Team Ireland Canoeing, Nomination Policies for Istanbul 2027 and LA28

Canoeing Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland have published the nomination policies for the Istanbul 2027 European Games and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, providing athletes and coaches with clear qualification pathways and performance standards for the next major Games cycle. The policies cover Canoe Sprint for the European Games and Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross for LA28.

The policies outline the nomination and selection criteria athletes must achieve to be considered for Team Ireland, ensuring transparency and clarity throughout the qualification process. Athletes must meet the relevant international qualification requirements alongside the performance standards established by Canoeing Ireland and Team Ireland.

For the Istanbul 2027 European Games, Canoeing Ireland will use the designated 2027 ICF Canoe Sprint World Cup in Duisburg as the primary performance benchmark for nomination. Athletes must be selected to compete at the event and achieve a semi-final placing or better in the relevant European Games event. In 5,000m events contested as straight finals, athletes must achieve a top-20 finish.

Looking ahead to LA28, quota places across Canoe Sprint, Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross are allocated to the National Olympic Committee rather than individual athletes. The qualification systems provide multiple pathways to secure quota places for Team Ireland, with final nomination and selection decisions made through the Team Ireland process.

LA28 will see canoeing staged across two venues. Canoe Slalom and Kayak Cross will take place at the Whitewater Center in Oklahoma City, which also hosted the 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships, while Canoe Sprint events will be held at the historic Marine Stadium in Long Beach, the same venue that will host Olympic rowing competition.

Michael Black, Performance Director of Canoeing Ireland, said:

“The publication of our Istanbul 2027 European Games and LA28 Olympic nomination policies is an important step in giving our athletes clarity around the performance standards and pathway ahead. We want our athletes to understand what is required of them, while ensuring our processes are transparent, fair and focused on performance at the highest international level.

Both Istanbul 2027 and LA28 represent significant opportunities for Irish canoeing, and our focus now is on supporting athletes and coaches to prepare, perform and put themselves in the strongest possible position to earn those opportunities. As a programme, we are ambitious about what we can achieve internationally and these policies provide a clear framework around that ambition.”

The nomination policies are available to athletes, coaches and support personnel and should be read in conjunction with the relevant International Canoe Federation qualification systems and Team Ireland nomination policies.

Nomination Policies

Istanbul 2027 European Games Nomination Policy

LA28 Olympic Games Nomination Policy