International Rafting Federation (IRF)

Drug testing to be done at 2013 WRCs in NZ!

IRF admin — Fri, 24 May 2013 07:37:16 +0000

Why do we need to introduce doping tests in the IRF? The answer is simple. Because we want to send a signal to the rest of the sports world that we take our sport seriously and so will prevent the use of doping and so see the sport of rafting become more professional and to take the sport to an even higher level.

Over the last 7-8 years we have seen an increase in the level of competition amongst the top 10 teams. The fight to be number one in the major international competitions has become more intense and more teams are presenting themselves in the fight for podium places. This is good!

Unfortunately, the down side of the above, is that in many sports there is an increasing number of athletes doping. How much it is done in rafting we do not know, but as the competition becomes more aggressive and the sport becomes more professional, this will lead to the increased use of doping among the athletes.

Introducing doping tests in the IRF is one of the steps that has to be taken to make the sport more professional and is the first step in the IRF’s application to the Sport Accord, previously known as GAISF (General Association of International Sports Federations). And joining the Sport Accord is the first step to becoming an Olympic sport.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW!

First thing is that athletes and coaches need to know what they must avoid.

WADA Prohibited Substances and Methods List 2013 in English - this is a list of what you must not take and what you must not do!

WADA Prohibited Substances and Methods List 2012 in English, French, Norwegian and Japanese. This website has more information and a different layout for this list. There is a translate button in the top right hand corner for French, Spanish, Norwegian and Japanese.

WHAT HAPPENS IF I HAVE TO TAKE MEDICATION FOR SOMETHING LEGITIMATE?

Therapeutic-Use-Exemptions (TUEs) – questions and answers. If the medication an athlete is required to take to treat an illness or condition happens to fall under the Prohibited List, a Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) may give that athlete the authorization to take the needed medicine.

Want to know more about how the tests are done?

Keep an eye on the IRF’s doping page for updates and links.

Sunny day on the Nisava for the Euro Cup

IRF admin — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:33:31 +0000

The Euro Cup 2013 Nis on the Nisava River was spoilt with two amazingly sunny days in what is often a cloudy and rainy Serbia. This is one of the few competitions where there is no entry fee required. This year we saw 4 countries and a total of 21 men’s teams and 8 women’s teams participating. Also, in this same contest, the University rafting competition was held for a second time.

The competition began with Slalom.

The course was perfectly set up and not easy for the beginners. And while several of them had worse second runs, some managed to improve from their first run. RK “Dayak” from Banja Luka, in the men’s category, lived up to the title of favourites and without a penalty in either run finished in first place. Behind them were the boys from KES “Vir”, Pancevo, Serbia, who received no penalty in the first run, but had a slightly slower time. Third was RT “Liman” from Zemun, Serbia, who received no penalties in the first run, but also had a slower time. There were no major surprises and the teams with more experience took the better positions.

In the women’s category the best was RT “Adventure Net” from Bulgaria, who received no penalty points in both runs (not surprisingly). Following them was “Reflip” girls, also from Bulgaria, and third place was RK “Kanjon” from Banja Luka, BiH, who in their second run showed what they can do, but not quite enough for a better placement.

The full Slalom results.

While the gates were being removed, the teams took some rest, and then it was time for the Sprint in which there were some surprises, especially amongst the teams from Serbia.

Again, the RK “Dajak” from Bosnia, justifying their position of favourites, won and were followed by the men’s team from RK “Adventure Net” from Bulgaria and third was KES “Vir”, of Serbia. The surprise amongst the Serbian teams was “Drinska Regata” who took second place at the national level.

The women’s category saw “Adventure Net” take first again, with RK “Kanjon”, Banja Luka in second place and “Reflip” Bulgaria in third.

The full Sprint results.

So now that the Sprint was done we had the ordered pairs for the H2H. The first round passed without any major surprises and favourites moved into the second round.

