Kayak Session Magazine

The biggest names in paddle sports came together under one roof this September in Strasbourg, France, for the Paddle Sports Show. A B2B tradeshow for industry professionals, the Paddle Sports Show highlighted groundbreaking products and gave voice to

The Europeans in Freestyle Kayaking, held from August 27th-31st, 2024, in Graz, Austria, concluded with great success and a lasting impact. Initially set for Salt, Spain, the event was moved to Graz at the last minute, coinciding with the Graz Rodeo.

The annual Turbo Kayak Festival was held for the fourth consecutive year in the south of Iceland on the pristine Tungufljót River. Three women and ten men competed this year, from ages 15 to 51 years old. The first qualifying category was slalom. Rac

The Seven Sisters X Slalom is an extreme kayaking event for athletes of all calibers, held at the Nouveau Monde rafting base in Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Quebec. The competition showcases the talent and skill of kayakers as they navigate the iconic Sev

The Upper Tummel is one of Scotland's most beloved sections of whitewater, with easy access and something for everyone. The river winds through native woodland and spectacular rock formations. There are several Class III rapids immediately from the p

The Devil's Extreme Race has been one of the biggest European races for eighteen years, yet the event continues to grow and improve. For 2024, the Devils Streams also hosted the Extreme Kayak European Championship. The Devil's Extreme Race is a weeke

The MKF is done and dusted for another year, and this seventh edition did not disappoint. This year, it was nearly an all-Indian race, as there was only one competitor from overseas, Paul Aubertin from France, who cleaned up all his races and took ou

After a brief break during the pandemic, the Morriston Enduro is back as an official annual event, rallying paddlers to test their skills and fitness against the 500 m section of classic Scottish Class IV/IV+ pool drop whitewater. The single-day even

The 2024 Maine Whitewater Championship race series continued with the Kennebec and Penobscot Races this August. The Kennebec Race was held in conjunction with the newest whitewater festival on the east coast, the West Forks Riverfest (a smaller, kid-

The Isel River Week, held on the last weekend of August in East Tyrol, is a unique festival that brings together kayakers for a weekend of adventure and camaraderie. Based at Adventure Park in Ainet, a charming campsite with direct access to the Isel

In the past few years, the rarely-kayaked island of Madagascar has started to see more attention. This remote African landmass is a paradise for big water, but with it being so far away from many things, and the rivers involving days of travel, few p

There is a big wall between Georgia and Russia. This 5000-meter-tall wall, known as the main Caucasus Crest, splits Europe and Asia. The glaciers of the Southern slopes of this mountain range feed the Enguri, the biggest and the hardest river in the

The Salza waterfall is a lesser-known stout in the middle of Austria. Standing at 25 meters tall, this drop is only runnable when a substantial amount of rain causes the upstream dam to overflow. Due to these conditions, it has only been run twice in

In the heart of the scenic town of Bad Gastein, nestled in the Austrian Alps, stands one of Europe's most remarkable natural features: The towering Bad Gastein Waterfall. A 300-meter-long sequence of slides and drops culminates in a thirty-four-meter

After returning to Tyrol from an amazing trip to Norway, coaching with the kayak school, the S2S team was hungry for waterfalls and steep whitewater. It was also time for a company outing and a reunion with the team members who couldn't make it to No

The morning sun peeks over the top of the Southern Alps of New Zealand's South Island as six kayakers prepare for the day's journey down the classic Kokatahi River. Toad, Manu, Zack, Ryan, James, and Phil, a team of local Kiwis and Americans. This is

In July 2024, Owen Kurth and Willie Henkel made the first known kayak descent of Big Beaver Creek, a remote creek nestled in the heart of Washington's North Cascades. The journey began with a five-mile paddle across Ross Lake, a reservoir created by

By mid-August, most kayakers had already packed up and left Norway, even though the water levels were still unreal. The crowds were gone, but there were still a few dedicated weirdos who remained. There is a special one living in his caravan who's ju

The Grimmingbach is generally less paddled than the other Salzkammergut and Enns Valley rivers as it's a little more work and has a lot of trees in the riverbed. The river is located near the Austrian town of Tauplitz and offers great views of the am

This past summer, Rapha Boudreault-Simard, Jen Chrimes, and Kiah Schaepe completed the first descent of Ball Creek in Northern BC. Ball Creek begins in the Mount Edziza volcanic complex in the Tahltan Highlands and is part of the Stikine watershed. T

During a brief warm and rainy period at the end of the New Zealand winter, several creeks in the South Island came out of hibernation. The Waikaia was one of them. Flowing from the Garvie Ranges, the river is renowned for having several sections of s

The Dean River begins on top of the Chilcotin Plateau in central British Columbia and cuts quickly through the Southern Coast Range, ending less than 100 miles later in the saltwater of the Dean Channel. The first day consisted of a short flight, som

The province of Saskatchewan, Canada, is often perceived as a flat, featureless expanse of grassland separating the lakes and rivers of Ontario to the east and the mountains of Alberta and British Columbia to the west. However, contrary to common bel

You may remember that in 2017, 2019, and 2023, Save Our Rivers campaigned with your help to preserve one of the most stunning upland river valleys in the UK. The bad news is that the developer is back with a freshly completed EIA and looks more likel

New Zealand's rivers are under serious threat, with 149 rivers listed in a “fast track bill” proposed by the new government. If passed, government and energy companies will not have to consult public groups (such as Whitewater NZ) before changes are

Founded in 2021, the “Rhein-Main Welle” initiative is a coalition of over fifty kayak and watersports clubs from central Germany. The initiative aims to create an inclusive watersports hub while preserving one of Germany's most renowned and historic

This summer, kayaking took center stage in Paris, with a standard of presentation that has never been seen before. Paddling—and Olympic—history played out in an immersive experience with hundreds of camera angles, spectacular slow-motion, and attenti

Costa Rica's combination of mountains colliding with tropical storms from the Pacific and the Caribbean oceans creates a biodiversity of flora and fauna, but also a biodiversity of quality whitewater that attracts all types of kayakers come rainy sea

I was fortunate enough to be able to not only have kayaking surround me while growing up but to have it presented to me in a way that kayaking seemed like the most fun thing I could be doing with my day. No matter if it was another simple day on a ri

No whitewater around? I hope you have been training hard in the pool or on flats and are ready to take your skills to moving water! However, even after the best pool workouts, when I get on whitewater, I'm gassed! It is simply a different environment

It feels like every time I chase a new river, I have to relearn the method or art of it again. For some, the 7P's might work, but since proper prior planning has never been my strong suit, I settle for 4Ps, a D, and an R: patientpersistence-produces-

Kayak Session is proud to collaborate with American Whitewater, a non-profit river conservation organization. Our mission is to show kayaking at its best with amazing pictures of paddling on beautiful rivers. Without the hard work and dedication of A

As many of you may have guessed, there is little information on sex-specific training for women, especially at an elite level of any sport! Instead, there is a lot of information about how men should train, which is applied across the sexes. When I w

Ever feel torn between a creek boat or half slice? Introducing the Clutch, a ‘creek/slice’ combination designed to make the most of any river. It is fully creekable with a playable stern. The Clutch combines the high-riding, confidence-inspiring perf