) and this has the potential to increase to include the Va’a (outrigger canoe) events as the sport develops further.

Classification

Eligible Impairments: impaired muscle power, impaired passive range of motion, limb deficiency.

Description: canoe is for athletes with a physical lower limb impairment who may also have impaired trunk function. Athletes compete in kayak (KL1-3) and/or va’a (VL1-3) boats, with each having three Sport Classes. Classification in the two boats follow similar processes, however due to technical differences between the two boat classes, an athlete will not necessarily have the same Sport Class for each boat. For example, an athlete may be a KL2 and a VL3.

Sport Class structure:

KL/VL1: these classes are for athletes with significant impairments resulting in no to minimal trunk and leg function, instead relying on arm function to propel the boat.
KL/VL2: athletes in these classes have an impairment which results in them having partial leg and trunk function.
KL/VL3: athletes in these classes will have full trunk function and their impairment will only reduce their leg function.