Canoeing: Extraordinary ECA Congress in Antalya next November

ECA Board elects Turkey to host 2024 Extraordinary Congress at first meeting. ECA

The ECA met in Belgrade this Saturday for the first time in 2024. They discussed the venues for major canoeing events in the coming years, including the Senior European Championships in France and the Junior and U23 European Championships in Slovenia, both in 2025.

This year, the ECA Board met for the first time in Belgrade. According to their official website, during the meeting they examined various proposals and offers from national federations to host the next European Championships, as well as the organisation of the Congresses, where plans are developed and opportunities for the sport at continental level are discussed.

Antalya (Turkey) has been selected as the venue for the ECA Extraordinary Congress. It is expected to take place on 9 November 2024. Budapest has also been selected as the venue for the Ordinary Congress in 2025.

The ECA Board of directors held a first meeting in the year 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia. It was a long and fruitful meeting, where many topics were discussed. There were several important decisions made on Saturday.

👉 https://t.co/VXvngHvw08 pic.twitter.com/mOoSyWpssk
— Canoe Europe (@CanoeEurope) January 15, 2024

The Board faces many challenges. It has to plan its activities well in advance. In 2025 there will be two ECA Canoe European Championships, one for seniors and one for juniors and U23. The senior championships will be held on French waters, using the facilities and venues that will be used for the Olympic events in Paris next summer, specifically in Vaires-sur-Marne. Solkan in Slovenia has been selected as the venue for the junior and under-23 championships.

After concentrating on the event venues, the study and analysis of the economic model of the organisation is underway. Jovana Stanojević has been appointed as the ECA Sports and Events Manager and will work with and supervise the work and preparation of the Organising Bodies of the ECA Championships and the ECA Technical Commissions.

The ECA Board of Directors awarded the organisation of the 2025 ECA Ordinary Congress to Budapest, Hungary, during its meeting in Belgrade.#CanoeEurope pic.twitter.com/4EWIA3tYMP
— Canoe Europe (@CanoeEurope) January 13, 2024

The governance model was another important topic of the meeting. The results of the ECA Governance Survey, organised internally among the National Federations, were reviewed for the members to determine how the ECA should be managed and organised. All suggestions for improvement made by the members are valid.

The technical delegates have the task of improving the competition and its rules as much as possible. Changes have been proposed for the ECA European Championships. There is a common criterion between the ECA and the ICF, but in some specific cases there are differences between them. The Board has approved changes for freestyle and slalom canoe. All of this needs to be officially ratified before it can be implemented.