Winners of the men’s category targeted a great race line each time even if they were in a worse starting lane. They told me they selected a line and followed it every time. Maybe that brought them luck, we do not know, but first place was theirs against Adventure Net. The guys from “Drinska Regata” had a good result in the sprint and placed fourth after losing out to RK “Dajak” who placed third.

In the women’s category the battle for third place was exciting as RK “Kanjon” took the lead but the water dragged them to the right and team “Reflip” grabbed the opportunity to overtake and take third place. KK “Nikola Tesla” Zemun 1 had a surprise win in the semi-final and found themselves in the final against “Adventure Net” who were just too good for them.

The full H2H results.

These three events saw the completion of the first day. There were no flips and just one swimmer not far from the raft, but best of all was the beautiful sunny weather during the day.

On the second day was the Downriver. Another sunny day to make everyone feel good and to entice smiles onto faces.

There was scope in the men’s competition for the order to change, but since there were no surprises, RK “Dajak” from Banja Luka took the first place and kept first overall. Teams started the run at one minute intervals. KES “Vir” from Pancevo were behind them but despite having the “rabbit” to chase they did not catch them. “Adventure Net” from Bulgaria took the third place.

“Adventure Net” from Bulgaria won convincingly in the women’s section, with two minutes ahead of 2nd place. The experienced girls from Banja Luka – RK “Kanjon”, took second place ahead of the young team from Bulgaria – “Reflip”.

Overall saw RK “Dajak” from Banja Luka with the gold, KES “Vir” with silver, and the team “Adventure Net” with bronze for Bulgaria.

In the women’s section taking gold with full points of 1,000 was “Adventure Net”. The girls from Banja Luka RK “Kanjon” went home with the silver, and Bulgaria got another bronze for “Reflip”.

The Second University competition in Serbia ended with the gold overall for the “FSFV BG 1″ in the men’s competition, the silver went to the “Sumarski Fakultet” BG, which is a great feat for “Sumare” which is between two college sports teams, and bronze for “FSFV BG 5″.

In the women students section “FSFV BG 1″ took the gold, “FSFV BG 2″ silver and bronze for “Vojna Akademija 1″.

Congratulations to all the participants, especially the winners. Special greetings to participants of the University competitions.

Overall Results

Results for University

Video

Photos

Article by Nada

Upcoming IRF activities

IRF admin — Mon, 06 May 2013 08:28:08 +0000

May and June are busy months on both the racing and guide certification calendars. Here is the line up so you can plan ahead.

This coming weekend (10 – 12) is the Euro Cup - Nišava (Niš), Serbia, the British Series on the River Derwent and the Slovakian Series on the River Hron.

The following weekend (17 – 19) is the Euro Cup in Durance, France and the Upper Clackamas WW Festival in Oregon, USA.

The final weekend in May (24 – 26) sees the BVS/ Slovakian Euro Cup on the Čunovo, the Costa Rican Nationals in Sarapiqui and a one day race of the Finish Series – Laukaa.

In June we have:

1 – 2, Czech Series (Sla,Spr), Vltava, Troja, Czech
7 – 9, Euro Cup - Trnavka, Czech Rep
7 – 9, Euro Cup – Vrbas, Bosnia and Herzegovina
8 – 9, Italian Rafting Cup #3, Avisio, Italy
8, Finish Series - Muonio, Finland
10 – 12, Canadian R4 Champs, Ottawa, Canada
14 – 15, Euro Cup- Rovaniemi/ Tornio, Finland
21 – 22, USRA Nationals, Royal Gorge Festival, Arkansas River, Colorado, USA
22 – 23, Euro Cup -Struma, Bulgaria
25 – 26, Voss, Norway

Guide Certifications/ Courses coming up are:

