ICF set to elect new president

Two candidates are vying to take over from Spain’s Jose Perurena, who has been at the helm of the ICF since 2008 and announced he will step down after serving three terms as the sport’s president.

Germany’s Thomas Konietzko and the Russian Canoe Federation’s Evgenii Arkhipov are the two candidates who have nominated for the presidency, which will be decided by a vote of the ICF congress over the weekend of November 4-6.

Votes will also be taken for the positions of vice-president and treasurer, as well as for positions on nine ICF committees.

Konietzko has been involved with canoeing since 1978, as an athlete, coach and administrator. The German Canoe Federation president has been an ICF board member since 2012, and has been a vice-president since 2016.

Arkhipov began his association with canoeing as an athlete in 1976, and has been president of the Russian Canoe Federation since 2008.

Four candidates have nominated to be vice-presidents, of which at least one must be a female, while there are three nominees for ICF treasurer.

The ICF congress was originally scheduled for November 2020 in the Philippines, but was postponed to Thailand in October 2021 because of Covid. It was rescheduled for a third time and moved to Rome after concerns were expressed about the ability of a majority of countries being able to attend.

November’s congress will be a combination of in-person and online voting.A full list of nominees for all ICF positions and a schedule for the congress can be found here.

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