The national sea kayaking championships are decided in Palma

400 paddlers from 35 clubs will compete this weekend in the Spanish Cup, with the 15-kilometer Downwind as the star event.

The national elite of sea kayaking will meet this weekend in Palma to compete in the first competition of the Spanish Cup, organized by the Real Club Náutico de Palma (RCNP). Almost 400 paddlers from 35 clubs from all over Spain will gather in the capital to decide the best in each category of this maritime canoeing discipline.

The Balearic athletes are among the favorites to take the lead in this competition, the only event on the national calendar in the archipelago this season. The Spanish Cup will also have special relevance this year, as it will also serve as a selective event for the European Championships to be held this year in the Azores.

The Spanish Cup will be held on Saturday, starting at 10am, and on Sunday from 9am, with individual and double events. In this case, this year has been introduced as a novelty the inclusive double modality in which one of the athletes of the double kayak will be a person with disabilities.

The director of the RCNP, Manu Fraga, explains that "the organization of the Spanish Sea Kayak Cup is a great challenge for the club, both for the number of participants and for the different areas in which the competition takes place. We are used to hosting big sailing regattas and we are very excited to do the same with canoeing, and in particular in the open water modality. We are grateful for the support provided by the Balearic Canoeing Federation, without whose experience it would be impossible to organize an event of these characteristics".

Depending on the categories and weather conditions, several routes have been planned with different distances depending on the categories, between the 3 and 15 kilometers of the Downwind. The races will start at the Cathedral and turn around at the Islet of Na Galera, finishing at the same starting point in the 8-kilometer competition. In this way, the public will be able to watch the excitement of the start and finish of the canoeists from the Paseo Marítimo.

At midday on Saturday, the main event, the Downwind, will take place, in which the course, 15 kilometers in a single section, will seek the most favorable wind possible for the participants to show their skill at surfing the waves in their favor. The race is scheduled to start in Portals Vells and finish at the Dique del Oeste. The Downwind is for the Junior, U23, Senior and Veteran categories, and will serve as a selective event for the European Championship.

The sea kayaking competition is carried out with boats that are different from the usual canoes. They are "surf-ski sit on top", in which the athletes are on top of the canoe. They are much longer and catch the wave very well. In this discipline, strategy is very important, as the manager of the Balearic Canoe Federation, Xavi Marroig, explains: "You have to look for the fastest route, which is not necessarily the shortest. Side waves are very detrimental, but if the paddler opens up to catch the wave in favor, he or she will gain a lot of advantage".