2015 ICF World Championships Slalom
 
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2
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K1M
CZ J. PRSKAVEC
PL M. POLACZYK
US M. SMOLEN
K1W
CZ K. KUDEJOVA
DE R. FUNK
DE M. PFEIFER
C1M
GB D. FLORENCE
SI B. SAVSEK
GB R. WESTLEY
C1W
AU J. FOX
CZ K. HOSKOVA
ES N. VILARRUBLA
C2
DE ANTON/BENZIEN
FR PICCO/BISO
FR KLAUSS/PECHE

Dragon Boat Racing

Top Dragon Boat teams in Milan for World Championships

dragon boat racing world championships milan italy 2012 icf sportscene

For the first time in the history of Dragon Boat, Milan, Italy will host the ICF Dragon Boat World Championships. This edition of the Championships will be hosted by Milan’s Idroscalo Club which is one of the most prestigious clubs in Italy.

The Idroscalo Club is internationally renowned, and is the largest dragon boat club in the world.  The event which begins tomorrow (Thursday) August 30th and lasts until September 2nd will see as many as 1,800 athletes from 25 countries compete at the biggest Dragon Boat competition in the world.

The Dragon Boat World Championships event promises to be very competitive, drawing the very best dragon boaters from all over the world including top Dragon Boat teams from the Philippines, Canada, Hungary and Germany.

“If the conditions are right, our Men’s and Mixed Crews in the 10-man and 20-man 200 and 500-meter distances have a good chance of bringing home a medal, possibly even gold,” said Assistant National Coach Arnold Laureano of the Philippine Canoe-Kayak Federation.

Because of our height and size, our rowers are traditionally in the short distances. After more than a month of intense training, we are not in the tapering off.

The Philippines team will be one of the most experienced team particularly since it is the same one that captured silver medals in the 200 and 500-meter distances and a bronze in the 3,000-meter race at the Asian Beach Games held in Haiyang, China last June. It is also the team that won a gold and silver medal at the Indonesia SEA Games.

dragon boat racing world championships milan italy 2012 icf sportsceneTitles will be awarded in the following categories: Junior (15 - 18 years) - Senior (+ 18 years) and Master (+ 40 years), both men and women. Furthermore, to promote gender equality in Canoeing, there will also be Mixed Crews, with at least 8 women in the crews of 20 and 4 women in crews of 10.

Alongside the Championships a “Dragon Boat World Festival“for Clubs will be held, focusing on other Canoeing disciplines to include Dragon Boat races of the crews of campus clubs, crews of employees of universities, physical disability, "Women in Pink" - Breast Cancer Survivors - and other types of traditional boats from the Hawaiian Islands, Oceania and South Africa seas, races for Surfski and Stand Up Paddling, founded in Waikiki birth place of the famous surf tables.
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Particular consideration will be given to Paracanoeing, showcasing the brave Women who have undergone surgery for breast cancer and are now trying to be back with a regular life. This programme is being carried out to draw attention to the club’s global commitment to providing quality sporting opportunities for communities with physical disabilities.

Dragon Boat sets itself apart from the other Canoeing disciplines and other competitive sports because it is fun and exciting and there is an existing structure in place to enable a recreational paddler to cross over to an elite paddler, no matter the paddler’s skill level or age.

Four days of excitement are planned surrounding the event and sport enthusiasts and the general public are invited to come and cheer on the athletes and join in the fun.

The Idroscalo Club has hosted many successful canoeing events including the 1999 ICF World Championships, 2001 & 2008 Canoe Sprint European Championships and most recently the 2010 ICF Polo World Championships in 2010. The Club is also the venue of the 2016 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships where paddlers from all over the world will try to qualify for the next Olympic Games -  Rio 2016.

Four days of excitement are planned surrounding the event and sport enthusiasts and the general public are invited to come and cheer on the athletes and join in the fun.

For more information on the 2012 ICF Dragon Boat Championships visit: www.idroscaloclub.org/dragon/index.html.