Playboaters

Playboating is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where the paddler performs various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater canoeing or kayaking where the objective is to travel the length of a section of river (although whitewater paddlers will often stop and play en route). Specialised canoes or kayaks (boats) known as playboats are often used, but any boat can be used for playing. The moves and tricks are often similar to those performed by snowboarders, surfers or skaters, where the athlete completes spins, flips, turns, etc. With modern playboats it is possible to get the kayak and the paddler completely airborne while performing tricks.

The competitive side of playboating is known as freestyle kayaking (formerly called rodeo).

Playspots are typically stationary features on rivers, in particular standing waves (which may be breaking or partially breaking), hydraulic jumps, 'holes' and 'stoppers', where water flows back on itself creating a retentive feature (these are often formed at the bottom of small drops or weirs), or eddy lines (the boundary between slow moving water at the rivers' edge, and faster water).

Basic moves consist of front- and back-surfing, spins through any of the three axes; air screws, cartwheels and air loops (invented by Clay Wright), stalls with the kayak vertical on either end, and getting airborne (bouncing the boat on a wave, or submerging part of the kayak so that it pops out when it re-emerges). The playboater usually aims to stay surfing the feature after performing each move (as opposed to being washed off). More complex moves are made up of combinations of these moves.

These moves are scored by the International Canoe Federation, and are used in official competitions worldwide.

These moves were more popular before short playboats were invented, but remain the foundation of several current moves.

Ender

An ender is performed by sinking the bow of the boat deep into swift moving water, causing the boat to go vertical.

Popup

A popup is an ender, followed by quickly leaning back to cause the boat to pop up out of the water like a cork.

Pirouette

A pirouette is when the boater turns during an ender, with the boat as the axis.

Squirt

A basic squirt is performed when crossing a strong eddyline. As soon as the body crosses the eddyline, a back sweep is performed while dropping the upstream edge of the stern. The stern of the boat should sink, and the boat will rotate in the direction of the currents. You can then develop this into a cartwheel.

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Wikipedia