CAN i The BUCS Canoeing Championships shall be conducted in accordance with the following BUCS sport specific regulations, the BUCS general regulations, and the rules of British Canoeing (BC) and the International Canoe Federation (ICF). Further event specific requirements, rules, and regulations will be contained within the entry and pre-event information for each Championship.
CAN ii In the event that these regulations contradict the BUCS general regulations, these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
CAN iii In the event that these regulations contradict the rules and regulations of British Canoeing (BC) or the International Canoe Federation (ICF), these BUCS sport specific regulations will supersede, unless specifically stated otherwise.
CAN 1 Championships BUCS will host annually the following Championships:
CAN 1.1 Canoe Polo Championships The programme shall include the events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
CAN 1.2 Canoe Slalom Championships The programme shall include the events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
CAN 1.3 Canoe Sprint Championships The programme shall include the events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
CAN 1.4 Wild Water Racing Championships The programme shall include the events listed in Appendix 1 (‘BUCS Competition Offer and Associated BUCS Points’), subject to entry numbers.
CAN 2 Canoe Polo Championships
CAN 2.1 All matches will be played in accordance with the regulations laid out by the International Canoe Federation, with UK specific additions by the British Canoeing Canoe Polo Committee unless specifically stated otherwise in these regulations.
CAN 2.2 Tournament format The Men’s and Women’s Championships will be run as a double elimination format. The Old Boys and B-Team leagues will compose of a standard tournament format, with four groups of four, and the top two from each group progressing to the quarter-final stage.
CAN 2.3 Female participation in the Men's Championships A female player can select to play in either the Men’s Championships, or the Women’s Championships, but not both in the same academic year. However, each Men’s Championships squad may only contain a maximum of three females. Up to all three of these females may form part of the nominated team for each match, but only two may be in active play at any one time.
CAN 2.4 Equipment/scrutineering Equipment scrutineering will take place on Friday evening and Saturday morning. Helmets, buoyancy aids, paddles and boats will be inspected and must conform to British Canoeing specifications.
CAN 2.5 Disqualifications
CAN 2.5.1 If a team is over 10 minutes late to a match, they will automatically lose the match 7-0 and it will be scratched.
CAN 2.5.2 If a team is fielding an ineligible player for a match then they will automatically lose the match 7-0 and it will be scratched.
CAN 3 Canoe Slalom Championships
CAN 3.1 Individual events will be decided on the better score from two runs and team events will be decided on one run.
CAN 3.2 Team types There are two categories of teams: Open Teams and Mixed Teams.
CAN 3.2.1 An Open Team can be made of any three boats per team of any gender of person.
CAN 3.2.2 A Mixed Team can be made up of three boats per team and is open to all boats of either gender except Men’s K1.
CAN 3.2.3 An individual competitor may only enter each team event once and if entering both the Open and Mixed Team events must paddle a different boat class in each.
CAN 3.3 Bibs Bibs must be worn at all times during practice and racing. Competitors wearing the wrong numbered bib for the class they are paddling may be disqualified.
CAN 3.4 Equipment All competitors must wear suitable safety equipment and boats/equipment should be in a river worthy condition.
CAN 3.4.1 All boats must be fitted with grab loops at the bow and stern and must contain two air bags.
CAN 3.4.2 All paddlers must wear CE approved buoyancy aids and helmets. Helmets fitted with polo faceguards are not suitable for use on white water.
CAN 3.4.3 Paddlers should wear sufficient warm clothing for the time of year.
CAN 3.4.4 The organisers may conduct spot checks on all equipment and reserve the right to refuse entry or disqualify anyone deemed to have insufficient safety equipment or be unsafe. Boats may be inspected following a swim and paddlers with unsafe boats will have to retire.
CAN 3.5 Scoring The score for each run is the time taken to complete the course. Penalty time is added on for touching or missing gates:
CAN 3.5.1 Touching a gate If a competitor touches a gate a two second penalty will be incurred. Once a gate has been touched with any part of the body or equipment the competitor can keep touching it again and only receive the two second penalty once. However, the two second penalty is increased to 50 seconds if the gate is missed completely:
CAN 3.5.2 Missing a gate A competitor is deemed to have missed a gate and will incur a 50 second penalty if:
- The complete head and some part of the boat do not pass between the poles in the correct direction;
- The gate is negotiated in the wrong direction;
- The head is underwater during gate negotiation (either head in C2);
- They touch a gate numerically further down the course (as opposed to physically downstream).
