Canoe / Kayak

Canoe / Kayak

Canoeing is a recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.

Kayaking is use of a kayak for moving across water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a boat where the paddler faces forward, legs in front, using a double-bladed paddle. Most kayaks have closed decks.

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Age categories

The age categories differ per competition format, see below:

Canoe Slalom, Sprint, Marathon and Ocean Racing: 35+, 40+, 45+, 50+, 55+, 60+, 65+, 70+
The age of the youngest paddler in a boat will determine the age category.

Canoe Polo: 30+ and 45+

A Grade – Competitive: will be comprised of two divisions – men and women.
B Grade – Recreational: will be one open division, ie. teams can be men’s, women’s or a combination (in any male/female ratio) and will play against each other.
The age of the youngest competitor in the team will determine the team’s age category.

Dragon Boat: 40+ (Masters), 50+ (Grand Masters), 60+ (Great Grand Dragon)

For all events, the age category you will compete in for Canoeing will be determined as at 31 December of the year of the event. For example, if you are 44 during Games time but have turned 45 by 31 December, you would compete in the 45+ age category.

Events and disciplines

Canoe Polo
Canoe Sprint, Marathon, Ocean Racing – K1, K2, K4, C1, C2 – 200m, 500m, 1000m, 2000m
Canoe Slalom – K1, C1, C2
Dragon Boating – 200m, 500m, 2000m

“World Masters Sport doesn’t allow building new venues and encourages the host cities to use existing facilities to keep the costs lower. Therefore, all sport information is subject to changes depending on the venues available.”

Athlete Comments & Reviews

“My friends just joined in and came as well!”

“I wanted to get back into that competitiveness and that competition arena and so someone shared about these Masters Games and so I looked into it and I thought that looks really lovely, I would like to try it and I joked around with some past friends and said: I think I’m going to do this Masters Games thing and they were like we’ll get into it too!”

“These Games are for everyone!”

“There’s a lot of positives to play these tournaments and as I said before it’s more about participation, it’s about the vibe, just enjoying playing sport, regardless of the standard. There is something there for everyone. Everyone can join in.”

“I do many sports so I can choose what my body is capable of”

“You have to keep moving, I had a new start after my new hips at 60-61 so I’ve got another 15 years at least hopefully. Luckily I do a lot of sailing as well, and swimming. So there are other sports if I can’t play tennis any longer but I love to keep going for as long as possible.”

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