The ICF is delighted to announce that the International Paralympic Committee has selected Canoeing as one of the new sports to be added to the 2016 programme in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
After two years of hard campaigning and the resulting rapid advancement of the sport, Paracanoe is now very much on the international sporting agenda and with IPC support, this growth is set to continue.
Making it into the Paralympic programme was the ultimate goal of the ICF's
Canoeing For All Committee who lead the Paracanoe Project. John Edwards, Chair of the Committee stated, “The ICF has pulled off a minor miracle by achieving this result in such a short time. Twenty-eight federations from all Five continents participated in the 2010 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships in Poznan.” The ICF President, Mr José Perurena López thanks the IPC for their decision, stating “This has been a key strategic project of the ICF over the last two years and we are delighted with this result.”
The ICF-led application for inclusion was made in partnership with the International Va’a Federation. It’s President, Mr Charles Villierme stated, “This is a great day for paddlers throughout the world. The collaboration and strong positive working relationship with the ICF has given Va’a paddling a huge boost world-wide”. “We look forward to an even higher number in 2011 in Szeged and beyond. Indeed, we are always moving forward!”