WILD-WATER RACING

also called White-water Racing, canoe or kayak racing down swift-flowing, turbulent streams called wild water (often white water in the United States). The sport developed from the riding of rapids in small boats and rafts, a necessary skill for explorers, hunters, and fishermen. Later it became an increasingly popular form of recreation in parts of Europe and the United States. International competition, which dates from 1950, has been dominated by Europeans. Streams are graded for difficulty on a six-point scale, from those that are easily negotiable to those that may be attempted only at the risk of life. Contestants wear crash helmets and life jackets. They leave the starting point at intervals, and the person who covers a three- to eight-kilometre (two- to five-mile) course in the least time is the winner. Although they compete in separate classes, the canoes and kayaks used are quite similardecked over completely except for a hole for the rider, who wraps a plastic spray skirt about his waist to keep out water.