WRF has launched its Training Programme for Raft Guide & Coaches. The Programme is the result of the WRF Commission’s work started in Kosovo during the week of WRF World Cup in Zubin Potok (from 22nd to 24th June 2018). On that occasion members of the national federations had the first workshop about the competence's fields of a worldwide training programme for river guide and coach: safety, techniques, knowledges about environment and coaching.

The aim of the Training Programme is to implement a federal worldwide system based on the competences and knowledges of different levels of guides and coaches. It is a tool to facilitate young people's access to the labour market and to implement the dual career goal for paddle athletes. According to the WRF philosophy the target is to improve the international mobility: following the water flow on the other side of the planet, because of rafting's seasonality, guides can work and promote the paddle sport in different continents in the same year.

Christian Huenchuleo (President of the Chilean Federation), Xavier Postiaux (Belgian experienced rafting and canoe instructor) and Andrea Gatti (Vice-President of the Italian Federation), representing their own federations and according to the others, shared their river experiences in the agonistic and guide's world.

"Taking part to this project is extremely important for Chile: I am very happy about this collaboration with a selected group of professional technicians and honored to transmit my own knowledge about rafting, developed during years of river life. The Chilean Federation wants to help in this movement that will professionalize this amazing discipline day by day. Working in line with the World Rafting Federation is essential for us, in order to develop the agonistic sport in our country and to facilitate the formation of qualified coaches and guides who can work abroad." said Christian Huenchuleo.

"When the president Danilo Barmaz proposed to me to take part in this working group I was immediately excited. - Xavier Postiaux said - I had the opportunity to work with passionate and competent colleagues and I hope that this document will be a reference for the WRF members, not only because of its nature but also because of the ideals behind the project: an international development of this sport, a common professionalization and also new possible opportunities for an international mobility. Step by step growing and performing!"

Andrea Gatti, event manager of the WRC 2018 in Italy, introduces the Training Programme: "For this project I had the pleasure of sharing my experience of more than twenty years in the Italian Federation with my colleagues and friends of the other federations.
The WRF training programme is a document that sets the common skills required by the

guides and coaches's formation of the federations associated with the WRF. We shared our river experiences and knowledges in both the agonistic and commercial worlds and created this document in the clearst way we could. In the programme the skills required by guides and coaches are described with the progression of the different levels of formation. Agonism and commercial/touristic rafting are faced in parallel, with their different technical and pratical features. Every national federation is autonomous in the decision of timing and methods to led their athletes to reach the skills required, approved by WRF members. This common line (sharing levels, competences and knowledges) guarantees the international exchange and comparison of experiences and resources and also evens and improves the wolrdwide formation's quality. It is not a static and definitive document, but a platform that will be updated, completed and perfected as every training requires."

11/08/2018, Rize, Turkey - Before the Turkish Super League's football match Çaykur Rizespor VS Kasimpaşa the President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had a meeting with the WRF Vice President and President of the Turkish Rafting Federation, Mr Fikret Yardimci, other members of the National Board and some national athletes.

The president Erdoğan was born in Istanbul in 1954 but his family is from Rize so he often visits the city. Fırtına Deresi is the big river that crosses Rize and many national athletes live and train here, between green valleys, white water and the Black Sea; so on 11th August Rize's rafters and members of the Rafting Federation met him and talked to him about the new born Turkish Federation that is now indipendent, developing and growing up.

Last year the Turkey Team had big international results: the U19 men team, took the gold at the European Championship in Borjomi (Georgia) in May and conquered the title of World Champion in Miyoshi (Japan), last October. Last April Dalaman hosted the first national race opened to international teams, so it was an important meeting for the WRF: members from eleven countries were there and met the local Governator. After the national's selections in Tunceli (one month later) the team Turkey joined the WRF Wolrd Championships 2018. 10 members of the Turkish board and 25 athletes flew to Italy and paddled waving proudly their red flag.

Erdoğan was amazed by the international results and the passion that animates young teams through hard trainings and sacrifices, so after this first short meeting he invited them to a official meeting in Ankara.

In September the Rafting crew will be received in the Presidental Palace and they will discuss about new rules of rafting, WRF activities and the Olympic project.

U23 & JUNIOR WORLD RAFTING CHAMPIONSHIPS 2018: AN INCREDIBLE FIGHT TO CONQUER THE WORLD TITLES

Villeneuve and Ivrea has hosted 40 teams competing in the 3 World Rafting Federation disciplines: downriver, slalom and RX, on the Dora Baltea river. Many surprises in the italian Valle d'Aosta and Piemonte regions led the
young athletes tuned not only about the results.

26th July 2018 - Athletes from 13 nations will remember this WRF Event thanks to the withewater, the adrenaline of the competition and to the international feeling of sharing a passion. This event confirmed the WRF intention to focus on young athletes, working to see them at the Olympics in the future.

After the first two traditional races of Downriver and Slalom the last one was a new spectacular discipline called RX, officially born in order to impress the public. It is composed by 2 parts: the first one is a qualification phase who's times will decide the starting position of the second knock out phase, where the couples fight in a direct elimination. It has been a race full of surprises.

Mix teams
The 2018 WRF's innovation are the mix teams: only in the new entry category RX there are 2 boys and 2 girls on the raft, creating an innovative perspective of team. The U19 mix has

been conquered by the Italian hosts, after them Czech Republic and Turkey. Same nations took the u23 podium, but 1st Turkey, 2nd Italy and 3rd Czech.

