On 30 August 2021, IRF Honorary President, Rafael Gallo was honoured during the industry dinner at the 2021 Paddle Sports Show in Lyon, France. Risa Shimoda of International Whitewater Hall of Fame (IWHoF) presented the annual inductees for the 2021 year at the show and concluded with a short presentation where Rafael Gallo was honoured.

During her presentation Risa shared some personal words recollecting her friendship and working with Rafa over the years.

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The second World Virtual Youth Festival will be happening in November 2021. Time to get your youth into action! Registration to be done by 30 October latest.

This festival is brought to you by United Through Sport (UTS) which is an alliance of many organisations working together through sports to bring unity and peace to an often-divided world. UTS is an initiative launched in 2019 by the Association of Independent Recognised Sports (AIMS) with its focus being on encouraging youth to become more involved in sports.

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Russian Rafting Cup on the Katun River

The first event to delight on the Katun River was the Russian Rafting Cup which was held from the 26 to the 31 August. The Katun River lies in the Alta region of Russia and the section of the Katun River that was raced upon was from the village of Maly Yaloman to the mouth of the Ursul River. For four days lovers of tough white water battled it out while Altai pampered the participants and spectators with sunny and hot weather.

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Trnávka 2021 European Cup R4 + R6 @ Trnávka Slalom Course, Želiv ����

The second weekend of September closed this year’s Czech raft season. One of the most difficult slalom courses in the world hosted the European Cup and the Czech Chamiponship, with the participation of the top Czech rafting teams and several foreign crews. The last races in slalom, sprint, 3xR4 and downriver took place on Trnávka.

The organisers arranged perfect weather, so the paddlers enjoyed all the sides of this beautiful sport, from the challenging water in the slalom course to the romantic views during the Sunday downriver.

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Advocates from across the globe gathered at the IUCN World Conservation Congress (both in person and remotely) to highlight the precipitous growth of the movement to recognise the rights of rivers and watersheds. The conference also marked the approximate one year anniversary of the formal launch of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Rivers (“Declaration”), a civil society initiative to define the basic rights to which all rivers are entitled. According to its proponents, the Declaration intends to build awareness and serve as a customisable legal model for governments wishing to join the rights of rivers movement.

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The 6th White Water of Siberia international cultural and sports rafting forum has drawn to a successful close. The #RiverFamily has grown with new members from across Europe and Asia. The forum was attended by 26 participants from nine countries: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Serbia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and of course Russia.

During the forum participants had the opportunity to get acquainted not only with the culture of Russia but also with the culture of other countries.

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By Klara Kita, Vjosa Explorer

Vjosa River known since the Illyrian times as “The blue heart of Albania” is not just a river for the people who have been living next to it generation after generation. It is an inseparable part of the environment as well as their everyday lives. Along with Vjosa there is something else that floats in the same way as its water does. It is called “life of the heart”.

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