Dresden in competition fever: Paracanoists fight for championship titles!

Dresden in competition fever: Paracanoists fight for championship titles!

From July 31, 2025, the sporting atmosphere in Dresden will be raised to a new level! The German paracanoe championship has already established itself as a permanent highlight in the event calendar and will take place this year as part of the finals. This spectacle, which has already taken place successfully in Berlin and the Rhine-Ruhr region in the past, will be held in the Hafencity for the first time. A total of 20 German championships at nine different sports venues are on the program as part of the finals. The associated live broadcast promises more than 30 hours of the best entertainment, both on television and via various streaming channels and radio, as Kanu.de reports.

The paracanoe is an important part of the finals for the fourth time this year. A total of eight athletes are fighting for a place in the final, which will take place on August 1, 2025. The defending champion is the talented Felicia Laberer from SC Berlin-Grünau, who competes in class KL3. Other participants include Edina Müller from the Hamburg Canoe Club, Anja Adler from Halle and Moritz Berthold. At the competitions, spectators can expect exciting duels in cross-cutting boat classes, including single kayaks (KL1-KL3) and the outrigger canoe Va’a (VL1-VL3).

A new competition format

This year, an innovative event format will be introduced with pursuit races and a knockout system that will add even more excitement. Every day, depending on the performance comparison, the athletes initially start in timed handicaps, which guarantees exciting and mixed duels for the spectators. Equal opportunities are created through class equalization. This new format is a step into the future and will certainly also be noticed in other championships, such as the 10th German Paracanoe Championships in Hamburg, which took place last August. These championships face the challenge of being held under strict Corona regulations and host paracanoeists from eleven different clubs. Participants there can also look forward to mixed two-man races in which athletes with and without disabilities compete together, a nice step towards inclusion, as DRS explains.

If you look at developments in paracanoeing in general, it becomes clear that interest in this sport is constantly growing. At the last German Canoe Racing Championships in Brandenburg in 2024, over 800 athletes took part, which shows that there is also a large crowd in classic racing. The community is lively and the many club members offer excellent support, as described on Kanu-Brandenburg. Not only professionals take part here, but great importance is also placed on young talent.

The finals in Dresden are not only a showcase of the best paracanoe athletes, but also proof of how much the sport is growing and developing. The audience can look forward to exciting competitions and emotions on the water!