Italian hosts won 3 golds in the general ranking. The 4th and last one was taken by the Czech u 23 women team, that beated Italy and Russia with an amazing show of team spirit.

World Rafting Spirit - International teams made by Armenia, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Albania and Serbia closed the races under the flag of wrf, that is working on the Olympic project and hopes to see some of this amazing guys in the future Games.

On the occasion of the World Championships, the WRF launched its TALENT IDENTIFICATION PROGRAMME (TIP) (/documents/rules/wrf-rafting-development- programme-draft/viewdocument), by involving an international team composed of athletes coming from different developing countries (Croatia, Chile, Czech Republic).

Did you miss the live streaming on Planet Canoe? Check it out here

The capital of Ukraine is ready to host the event of the next week: Pre World

Rafting Championship. It is a test event: for the first time, as a WRF's initiative, international athletes will meet and compete in this water sport.

On 4th October rafters, coaches, technicians and presidents from six selected nations will arrive to Kiev: Armenia, Belarus, Italy, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine. On the next day the venue will be open for the official trainings and races will be on 6th and 7th, at 10 a.m.. The event, managed by the WRF member Bakanychev Olexandr, is open to the senior category and men, women and mix teams.

The Ukraine team will paddle with a special athlete who is also a member of the Ukraine federation: Kornienko Oleksandr. He is a new entry in the Pararafting team, but the paddle sport is his last challenge: we saw him at the Paralimpic Games in Russia 4 years ago, Sochi 2014, when he took the 8th place in cross country ski and the 6th place in biathlon. He will paddle with 3 other athletes (R4 teams only) at the Yacht Club "Fregat": there will be not only races and ceremonies but also meetings in order to test and approve the WRF rules, discussed in the last months and especially 2 weeks ago by the Belarus president, Aleksandr Skakun, who has been to Kiev and tested the venue.

It is the beginning of a long-term project and everything is ready to start.

KIEV, UKRAINE - The WRF Pararafting Commission chaired by Mr. Oleksandr Bakanychev

has published the sport categories for Para Rafting competitions; according to the

The second race of these World Championships is over. Today, in Ivrea, the athletes performed in the Slalom race discipline on the Dora Baltea River. 25 teams tested the water that comes from the Mont Blanc.

Yesterday, after the opening ceremony of the World Championships, the teams and the coaches were given a free hour to study the river before going back to the camp in Villeneuve (AO).

Besides memorizing the course of the river very carefully, this morning the athletes had the chance to train before the Slalom race. All the athletes said they had fun and felt a lot of adrenaline thanks to the amazing strength of the river and its rapids.

The gate number nine was probably the hardest one of the course. It was the most technical part that challenged all the athletes. In fact, some rafts got stucked and they were kept in the hole because of the centrifugal force, and were forced to come out of the water.

The teams go back to the camp in Villeneuve in order to rest and get ready for the last day of races.

Less than 1 month to one of the most important events of the South America: 23 days left until the National Championship in Chile!

Pucòn will host the biggest exponents of this extreme sport, fans and athletes from all the nation and the whitewater of Rio Trancura is waiting for their paddles. The city, 21 thousands inhabitants, is a tourist attraction, a famous ski resort and lies on the east shore of the Villarica

Lake, that is the mouth of the river Rio Trancura, located in La Araucanìa region, through National Parks, woods and volcanic scenarios.

After months of work from the Chilean Federation and the local Raft Guides Association in order to organize a memorable festival everything and everyone are ready: from 26th to 29th of September women, men and the new mixed teams introduced by the WRF, of every category (U23, open and master) will compete in the four disciplines (in R4 teams): sprint, head to head, slalom and downriver. The rafters will compete to conquer the title of National Champions, so they will have the honor of representing their country all around the world in the next international races and rafting events.

This rafting Championship is going to be a big whitewater fest, but there will be much more than rafts and paddles: entrepreneurs fairs, sport workshops, ceremonies and live music will accompany the festival.

And it won't be only about the competition: adrenaline is about rafting in general, whitewater, sharing moments, laughs, waterfalls and rapids: on 28th of September there will be "Rafting por la discapacidad". At midday every person with disability will have the opportunity to try the river experience, paddling accompanied by the guides for free, because it's not only a National Championship and rafting is for everyone!

As Christian Huenchuleo (President of Chilean Rafting Federation) and Alvaro Bueno Abud (Secretary General of National Rafting Guide Association) say: No te quedes fuera de esta gran fiesta!

After the World Rafting Championship settled in Italy from 21st to 24th of July the President of the Armenian Rafting Federation and the Rafting.am club met Mr. Levon
Vahradyan, Minister of Sport and Youth Affairs.

During the meeting, in the capital Yerevan, Mr. Seto Zakaryan, President of the Armenian Rafting Federation, reported to Mr. Vahradyan the Italian experience of their athletes in Villeneuve and Ivrea. Rafting in Armenia is growing up under the World Rafting Federation, indeed after their National Championship on 11th August and the International Rafting Fest of the next weekend (18th and 19th August) they will discuss the opportunity of organizing a WRF event next year.

This morning competition was a bit hard because of the river condition. For this reason and the strength of the water, some athletes got to the end of the course exhausted. But Italians were stronger.

Check out the results on the results page //

After this first event, the opening ceremony of this World Championship was celebrated in Ivrea, where the RX and the Slalom competitions are going to take place in the next days.

Danilo Barmaz, the president of the World Rafting Federation, during his speech encouraged all the athletes to perform well and to have fun. Danilo Barmaz: “This is an historical day for Rafting”.