5 – 11 May: Training and certification Course (Class 3 river), Melen River, Turkey. In English and Turkish. Contact Vedat.
14 – 16 May: Guide – Trip Leader Workshop; San Luis Potosí, México; Details
20 – 23 May: Guide, Trip Leader, Instructor Course. Durance – Ubaye, France. Details
22 – 24. May: IRF Certification Workshop Canada – Ottawa/Petawawa River. Contact Jim Coffey
27 – 29. May: IRF Certification Workshop Canada – RougeRiver. Contact Jim Coffey
1 – 5 June. Guide Class 4/5 Course and Assessment. Çoruh River in Turkey. Contact Vedat

Info letter 3 for the 2013 WRC

IRF admin — Fri, 03 May 2013 06:50:07 +0000

The 3rd newsletter with important information for the 2013 World Rafting Championships in NZ in November.

If you haven’t already completed the Online Survey with your team’s intentions it would be greatly appreciated if you would do so as soon as possible. This will assist with Event Planning. Details and link are also in the newsletter.

Stop the damming of the Zambezi – URGENT!

IRF admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 08:30:32 +0000

Have you ever been down the Zambezi? Do you want to go for the first time or go again? TIME FOR ACTION THEN!

They have started building roads on either side of where they will be building the wall! After years and years of the damming being on and then off its now on and VERY soon to be started, before the end of this year!

Before its too late -

sign the petition
keep an eye on updates about this on our website, twitter and facebook pages.
keep an eye on International Rivers Organisation for updates
share the info and wake everyone up before they drown some of the best whitewater in the world!

DON’T LET THEM DO THIS!

Great start to Euro Cup year in Wildapen, Austria

IRF admin — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 07:45:30 +0000

Teams came from far and wide to compete on the Salza River at the annual Austrian International Rafting Championship and Euro Cup event. 11 nations, 10 women’s teams, 23 men’s teams and 5 Austrian teams!

Photo by Ingrid Grossauer

This is one of the most popular events on the racing calendar due to it being central to many teams with easy logistics, being well run and a great R4 river. And for many teams its a perfect location to catch up with friends that were seen either last year or at the last World Champs.

Rafting Team Kula from Croatia came blasting onto the scene with a win in the men’s Sprint, H2H and Downriver and a 2nd in Slalom making a convincing win for them. Mistral from Slovakia did a similar thing in the women’s to secure the overall win. BVS from Slovakia secured a second in the men’s with a win in the Slalom and VET Rock’s of Netherlands secured a third with a 2nd in the Downriver and consistent placing in the rest. Aquomania of Netherlands secured their 2nd place in the women’s with a victory in the Slalom and 2nd in the Downriver and Waterproof 1 of Belgium took 3rd with a consistent placing throughout.

The next Euro Cup event is Nis in Serbia from the 10 – 12 May and then each weekend after that sees another Euro Cup event – Durance, France (17 – 19) and then Čunovo, Slovakia (24 – 26).

There have been numerous other events happening around the world.

In Brasil they had their R4 National Champs choosing their teams that will represent Brasil at the R4 WRCs which are being held in their home country in 2014 (Results, Photos: One,Two).
The first Euro event was the Gumotex, Belgium event where they raced despite incredibly harsh weather! (Results; Photos; Video)
New Zealand held their Youth/ Junior Selections to choose the teams that will compete at the WRCs in November on their home ground (Results; Photos - Sprint; Slalom; DR.)
The Czechs have held two Downriver Races at Jesenný (Results) and Plavy (Results, Photos: One,Two;)
The Dutch held the first in their Open Series of 3 events (Results; Photos; Video: One; Two).
The Euro Cup event in Croatia on the Korana was unfortunately cancelled due to a lack of international teams but local teams took advantage of the great water to still compete and have a fun event (Results; Photos: One; Two.)
Chile held the Lippi Open Rafting where non-professional teams could also race and were given guides (Video: One, Two; Photos; Article).
In Japan the Mitake Cup was held (Results, Photos; Video:Tk1, Tk2, GR1,Gr2,Cl9).

Results, photos and videos can all be seen on the home page of the IRF website (left hand column).

Are your IRF Membership fees up to date?

