NMT History
NMT of 2018/19 consists of : Nina Hvoslef, Katrine Granviken, Ine Skjørten Wilson, Helena Løf Bergan, Gerd Mette Drabløs and Sølvi Marie Fjeldstad
The Norwegian Women’s Team History
Norway has been represented in the world championships in rafting since 1991. The first time was on the Pacuare and Reventazon rivers in Costa Rica, next on the Coruh river in Turkey in 1993 and then on the Zambezi in Zimbabwe in 1995.
In 1998 the competitions gained official World Championship status and were organized by the IRF (International Rafting Federation). Norway competed again on the Vlatava river in Czech Republic in 2003, on the Quijos river in Equador in 2005, the Naerinchon river in South Korea in 2007 and the Tara river in Bosnia and Monetenegro in 2009. 2011 was a return to a different section of the Pacuare River in Costa Rica, The 2013 WRC was held in New Zealand in Rotorua. The 2015 WRC was held in Indonesia, Java, The 2016 WRC was held in AEU Al Ain, The 2017 WRC was held in Japan. We also participated in WC China 2018. Next up is WRC in Argentina in nov 2018 and then WRC in Australia in 2019
Competitions are made up of sprint, head to head, slalom and down river.
Rafting competitions consist of 4 disciplines – Sprint, Head-to-Head (H2H), Slalom and Downriver. The points earned in each discipline are added to determine the Overall winner and final positions. Each team has 6 members with the option to have a reserve.
The Sprint is a hard, fast, short burst of speed for the teams. It is ideally over a fairly short distance and is about 2 to 3 minutes of hard paddling for 10% of
the overall points. It is always done first, cannot be on a Class 5 rapid and teams are set off one by one, hence racing the clock and not each other.
The H2H is without doubt the most visually exciting discipline as it is pitting two teams together in a fast paced sprint for the finish line. It is ideally over a shortish distance but must be through a rapid, normally taking teams about 2 to 3 minutes to run the course. The two teams are set off together with the team having the best time in the Sprint being given lane choice. Although the race organisers always try to have the lanes as even as possible this is not easy as a river is so dynamic and changing river levels can also create problems. You also need to go around boys a few places along the course. Ideal locations for a H2H have more than one line through the course allowing teams to overtake. It counts for 20% of the total points and is an elimination race in which pairs of teams race down a section of powerful rapids. The winner of each heat proceeds to the next round and eventually just 2 teams will remain for the Final.
The Slalom is the most technically challenging event and counts for 30% percent of the total points. This event demands a high level of technique and teamwork to negotiate the rafts through 12 downriver and upriver gates in powerful rapids. Touching, failing to pass or intentionally moving a gate results in a penalty. Each team runs the course twice and their best time is used to determine the results.
The Downriver is the star event and is worth 40% of the total score. The race is close to an hour of racing along of a section of continuous and powerful rapids. Technical ability and endurance are essential elements to ensuring a good position in this event which is crucial for the teams that aspire to win the Championship. The points earned by the teams in the previous events determine their position in the starting line-up in groups up to 5 rafts.
