How does a team race work in canoe slalom?

• Three boats: a team is three boats in one class, such as three men's kayaks.
• Who can be in it: only athletes who are also in the individual events. An athlete may be in no more than two team events.
• The start: all three boats must be stationary. Any of the three may be the one that starts the clock.
• The time: "from the time when the first athlete breaks the start line to the time the last athlete breaks the finish line".
• The penalties: each boat is judged at every gate, and all three sets of penalty seconds are added.
• Together at the end: "all three (3) boats must cross the finish line within 15 seconds of each other or incur a 50 second penalty".
• Helping: members of a team may help each other to roll.
• A capsize: if one athlete leaves the boat, the rest may not go on taking gates on purpose. Doing so is a disqualification for the run.
• One run: at ICF competitions the team event is a single run.
• Substitutes: where there are two runs, one boat or athlete may be changed between them.

The glossary has the team run, the penalty and the fifty-second penalty.

The single clock makes the team only as fast as its slowest boat, so the three have to travel as a group, close enough to share lines through the gates without getting in each other's way. The 15-second rule stops a team from sending its best paddler ahead and leaving the others to follow.