Canoe slalom is a competitive sport where paddlers compete against each other to get the fastest time negotiating through poles hung over whitewater. Canoeists and kayakers have to pass through the two poles (i.e. a gate) in number order and accurately to ensure they don’t receive a 2 second penalty for hitting a gate or a 50 second penalty for missing a gate.

The green gates are downstream and the red gates are upstream. Paddlers move up divisions as they improve their technique and speed, starting in Division 3 and going as high as the Premier division.