The International Canoe Federation (ICF) has announced it will hold the 2021 ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup on Saturday, August 21, on the Oklahoma River in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. The invitational event will be held at RIVERSPORT, a $100M outdoor sports and recreation venue in the city’s Boathouse District. It will feature canoe/kayak World Champions and Olympians from the Olympic Games in Tokyo and will be internationally televised in Europe and China. Paddlers will be competing for both medals and prize money.
“The ICF is extremely excited and proud that Oklahoma City will host the ICF’s Canoe Sprint Super Cup in 2021,” said Simon Toulson, Secretary General for the ICF. “This event brings together only the best athletes in our sport to fight for cash prizes in the amazing river setting of Oklahoma. The night finals are going to be quite unique with a large audience which adds to the important role Oklahoma plays in the sport of Canoe on a world stage. We are indebted to RIVERSPORT and the supporters of this event to persevere through the pandemic to host this event”
Teams competing in the ICF Super Cup will be announced during a special event celebrating the Opening Ceremonies of the Tokyo Olympic Games on Friday, July 23, at 7:30p at the RIVERSPORT Whitewater Center in the Boathouse District.
“To host this international competition right after the Olympics is a huge honor for Oklahoma City and an exciting opportunity for Oklahomans,” said Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt. “This event will feature the world’s greatest athletes in canoe/kayak competing under the lights on television around the world at one of the world’s greatest venues for canoe/kayak. And believe it or not, that venue is right here in Oklahoma City. Let me also add, these Olympians will not have had crowds at the Olympics due to the COVID situation in Japan, so we want to show up and give them the cheers they deserve to hear.”
The weekend will also include an Extreme Slalom demonstration event and the ICF Super Cup Sprint Portage race. The Extreme Slalom whitewater demonstration event will be Friday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m., in RIVERSPORT’s whitewater center rapids. Four competitors at a time will slide off a ramp more than two meters high into the Class IV rapids and race through gates to the finish line. The Super Cup Sprint Portage race will be held Saturday at 10:00 a.m. on the Oklahoma River. The 800m race involves racers paddling a short distance, docking, running with their boats and then re-entering the water to finish the race.
The ICF Super Cup is the centerpiece of a multi-day race event, the Oklahoma Paddlesport Festival, that will also include a World Party, the American Canoe Association (ACA) 2021 Slalom and Sprint National Championships, and the USO Experience, a three-day expo event expected to attract thousands of military and their families from across the region.
“Oklahoma City is known for our hospitality and for all that RIVERSPORT offers in the Boathouse District,” said Mike Knopp, executive director of RIVERSPORT. “It’s unique in the world for a city to have both flatwater sprint and whitewater slalom in the same venue. We’re looking forward to sharing this with paddling enthusiasts around the globe.”
RIVERSPORT is working in partnership with the International Canoe Federation, the State of Oklahoma, the Chickasaw Nation and First Americans Museum, Inasmuch Foundation and the Oklahoma City Convention and Visitors Bureau to host the event.
The public is invited to attend the World Party honoring international athletes and coaches. It will be held Friday, August 20, 7:00 to 10:00 p.m., in the McClendon Whitewater Center and will feature the Extreme Slalom demonstration event. Tickets are $35 and may be purchased online at riversportokc.org/events/world-party.
Admission to ICF Canoe Sprint Super Cup racing is free and will be held Saturday, August 21, 8:00 to 10:00 p.m., with prime seating at the Boathouse District’s Finish Line Tower terrace.
“We encourage everyone to come out for the ICF Super Cup,” Knopp said. “This is a unique opportunity to see Olympic and World Champions in some of the most exciting races ever staged.”
“Oklahomans are known for our hospitality and we want to extend it in all ways to our international guests.”
Originally slated for 2020, the ICF Super Cup event was postponed a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The inaugural ICF Super Cups were held in Barnaul, Russia, and Linyi, China, in 2019, and attracted Olympians and world champions from all corners of the globe.
ABOUT RIVERSPORT
RIVERSPORT is known as an innovator is both Olympic sports and outdoor recreation. The 501c3 nonprofit Foundation has led the development of Oklahoma City’s $100M+ Boathouse District, one of the world’s premier urban outdoor adventure and water sports venues and regularly hosts national and international races in both rowing and canoe/kayak. Located at America’s crossroads, the Boathouse District features iconic architecture, world-class adventure sports and recreation, and powerful programming for all ages. It is an official US Olympic and Paralympic Training Site and a model for other communities to embrace bold ideas and bolster outdoor culture.
ABOUT THE ICF
The International Canoe Federation is the umbrella organization for all national canoe organizations worldwide. It is headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland, and administers all aspects of canoe sport worldwide.
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