Since 1996 at the IVF World Sprints in Noumea (New Caledonia), teams from Italy, Hawaii and California had adaptive paddlers within their able-bodied crews, although there were no official adaptive paddling classes. Over the years adaptive paddlers became integral part of the IVF World Sprints

Para Va’a (or Adaptive Paddling) has been included in IVF World Sprints Championships since 2004. Originally as demonstration discipline (2004 as V12 and 2006 as V1 and V6 events), it has become a fully recognized and classified discipline in 2008 at the World Sprints in Sacramento (USA).

Being a Standing Committee of the IVF, the Adaptive Paddler Committee continuously develops, evaluates and refines criteria for the promotion of adaptive va’a paddling around the world and its integration in IVF events at world level. It further collects and disseminates information on training methods and hazards of the sport.

IVF has been working very hard over the past years to develop and promote Para Va’a which has encountered a considerable success. One of the main goals of the IVF is, among others, to bring Para Va’a to the Paralympics (as Para Canoeing Discipline).  In 2009, together with the International Canoe Federation (ICF), IVF has started an initiative and formed a Para Va’a Working Committee composed of IVF and ICF representatives in order to work towards that goal.

IVF is closely working with surgeons and physiotherapists to develop the ideal adaptive paddling canoe. In fact, the IVF va’a is concurrently narrow and stable. The paddling action is near vertical and close to the body and the support seats and torso belts that IVF is continuously developing give even better support to the spine.

Over the years, IVF has developed a sound functional classification system and operates this at World Championship level. In a drive to provide its athletes with the best system possible, research funding is being arranged in London for continued research in a university in England and in New York and a collaborative, three-year PhD study is being mounted by the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Hawai’i.

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 Please find below a short movie on the history and development of Para Va’a: