Time to revamp your kit

New paddle spec in effect as of 1 January

To every thing, there is a season and now that the 2006 racing season is over for most of us in Europe (except for those nutters doing the Henley Winter Series races in the UK), it may be time to pull on a woolly jumper, cozy up to your computer and surf to your favorite paddle supplier to look for a new paddle (before you head off to the gym, of course). You can find a list of licensed suppliers here.

The official IDBF ruling is that from 1 January 2007, only Spec 202a paddles will be permitted at IDBF and EDBF championships. According to Mike Haslam, "all other previously ´grandfathered´ paddles - which includes the 202 paddle, will not be allowed and paddlers turning up with a non-202a paddle will be required to buy a 202a from the race´s organising committee or make arrangements to borrow from other paddlers." He goes on to point out that, "individual IDBF members and festival race organisers may choose to follow the IDBF ruling or not, for their own races," and expects that some will and some will not.

So, if you’ve been looking for a good excuse to update your equipment or your ´grandfather´ paddle is giving away your age, you might want to update to a 202a spec paddle in order to assure that you won´t miss out on any international racing action.