The International Canoe Federation (https://www.CanoeICF.com/) and the Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa (ANOCA) on Thursday signed an agreement that will pave the way for the future development of canoeing on the continent.
ANOCA President Mustapha Berraf and ICF President Thomas Konietzko signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the Algerian capital, Algiers, to work together to make canoe and paracanoe sports more accessible to participants from all over Africa.
The joint partnership will focus not only on increasing performance levels across all canoeing and paracanoeing disciplines, but also on expanding the scope of recreational paddling.
The agreement included the launch of an ICF-funded pilot project to help develop sustainable structures in national federations in Africa that will allow talented athletes to reach their full potential.
The project focuses on training local coaches and officials and supporting local club activities to get new kids into paddling.
A continental manager will be appointed to provide assistance in close coordination with the national federations as a project partner. The manager will focus on two national associations for six months at a time, with the Egyptian Canoe Federation and the Nigerian Canoe Federation announced as the first partners.
The partnership will also focus on preparations for the 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, with the aim of qualifying as many representatives from African countries as possible. Special camps will be organized to prepare young athletes for the YOG and the specialized format.
“Today marks an important milestone in the global growth of our wonderful sport,” said President Konietzko.
“We know there is a lot of excitement all over Africa for paddle sports, but so far it has sometimes been difficult to provide the resources needed to help canoeing grow. I commend ANOCA for its vision and support for this very important undertaking.
“Our dream is to very soon not only have more African medalists in all of our canoeing disciplines, but also to see Africans taking up paddle sports as a recreational activity.”
The ICF will introduce a scholarship program for canoe-kayak athletes, offer special offers for coach education and aim to establish canoe-kayak centers in selected African countries.
Under the umbrella of the All Life programme, the parties have agreed to promote the sport of paddle sport to as many people as possible in Africa while promoting the values attached to physical activity.
The two partners will also endeavor to identify local companies capable of producing canoe boats.
In order to establish a stable African competition system, the ICF will help to continue to organize regular continental championships in as many canoeing disciplines as possible. The two partners have agreed that in addition to the 22 Speed African Championships in Tunis, a first African SUP Championship will be held in Tunisia in November.
The ICF and its partner Starboard will provide 50 boards, which will be donated to participating nations after the competition to further develop the SUP sport in Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of the International Canoe Federation.
Media/Photo:
High resolution photos will be available upon request. For more information and photos, please contact the official ICF photographer: [email protected] or visit canoephotography.com
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About the International Canoe Federation:
The International Canoe Federation is responsible for the worldwide sport of canoeing and has 167 affiliated national associations and 13 disciplines – Sprint, Slalom, Paracanoe, Wildwater, Marathon, Canoe Polo, Freestyle, Ocean Racing, Dragon Boat, SUP, Rafting, WaveSki and Canoe Sail.
Canoeing has two Olympic disciplines, with sprint introduced at the Berlin Olympics in 1936 and slalom at the Munich Olympics in 1972; Canoeing also made its debut at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games with Paracanoe.
To learn more about the International Canoe Federation, visit https://www.CanoeICF.com/.
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