History & Development
The kayak was first created by the Inuit, an artic people. Their first kayaks were made from wooden frames covered in sealskin. They included a small hole in the middle craft for the user to sit in and were primarily used for hunting. These early kayaks varied greatly in design from region to region. Two common ones are show at left. The top image is of a kayak from the Bering Strait area, which was short and wide, had a large storage capacity, and was very stable and easy to use. The lower one was designed by the Aleuts at it was long, fast, and seaworthy.
MacGregor formed the Canoe Club in 1866 with other canoe and kayak enthusiasts, and they brought about competitive canoeing with their first regatta in 1873. Kayaking became a part of the Olympics in 1936, with the introduction of four events, the single and pairs 1,000 meter and 10,000 meter race(The Physics of Kayaking, 2001).
In 1936, the Olympics included kayak races in the Berlin games. The United States began to get on board at this point, as did women -- two years after the Olympics, Genevieve De Colmont paddled the white-water of the Green and Colorado rivers. Fiberglass "rigid" kayaks came on the scene in the 1950s and were the standard until polyethylene plastic took over in the 1980s. Kayaking enjoyed modest participation as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s, when it began to move more to the mainstream. Now the Olympic Games feature more than 10 different white-water kayak events(BRYANT, 2019).
MacGregor formed the Canoe Club in 1866 with other canoe and kayak enthusiasts, and they brought about competitive canoeing with their first regatta in 1873. Kayaking became a part of the Olympics in 1936, with the introduction of four events, the single and pairs 1,000 meter and 10,000 meter race(The Physics of Kayaking, 2001).
In 1936, the Olympics included kayak races in the Berlin games. The United States began to get on board at this point, as did women -- two years after the Olympics, Genevieve De Colmont paddled the white-water of the Green and Colorado rivers. Fiberglass "rigid" kayaks came on the scene in the 1950s and were the standard until polyethylene plastic took over in the 1980s. Kayaking enjoyed modest participation as a fringe sport in the U.S. until the 1970s, when it began to move more to the mainstream. Now the Olympic Games feature more than 10 different white-water kayak events(BRYANT, 2019).
