Rules for Whitewater Slalom Racing
In Slalom Racing, paddlers have to navigate the kayak or canoe through pairs of poles, called “gates”, set up over the challenging rapids, waves, eddies and currents on a 300m stretch of rough water. If the paddler touches one of the poles, or misses a gate altogether, penalty times are added to the time achieved by the competitor on that run. They are single kayak (K) events, for men and women, and canoe events, also for men and women, in single (C1) and double boats (C2). There are also team events.
The International Canoe Federation (ICF) is the umbrella organization of all national canoe organizations worldwide. You can find more information about the discipline and rules on their website using the links below.
ICF Canoe Slalom discipline page
ICF Rules for Canoe Slalom page
Judging Whitewater Slalom Races
A number of visual aids exist for judges to familiarize themselves with the implications of some rules. In the heat of the moment and the competition to make team, there is a lot riding on astute observation and timely interpretation.
Brief Summary of Important Rules:(Word)
Judging Preparation for Team Trials May 2009:(Powerpoint)
Penalty Scoring Sheet:(Excel)