2003 World Freestyle Kayak Championships – Report 20, May 25

A Boycott of the worlds by some athletes?

Rumors are going around that there may be a few athletes from some European countries that will boycott the worlds. The reason, I have heard, is because the event is being held in a hole when the organizers promised a wave when they got the bid two years ago. That is a fact, they promised a wave, and we have a hole. What happened? They found out that making a wave requires more skill, engineering, and control over the river than they had at their disposal. So the end result was to attempt to make a wave, but a hole was the result. When did they find out that it was a hole? Less than a month ago when the river came up for the first time from snow melt and there it was. It would have been nice to have a wave, that way we would be alternating between wave and hole. 1999 wave, 2001 hole, 2003 wave. Instead we will have two worlds in a row in a hole. So, certainly these athletes have a complaint worth expressing. Unfortunately, there is nothing the organizers could have done or can do to create a wave at this point. It is a hole and will remain a hole. I would hate to see any athletes miss the opportunity to compete to make a mute point. The IFC has already decided two things.

#1- They will accept no bids from a site that is not already completed.

#2- The next world’s bid will go to the best site with an existing WAVE

These two decisions will prevent this kind of thing from happening again. Will the boycott actually happen? Who will it be? Will it effect the competition? These are questions that can only be answered after the competition. I only worry about any athlete that participates in the boycott, if it actually happens. They are certainly at risk of regretting it and perhaps never having another opportunity to represent their country in a World Championships again.

I will let you know if it happens, and perhaps get the answers to the questions, like who, from where, and why.