After the opening race on Rio Pejibaye in February and the second stage on Rio Pacuare at the end of March, the National Championship of Costa Rica is finally over. Sarapiquì hosted the third and final stage on Rio Puerto Viejo.

In the women category the winners of the first two races confirmed the gold, with a first place in every discipline (300 points): Chicas del Pacuare are definitely ready for France.

The second women team, who will compete in France too, is Black Mambas (270 points, 2nd place in every discipline).

The bronze in the Downriver, RX and slalom gave a third place to Open Mambas (240 points).

The overall Men category saw a harsh exchange between the first teams. Quepos won the downriver, got the 2nd place in RX and the 3rd in Slalom, ripping the top step of the podium with 268 points, after a challenging race with Volcano.

Volcano won the final knock out stage of RX, got a silver in the downriver and a 5th place in Slalom, that gave them 262 points, an Overall silver and the ticket to the World Champs, shared with the winners.

The bronze went to Hijos del Volcán, with 250 points from a 3rd place in Downriver and RX and a 2nd place in Slalom.

The National Champions are already focusing on the next big challenge: the national title is a great result as well as a starting point for the international level: four teams from Costa Rica (one more team as mix) will paddle in Durance river in less than 2 months, for the world title in France.

The world is still struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic and most of us are still locked home thinking on how nice would be to do some rafting with our team, friends or family. 

Trying to give you some relief we decided to tiktok-ing a bit! Are you with us? We need your support!

We will start posting videos from all over the world to give you the possibility to take some imaginary worldwide journeys with us. Everyday a new spot to discover and add to your trip list for the moment when the pandemic will be over!

April 6 was declared as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) by the UN General Assembly in 2013, creating a historical link to the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. 

This decision represented a significant step in recognizing the transformative power of sport and its great potential in advancing positive social change.

World Earth Day is the biggest environmental event dedicated to the planet and has been celebrated every year for 51 years. Founded in 1970 to sensitize the world to the importance of conserving the Earth's natural resources, in recent years it has managed to mobilize over one billion people in the 193 countries involved.

Each edition has its own theme for this year’s #EarthDay is: “Restore Our Earth” because it is true that today we celebrate our great planet, but we also wanna start a new project for its protection from threats like climate change!

 Soon we will publish news - stay tuned!

ICCE President John Bales and the Board of Directors welcome WRF as a new partner.

The International Council for Coaching Excellence (ICCE) is a not-for-profit, global organisation established in 1997 with the mission of leading and developing sport coaching globally. ICCE operates in 50 countries believing that international collaboration and exchange can accelerate positive change in the realm of coaching development and help these coaches give athletes around the world a chance to pursue excellence.

With the mission of a worldwide cooperation towards a continuous improvement WRF has developed the WRF Training Programme covering all the aspect of the rafting sport for its river guides and coaches, from recreational to competitive activities, on all class of river difficulties that can be safely run.

The aim of the Training Programme is to implement a federal worldwide system based on the competences and knowledges of the different levels of river rafting guides and coaches.

WRF share the main ICCE issues, aiming:

The international mobility for rafting guides, technicians and athletes is encouraged by the rafting’s seasonality due the weather events according to the period of the year. This aspect represents a tool for a global and dynamic exchange that, with a proper structure and the mutual support of ICCE, can lead to joint benefits.

We believe that this membership is the first step of a collaborative pathway where our associations will grow and promote positive synergies among the different, unique and precious realities of the sports world.

The Indian Rafting Foundation, founded by India’s rafting trailblazer Shaukat Sikand, held the 14th National Rafting Championship on the river Sutlej in Himachal Pradesh from 23 to 27th March 2021. The event, attended by Mr Divesh Kumar (IAS), Secretary Tourism from Himachal Pradesh, also selected two teams who will carry the Indian flag in France at the World Championships.

Sutlej river

Four teams from the Indian Army, three from BSF including a women’s team joined teams from Himachal, Arunachal, Punjab and Jammu for four days of exhilarating races overseen by WRF accredited judges of the Indian Rafting Foundation. The Indian Rafting Foundation judges, trained by WRF Chief Judge Stefan Purjakov, came from Jammu, Arunachal, Kashmir, Goa, Delhi, Telangana and included the Secretary General Ahsan Ul Bandey as well as the Chief Judge Sushil K Sharma.

The Indian Army teams led by the coach Col Sachin Nikam stood out in the male category with their preparedness and team effort: despite the third place in the RX, the two golds of Slalom and Downriver guaranteed the overall victory to the Indian Army team; Mr Devaiah KN, Mr Joga Singh, Mr Hansraj, Mr Samy Murugan and Mr Sreejith KS (reserve) will be the first team representing India in France next June.

Indian Army team

The second team got a ticket to the world championships and is from the Army too, Army Adventure Wing: Mr Ravi DR, Mr Arul Kunar G, Mr J Pothanna, Mr Rajkumar Karki and Mr Rajinder Aher (Reserve) took the overall silver, with a second place in every discipline.

The third step of the podium went to Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports (ABVIMAS) from Manali.

Two women teams participated: BSF finishing first, followed by ABVIMAS.

Women winning team BSF

Therefore two teams already have their “tickets” to France, but four other will follow: 2 women and 2 mix teams will be selected soon, paddling in the next weeks.

To the start of the marathon are allowed maximum 1500 boats, the registratsion begins 1-st of january at 12:00:01 am (in Estonian time) Registration runs until the 31-st of march or until 1500 boats are filled.

If your desire is to see pristine nature and spend one athletic day paddling, this is the marathon for you. 100km in one day. Remember! "You Can Do More Than You Think". Every kilometer you recall later on the sauna deck is pure pleasure. You want it over and over, it may not be right now, but it won't give you peace anymore.

WE WILL MEET May 22, 2021 in Võru.

Following the project of the ICF International Canoe Federation we have created some games too for our younger rafters! 

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic were felt by all, but perhaps the most affected by the changes of this period were the kids. This is the reason why - while we all wait to be able to go back to the river to have fun we can spend some carefree moments playing these little games.

The second stage of the National Rafting Championships 2021 in Costa Rica held by the Federación Costarricense de Rafting is over!

More than 10 teams clashed on 27th and 28th March on the waves of the Rio Pacuare, Costa Rica, in the three WRF disciplines: RX, Slalom and Downriver.

The winners of the female category are the Chicas del Pacuare, who confirm their leading position with another 300 points race on their home field: 600 points in total, considering the previous victory on Rio Pejibaye. Second and third place for Mambas 1 and Mambas 2.

In the men category - where the Hijos del Volcan started with 270 points from the first stage - the ranking has been overturned by the Quepos team, who won the RX and the Downriver disciplines scoring 290 points and reaching the first place in the general standings, with 544 points.

Silver medal for the team Volcano and bronze medal to the Hijos del Volcan. Other teams to follow: Horniticos, Pejibaye, Sarapiqui and Turrialba.

Considering that the winning teams will represent Costa Rica at the 2021 World Rafting and Para-Rafting Championships in France the third stage of the Champs will be decisive. 

Next appointment on 24th and 25th April on the Sarapiqui river, stay tuned!