11/08/2018, Rize, Turkey - Before the Turkish Super League's football match Çaykur Rizespor VS Kasimpaşa the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a meeting with the WRF Vice President and President of the Turkish Rafting Federation, Mr Fikret Yardimci, other members of the National Board and some national athletes.

The president Erdoğan was born in Istanbul in 1954 but his family is from Rize so he often visits the city. Fırtına Deresi is the big river that crosses Rize and many national athletes live and train here, between green valleys, white water and the Black Sea; so on 11th August Rize's rafters and members of the Rafting Federation met him and talked to him about the new born Turkish Federation that is now indipendent, developing and growing up.

Last year the Turkey Team had big international results: the U19 men team, took the gold at the European Championship in Borjomi (Georgia) in May and conquered the title of World Champion in Miyoshi (Japan), last October. Last April Dalaman hosted the first national race opened to international teams, so it was an important meeting for the WRF: members from eleven countries were there and met the local Governator. After the national's selections in Tunceli (one month later) the team Turkey joined the WRF Wolrd Championships 2018. 10 members of the Turkish board and 25 athletes flew to Italy and paddled waving proudly their red flag.

Erdoğan was amazed by the international results and the passion that animates young teams through hard trainings and sacrifices, so after this first short meeting he invited them to a official meeting in Ankara.

In September the Rafting crew will be received in the Presidental Palace and they will discuss about new rules of rafting, WRF activities and the Olympic project.

KIEV, UKRAINE - The WRF Pararafting Commission chaired by Mr. Oleksandr Bakanychev has published the sport categories for Para Rafting competitions; according to the International Para Olympic Committee requirements, the Commission composed by Mr. Bakanychev, Mr. Andrey Batalov, Mr. Makar Sargsyan, Mis. Tetiana Kulbaka has presented its preliminary findings. 

During the WRF 2018 Para Rafting Pre-Worlds in Kiev (4-8 October) the new WRF Para Rafting Programme will be presented by the Commission.

 

PARA RAFTING CLASSIFICATION 

PHYSICAL DISABILITY

          Amputee              

          Class 1     A   (Only arms can work)

          Class 2     TA   (Only arms and torso can work)

          Class 3    LTA  (Legs, torso, arms can work )

           Spinal level impairment

          Complete

          Incomplete

          Cerebral Palsy

          Monoplegia   

          Diplegia    

          Hemiplegia    

          Quadriplegia   

          Ataxia 

          Athetosis

 

INTELLECTUAL IMPAIRMENT

Down Syndrome

Autism spectrum disorders

Fetal Alcohol Syndrome

Phenylketonuria

Cerebral Palsy with intellectual disability

 

 

VISUAL IMPAIRMENT

Class B1: (a very low visual acuity and/ or no light perception)

Class B2: (a higher visual acuity  and/ or a visual field of less than 5 degrees radius)

Class B3:  (the least severe visual impairment eligible, the highest visual acuity and/or a visual field of less than 20 degrees radius)

 

HEARING IMPAIRMENT

Deaf athletes

Hard of hearing athletes

After the World Rafting Championship settled in Italy from 21st to 24th of July the President of the Armenian Rafting Federation and the Rafting.am club met Mr. Levon Vahradyan, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs.

During the meeting, in the capital Yerevan, Mr. Seto Zakaryan, President of the Armenian Rafting Federation, reported to Mr. Vahradyan the Italian experience of their athletes in Villeneuve and Ivrea. Rafting in Armenia is growing up under the World Rafting Federation, indeed after their National Championship on 11th August and the International Rafting Fest of the next weekend (18th and 19th August) they will discuss the opportunity of organizing a WRF event next year.

 

U23 & JUNIOR WORLD RAFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018: AN INCREDIBLE FIGHT TO CONQUER THE WORLD TITLES 

Villeneuve and Ivrea has hosted 40 teams competing in the 3 World Rafting Federation disciplines: downriver, slalom and RX, on the Dora Baltea river. Many surprises in the italian Valle d'Aosta and Piemonte regions led the young athletes tuned not only about the results.

26th  July 2018 - Athletes from 13 nations will remember this WRF Event thanks to the withewater, the adrenaline of the competition and to the international feeling of sharing a passion. This event confirmed the WRF intention to focus on young athletes, working to see them at the Olympics in the future.

After the first two traditional races of Downriver and Slalom the last one was a new spectacular discipline called RX, officially born in order to impress the public. It is composed by 2 parts: the first one is a qualification phase who's times will decide the starting position of the second knock out phase, where the couples fight in a direct elimination. It has been a race full of surprises.

Mix teams
The 2018 WRF's innovation are the mix teams: only in the new entry category RX there are 2 boys and 2 girls on the raft, creating an innovative perspective of team. The U19 mix has been conquered by the Italian hosts, after them Czech Republic and Turkey. Same nations took the u23 podium, but 1st Turkey, 2nd Italy and 3rd Czech.

Italian hosts won 3 golds in the general ranking. The 4th and last one was taken by the Czech u 23 women team, that beated Italy and Russia with an amazing show of team spirit.

World Rafting Spirit - International teams made by Armenia, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Albania and Serbia closed the races under the flag of wrf, that is working on the Olympic project and hopes to see some of this amazing guys in the future Games.

On the occasion of the World Championships, the WRF launched its TALENT IDENTIFICATION PROGRAMME (TIP), by involving an international team composed of athletes coming from different developing countries (Croatia, Chile, Czech Republic).

Did you miss the live streaming on Planet Canoe? Check it out here

Slalom

 

RX - Knock out phase

 

A special thanks to: the town of Villeneuve, the department for tourism, sport, commerce and transports of the Regione Autonoma Valle d’Aosta, the Valle d’Aosta regional council, the International Canoe Federation (I.C.F.), the World Rafting Federation (W.R.F.), the Italian Rafting Federation (F.I.Raft), Piemonte and Valle d’Aosta Italian National Olympic Committee (CONI), Rafting Aventure in Villeneuve and Ivrea canoa club.

 

Supporters of the event are Albino Armani and Enervit. Albino Armani is a big fan of paddle sport and motorbike. Together with his winery, he has been encouraging for a long time many sports initiatives of international relevance.

At the Ivrea World Champs the energy was supplied by Red Bull. 

 

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