There are several competitive disciplines of canoeing.
- slalom navigating through a short course of gates, usually in a river
- Whitewater Racing paddling a river rapids course in the quickest time possible
- Canoe surfing a team of judges award points for style
- Rodeo canoeing surfing on static waves on a river
- Marathon and Sprint flat water racing
- Canoe polo - two teams try to get the ball in their opponent's goal
The canoes used are usually kayaks but can also be closed decked Canadian canoes. These are referred to by the classes of K1, K2, K4, C1 or C2 depending on the number of paddlers. The canoes used for the different disciplines each have very different styles.