CAN 3.5.3 If a team of three boats does not cross the line within 15 seconds of each other a 50 second penalty is awarded.
CAN 3.6 Capsizing If a competitor capsizes and exits their boat, they cannot continue their run, even if they self-rescue. They must leave the course at the earliest opportunity.
CAN 3.7 Whistling off In the event that a competitor is caught up by the competitor following them, the gate judge will blow a whistle and shout out the number of the slower competitor. The slower competitor must immediately move out of the racing line and allow the faster competitor to pass before continuing. A rerun will not be permitted. (Note: This does not apply if the following person is just missing all the gates).
CAN 3.8 Overall Team The Overall Team standings are calculated as follows: 100 points are divided by the number of competitors who start each race and the points difference between each place will be this number, starting with 100 points for 1st place. However, those who don’t finish their run receive no points. For example, if 10 people start and only eight finish in a particular category, they are awarded points as follows:
1st 100
2nd 90
3rd 80
4th 70
5th 60
6th 50
7th 40
8th 30
=9th 0 (DNF)
=9th 0 (DNF)
In the case of team categories these scores are doubled.
The five highest points scoring finishers from an institution/Playing Entity across all the individual categories all contribute their full points to their Overall Team score. In addition, the two highest scoring teams across both team categories contribute their full points. All other finishers contribute the points of the last placed finisher in that class. So in the case of the class above that would be 30 points. The total score is then used to calculate the Overall Team positions.
CAN 4 Canoe Sprint Championships
CAN 4.1 All Championship races will be run in accordance with the British Canoeing Racing Handbook. Failure to observe the racing rules may result in a time penalty or disqualification.
CAN 4.2 Overall Team The Men’s Team and Women’s Team results will be calculated based on the results of all Championship events. The top eight finishers in each event shall contribute points towards their team's score. First place in each event shall be worth eight points, with points reducing by one for each subsequent position down to eighth place which shall be worth one point.
CAN 5 Wild Water Racing Championships
CAN 5.1 All races will be run in accordance with the British Canoeing WWR Executive Rules. However, the team events will not require team members to finish within 15 seconds of each other, but they must finish within clear line of sight.
CAN 5.2 All individual and team events will be decided on one run.
CAN 5.3 Team types There are two categories of teams: Open Teams and Mixed Teams.
CAN 5.3.1 An Open Team can be made of any three boats per team of any gender of person.
CAN 5.3.2 A Mixed Team can be made up of three boats per team and is open to all boats of either gender except Men’s K1.
CAN 5.3.3 An individual competitor may only enter each team event once and if entering both the Open and Mixed Team events must paddle a different boat class in each.
CAN 5.4 Bibs Bibs must be worn at all times during practice and racing. Competitors wearing the wrong numbered bib for the class they are paddling may be disqualified.
CAN 5.5 Equipment All competitors must wear suitable safety equipment and boats/equipment should be in a river worthy condition.
CAN 5.5.1 All boats must be fitted with grab loops at the bow and stern and must contain two air bags.
CAN 5.5.2 All paddlers must wear CE approved buoyancy aids and helmets. Helmets fitted with polo faceguards are not suitable for use on white water.
CAN 5.5.3 Paddlers should wear sufficient warm clothing for the time of year.
CAN 5.5.4 The organisers may conduct spot checks on all equipment and reserve the right to refuse entry or disqualify anyone deemed to have insufficient safety equipment or be unsafe. Boats may be inspected following a swim and paddlers with unsafe boats will have to retire.
CAN 5.6 Capsizing If you capsize then you can get back in your boat and continue. You can have help to get back in, but you must be in the same boat as you started in, and you must be in it with your head above the water when you cross the finish line.
CAN 5.7 Overall Team The Overall Team standings are calculated from the summed points from each class. The first 15 finishers in each class gain 20,16,14,12,11,...1 point(s) and all other finishers gain one point. These points are totalled over all the classes.
CAN 6 Disputes at events In line with REG 7.7, should a dispute occur at an event, the event appeal panel for Canoeing shall comprise of the Tournament Director and a BUCS Staff Member.
