The International Canoe

Best wishes for a successful season in 2010 to all canoe sailors!

Firstly, our status as a discipline within the ICF. We no longer have a seat on the governing board and therefore cannot have committee status. The Sailing commission will still have a budget, however, and will continue have the duty of administering the discipline.

In order to return to our original status we will need to have active fleets in around twenty countries across at least three continents. By my calculations we have boats in eleven - twelve at most.

We all have a job to do in ensuring the continuing development of the class and these boats we are so passionate about. Sometimes our individual national interests can be at odds with the global view and now, more than ever, it is essential to keep a sympathetic eye on the bigger picture. Times are hard in most countries and canoes have never been really cheap so we all need to make sure that new recruits are welcomed and supported and when others leave, that their boats are quickly recycled.

We also need to make sure that we have the most positive and up to date presence possible on the web. Please make sure that you post all of your international fixtures and championship details on the ICF website as well as our own. As the Olympics approach the minor canoe disciplines can be overlooked so we need to be more assertive in the wider ICF context.


The ICF Commission Development Plan and the minutes of our first meeting follow. Please feel free to contact individual commission members with your views and with any other ideas you may wish to raise.

Enjoy your racing in 2010!