October 22nd the Teva Pre Worlds rafting officially started for the 54 teams that are competing in R4 races at the Dutch Water Dreams, Zoetermeer, Netherlands. Teams will experience fast moving, and an edgy course that is set up by the Dutch Rafting Federation President Pieter Bekkers. Many teams will end up taking a close look at the bottom of the course when their rafts flipped. Safety is present and will do a great job making sure no one will get injured.
For more information about the Pre Worlds click the Pre Worlds 2009 page, and for results and race reports to the News page.
Dutch Water Dreams will host 2 white water rafting events in 2009 and 2010. The IRF World Rafting Championships 2010 will take place from 13 until 19 July 2010 on the artificial course of Dutch Water Dreams in Zoetermeer (Netherlands). The first artificial WRC will be an R4 event (4-man rafts).
The Pre-Event will be held on the same spot during 22 to 25 October 2009.
Paddling a river raft may not look hard as it looks since you might have seen numerous people do it in real life or in television. However, this type of activity can also be pretty challenging especially if you are used to doing things by yourself. Paddling involves both skill and the ability to work with others as a team. We will discuss more of it as we go along with this article.
But first, let us show you how to paddle your raft correctly. Below are some tips on how to do it:
Paddlers should be spread evenly on both sides of the raft.
The paddlers’ inside hand (the hand which is on the side of the boat) is the one that grips the top of the paddle. The outside hand (the one that’s on the side of the river) holds the stem of the paddle.
To move the raft forward, the paddlers make a digging motion. This is done by making left hand pull the stem of the paddle towards the aft or the rear end of the raft. The right hand at the same time pushes the top end of the paddle away from him or her. The opposite is done when making the raft move backward.
To move to the right, paddlers on the right paddle backwards while those on the left do the forward paddle. The opposite is done when moving the raft to left.
Sounds easy doesn’t it? Yes, but paddling is a team effort and that’s where things get a bit tricky. To make sure that things coordinated and that the paddlers of each side of the raft are paddling at their proper directions, the team chooses a leader to guide the rest of the team. He or she is usually the most experienced rafter of the group. It is each paddler’s duty to listen to the leader’s instructions.
Now that you have a better idea of how paddling a river raft is done, it’s time to practice it in a real world setting. Bring your friends along to ensure a fun Rafting experience. But don’t forget to include someone who’s experienced enough to be your leader! Have a great time and stay safe!
There are two way universal systems used by rafters to classify the difficulty and intensity of rapids. The most popular system is the International Scale of River Difficulty which grades rapids from scale I to VI. In the south western of America, another system known as Deseret Scale of Grand Canyon System, is sometimes used.This system rates rapid from 1 to 10.
Unfortunately, neither systems is perfect. Rapids change constantly and are effected by water level fluctuations and shift s in river bed. Rafters might rate rapids differently depending on their attitudes or skill levels. Rapids that used to be class VI (extreme) has been downscaled to class V after many successful descent. So river classifications are little more than a starting point for finding out about any river. You should gather as many additional information about rapids as you can.
Please keep bare in mind about this matter :
River difficulty may change each year due to fluctuations in water level, downed trees, geological disurbances or bad weather. Stay alert for unexpected problems. As river difficulty increases, the danger to paddlers more severe. As rapids become longer and more continuous, the challenge increases. Please keep a margin of safety between skills and river ratings when the water is cool or if the river itself is remote and inaccessible.
Please rely on your own skills and judgement and don’t let any system tell u what u can or can’t do.
For the ultimate, immersive Malaysian whitewater/equatorial rainforest/camping experience, we offer the 3 Day, 2 night Sg. Singor whitewater expedition. Sg Singor, on the Perak-Kelantan border, is a whitewater river that flow through the mostly virgin rainforest of the Belum rainforest ecosystem.
Whitewater rafting continues to grow in popularity. Like so many outdoor activities, people tend to forget that whitewater rafting necessarily entails an element of risk due to the elements of nature. In fact, some might point out that because of the inherent thrill seeking element of whitewater rafting, the sport includes a greater-than-average risk factor.
Whitewater rafting outfitters all over the world have their own unique risks in the trips that they provide. These can range from the easily treatable (someone catches sick on a trip) to the incredibly and exotically dangerous (a rogue hippo attacking rafters on the Zambezi in Zimbabwe). There are several dangers that are involved in all whitewater expeditions, however, no matter how short or how long, or where you are in the world. Here are some tips when it comes to making sure that your expedition is as successful and safe as possible. Read More..
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