Flatwater Canoe / Kayak

Flatwater canoe / kayak is an Olympic sport which is competed in many countries, but has been particularly strong in Eastern Europe. At the Olympics, distances covered are 1000m and 500m for males, and 500m for females. In contrast, at World Championships distances include 200m, 500m, 1000m and marathon for both males and females.  Only males paddle the Canoe where they are kneeling and paddle with a single blade either as a single person (C1) or as a double (C2). Kayakers are seated with their legs forward, use a double-bladed paddle, and may compete as a single (K1), double (K2) or four person boat (K4) both for males and females. The Australian Domestic Season runs between December to April and the International season runs May to September.

Elite flatwater paddlers commonly train at least twice a day, 6 days / week.  Training may be on-water (i.e. in the boat), resistance training in the gym (at least 3 sessions / week), or a "fitness" training session (e.g. run or cycle). Energy requirements tend to be fairly high due to the need to maintain a high level of muscularity and the volume and frequency of training and one of the issues that most kayaks face is juggling nutritional requirements around a busy training and work / study schedule. 

Topics essential for paddlers include:

• Fluid needs: maintaining euhydration on dry land and on the water
• Food choices for competition
• Recovery: repair and adaptions post-training and competitions
• Fuelling tips specific for paddlers

Want to find out more? SDA are currently updating the fact sheet for Flatwater canoe & kayak paddlers - it will be online very soon!