Kayaking Special Olympics kayaking is a flat-water racing event where athletes compete over 200m and 500m courses. Shown here is Philip Crosbie of Special Olympics Ireland during kayaking competition at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where kayaking was included as a demonstration sport. [Photo by Ray Ryan, Ireland Out] Special Olympics kayaking is a flat-water racing event where athletes compete over 200m and 500m courses, either on their own or as a pair with another athlete. Kayaking is one of the newest Special Olympics sports, requiring a basic foundation of skills in order to be safe and proficient. Effective strokes are powered by large muscle groups of the torso, not the arms. Modern kayaks come in a wide variety of designs and materials for specialized purposes. Special Olympics Kayaking events include the "tourist" division (using a standard touring kayak, stable, ideally suited for straight line paddling and readily available to event organizers to provide) and "professional" division (racing kayaks which are are longer and narrower and thus much faster, but which can also be more unstable). Kayaking will be a demonstration sport at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. A paddling variant will also be demonstrated, Dragonboat racing. Long, open canoes, generally extensively decorated, are propelled by 20 paddlers (smaller versions use 10) using single-bladed paddles. The craft includes a drummer and a coxwain/helmsman. Kayaking Facts In 2000 West Virginia became the first state in the United States to include kayaking and canoeing as an official statewide Special Olympic event. Kayaking was a demonstration sport at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, and will be an official sport at the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, China. Special Olympics Great Britain athletes joined top Olympic kayakers, including Olympic Bronze Medalists Ian Wynne and Tim Brabants, at the 2006 Special Olympics Great Britain National Kayaking Regatta on 3-5 June 2006 at Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre in Nottingham. The event took place as part of a British Canoe Union event, giving Special Olympics athletes the opportunity to demonstrate their ability alongside mainstream paddlers on a 2000-meter regatta lake. Kayaking Events Singles Tourist kayak — 200m, 500m Doubles Tourist kayak — 200m, 500m Unified Sports® Doubles Tourist kayak — 200m, 500m Singles Professional kayak — 200m, 500m Doubles Professional kayak — 200m, 500m Unified Sports Doubles Professional kayak — 200m, 500m Related Links: International Canoe Federation