PARACANOE

At international level, all Paracanoe races are individual events and compete at a distance of 200 metres on flat water courses.

Races are contested by two types of boat, kayak (K) and va'a (V).



The kayak is propelled by a double-blade paddle, while the va'a is an outrigger canoe which has an ama (second pontoon) as a support float and is used with a single-blade paddle.

Both kayak and va'a have three different classes of events for men and women, depending on the classification of an athlete's impairment, with KL1, KL2 and KL3 for kayak and VL1, VL2 and VL3 for va'a.

• KL1 - Athletes with no or very limited trunk foundation and typically need a specific seat with a high back rest in the kayak
• VL1 - Athletes with no or extremely limited trunk function and no function in the legs. Athletes in this category will need a seat which has high back and lateral support
• KL2 - Athletes with partial trunk or leg function, able to sit upright in the kayak but may require a specific backrest. Limited leg movement during paddling.
• VL2 - Athletes are given a score on their trunk and leg function. This class is for athletes who score lower on the trunk function but have a higher leg function score, or vice versa.
• KL3 - Athletes with trunk function and partial leg function. Able to sit with trunk in a forward flexed position and able to use at least one leg/prosthesis
• VL3 - Athletes with full dynamic trunk function or almost full full dynamic trunk function and partial leg function.