What equipment does canoe slalom require?

• K1 and C1: minimum length 3.50 metres, minimum width 0.60 metres, minimum weight 9 kilograms.
• C2: minimum length 4.10 metres, minimum width 0.75 metres, minimum weight 15 kilograms.
• No rudders: "Rudders are prohibited on all boats."
• Unsinkable: "All boats must be unsinkable", with a handle at each end no more than 30 centimetres from the bow and the stern.
• Helmet and buoyancy aid: "Each athlete must wear a helmet with a strap fastened under the chin and a buoyancy aid."
• The buoyancy aid: foam only, with no inflating devices. At a competition it must float a 6.12 kilogram steel weight.
• Registered kit: helmets and buoyancy aids must be on the ICF's register for the year.
• After the finish: at the higher levels the organisers spot-check buoyancy aids and boats after the finish.
• Bibs: a number on the front and the back. In a double both athletes wear one.
• Not conforming: an athlete who races with a boat or equipment outside the rules is disqualified for that run.

The glossary has the boat specifications entry, the kayak, the canoe and the spray skirt.

The minimum sizes stop boats from shrinking until they can be spun on the spot, and the minimum weight stops a race to build the lightest hull. The safety rules assume the worst case: a paddler out of the boat in fast water, who needs to float and to have something on the boat to hold.