IRF admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 08:57:03 +0000

Membership fees to the IRF are in two categories – Established Members and Ordinary Members – and each member federation chose which one they wanted at the start of 2012.

Established Members – this fee is $500 per year for 2012 and 2013 and the fee for this year was due by the end of February.

Ordinary Members – this fee is based on a “pay to play” basis so that less active members are not paying huge amounts to be members. The fee structure for this year is:

$200 per Open team that attends the World Rafting Championships.
$100 per Youth, Junior and Masters team that attends the World Rafting Championships.

All fees are to paid by the member federation BEFORE the teams can compete at the WRCs. Contact IRF Admin for more information or an invoice with banking details.

Using throwbags for rescue

IRF admin — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 06:04:53 +0000

Throwbags can be a life line or a hanging noose. NRS Ambassador Jim Coffey of R3 – Rescue for Riverruners, goes through the best techniques for preparing the throw line, throwing it, anchoring yourself and swinging the rescued person in to shore in Episode 4 of their rescue series. And above all – he mentions that practise is essential!

All our Articles on River Safety:

Upcoming activities – Guiding and Races

IRF admin — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 11:00:29 +0000

NEW GT&E ACTIVITIES ADDED:

Mexico - Guide / Trip Leader Workshop: May 14 – 16

Organizer: Huaxteca.com; Place: San Luis Potosí, México. Details

Turkey – Guide Class 4/5 Course and Assessment: 1-5June
This will be on the Çoruh River in Turkey. Contact Vedat for more details

See full schedule for courses and assessments coming up in France and Canada in May.

RACES coming up:

this weekend! 26 – 28 April: Euro Cup Austria
10 – 12: Euro Cup - Nišava (Niš), Serbia
11 – 12: British Series, River Derwent, Matlock, GBR
11: Slovakian Series, River Hron
17 – 19: Euro Cup – Durance, France
18 – 19: Upper Clackamas WW Festival, Oregon, USA
24 – 26: Euro Cup - Čunovo, Slovakia
25: Finish Series – Laukaa, Finland, Link

Finding event details/ results/ photos and guide courses on the IRF website …

IRF admin — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:21:49 +0000

The IRF are always looking for better ways to communicate with its members and fellow paddlers. Here are some of the things we have introduced recently:

Race Results - take a look at the LEFT HAND COLUMN on our website. You will find the latest events with links to results, photos, videos, etc.

Guide course updates and articles can be found on the BLUE MENU BAR just under the banner. Look in the “Non-racing” drop down menu and there you will find Guide courses and Safety articles as well as Tour Rafting and Conservation.

Teams - articles about teams can also be found on the BLUE MENU BAR. Look in the “Racing” drop down menu and there you will see Events, Teams and Race Rules. Events will take you to all articles about events. Race Rules will take you to all articles about the Race Rules.

Twitter Feeds - by using or searching on #irfevents you can tweet about or follow all IRF events. And this twitter feed is continually displayed on our website in the LEFT HAND COLUMN for all to follow.

We are also using #irfwrc for all tweets about the World Champs and this twitter feed can be seen in the RIGHT HAND COLUMN on our website.

Other new features include - translation button and a countdown clock to the 2013 WRC.

So to sum up:

NEWS CATEGORIES on the Blue Menu Bar sorts the news articles out into various options: Events, teams, Race Rules, General, Guide/Safety, Tour Rafting and Conservation.

The LEFT HAND COLUMN features:
- the latest Race results/ photos/ videos
- #irfevents twitter feed

The RIGHT HAND COLUMN features:
- Translation button
- Links to partners
- Quick links to our facebook, twitter, youtube, forum and newsletter sign up form
- Quick links to popular pages like ALL racing and the next WRCs
- Count down button to the 2013 WRCs!
- All IRF twitter feeds
- #irfwrc twitter feeds

And the MIDDLE COLUMN features the latest news posted by us which we share on facebook and twitter!