Event

2009 IRF WORLD RAFTING CHAMPIONSHIP

The River Vrbas & The River Tara,
Bosnia and Herzegovina

May, 17th - 24th 2009

The Rafting Club "KANJON" invites all Rafting Teams all over the World for the Rafting World Championship 2009 in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Races will be helded on two Rivers - Vrbas & Tara. The Rafting Club "KANJON" has also organized the European Championship 2005, Pre-World Championship 2008 and many EuroCup events.

Important Facts – Information letter #1

Date: May, 17th - 24th 2009

Location: Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Organizer: Rafting club "KANJON", Banja Luka

Director of the race: Alexandar Pastir - Bosnia & Herzegovina

Categories: R6 (M/W)

Races: - Downriver

- Sprint

- H2H

- Slalom

Rivers: Vrbas River is fast mountain river, with several white water sections and pool drops. Length that is used for rafting is 31km. (from dam to downtown).

Vrbas is crossing two canyons: canyon Tijesno (5km) and canyon Podmilacje (8km). Level of the water depends of dam, usual limits are 25 to 100 cubic

meters, and in spring it is over 500 cubic meters. Grade is 3-4. In may water temperature is 12-15oC, air temperature is over 20-25oC.

Entry fee: €500 (EUR) per team (here is included transportation from and to the airport, accommodation, all meals, transport on and off from the river during event)

Race rules: The race format will be according to the IRF rules. Please refer to www.intraftfed.com/competition/racerules.html

Rafts and equipment: Official raft will be RobFin 420 (length 417, width 190, tubes 52, thwarts 2, material PVC, color sky blue) provided by the organizer. Teams are responsible for their own PFD, paddles, paddling clothing, throw bags and any additional paddling accessories they might require. We recommend a 3mm neopren wetsuits for competitors.

Transport: For all competitors who will arrive with airplane, organizer will provide transport free of charge from airports Zagreb, Belgrade and Sarajevo, to the place of accomodation, transport to the river Tara and aback, and all other transports during competition.

We recommend nearst airports:
- Zagreb (Croatia) - 191 km from Banja Luka
- Belgrade (Serbia) - 315 km from Banja Luka
- Sarajevo (Bosnia & Herzegovina) - 232 km from Banja Luka

Our recommendation is that you buy fly tickets for Zagreb.

Accomodation: Organizer will provide accomodation free of charge for all competitors during competition on the river Vrbas at hotels in the centre of Banja Luka city, as well as accomodation in bungalows night before competition on the river Tara at May, 20th. In case that teams come before 17th or 18th May, we will find accommodation for maximum lowest price in the town.

All contacts for that kind of accommodation and booking are:

Zeppter Passport Agency

Contact person: Miss Timea Tamamovic

Contact telephones:
mobile: +387 65 492 441
office: +387 51 213 394
+387 51 213 395
fax: +387 51 229 582
e-mail: info@zepterpassport.com
web: www.zepterpassport.com

Meals: Organizer will provide two meals free of charge for all competitors during competition or during transportation (lunch packs). Meals will be combined with Bosnian and international food. We need your suggestions for creating food menu in the hotels, and we please you to write in registration form if you have special requirements (for example: if you don't eat pork meat , you must tell us that we can make special menu for you).

Branding: This event will be televised by our national television and by one International television (we negotiate with Euro Sport 2). Brending for teams is allowed only on the paddles and helmets.

Registration form: Registration form is posted at the IRF site (www.intraftfed.com), and there you need to fill all required informations (team names, names of participants, substitutes and other stuff, etc...)

Registration: Last date to apply will be announced in the next info letter.

Complete the registration form with all required informations and send it to registration e-mail address: info@2009wrc.com or mvasiljevic@2009wrc.com

Judges: During competition, organizer will provide accomodation, food and transport for all IRF judges free of charge. Judges who will come to this event need to send confirmation at the e-mail address: glolic@2009wrc.com. All IRF judges are welcome.

Awards: Organizer will provide prizes for winning teams

Visas: Countries who need visas to enter in Bosnia and Herzegovina are listed below:

AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANGOLA, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, ARGENTINA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BAHAMAS, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BENIN, BHUTAN, BOLIVIA, BOTSWANA, BRAZIL, BURKINA FASÓ, BURUNDI, CAMBODIA, CAMEROON, CAPE VERDE, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CHAD, CHILE, COLOMBIA, COMOROS, CONGO, COSTA RICA, CÔTE d’IVOIRE, CUBA, DJIBOUTI, DOMINICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, EAST TIMOR, EGYPT, EL SALVADOR, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ESTONIA, ETHIOPIA, FIJI, GABONESE, GAMBIA, GEORGIA, GHANA, GIBRALTAR, GRENADA, GUATEMALA, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, GUYANA, HAITI, HONDURAS, INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JORDAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KENYA, KIRIBATI, DEMOCRATIC PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF KOREA, KYRGYZSTAN, LAO PEOPLE’S DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, LEBANON, LESOTHO, LIBERIA, LIBYA, MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, MALDIVES, MALI, MARSHALL ISLANDS, MAURITANIA, MAURITIUS, UNITED MEXICAN STATES, MICRONESIA, MOLDOVA, MONGOLIA, MOROCCO, MOZAMBIQUE, MYANMAR, NAMIBIA, NAURU, NEPAL, NICARAGUA, NIGER, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PALAU, PALESTINE, PANAMA, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PARAGUAY, PERU, PHILIPPINES, RWANDESE REPUBLIC, FEDERATION OF SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, SAMOA, SAN MARINO, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF SAO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE, SAUDI ARABIA, SENEGAL, REPUBLIC OF SEYCHELLES, REPUBLIC OF SIERRA LEONE, SOLOMON ISLANDS, SOMALI DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC, SOUTH AFRICA, SRI LANKA, SUDAN, SURINAME, SWAZILAND, SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, TOGOLESE REPUBLIC, TONGA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, TUNISIA, TURKMENISTAN, TUVALU, UGANDA, UKRAINE, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, EASTERN REPUBLIC OF URUGUAY, UZBEKISTAN, VANUATU, VENEZUELA, VIET NAM, YEMEN, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE.

All other countries who aren't listed here doesn't need visa when entering, exiting or travelling through Bosnia and Herzegovina. All schengen countries doesn't need visas (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom).

For someone who want to check does its country need visa for entering in Bosnia, please check this link: http://www.mfa.gov.ba/Index_eng.htm, choose name of the country and you'll get all info and closest embassy in that country.We will assist with this after list of countries who will participate in WRC.

Countries for which the citizens have to obtain visas when entering, exiting or travelling through Croatia:

AFGHANISTAN, ALBANIA, ALGERIA, ANGOLA, ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA, ARMENIA, AZERBAIJAN, BAHAMAS, BAHRAIN, BANGLADESH, BARBADOS, BELARUS, BELIZE, BENIN, BHUTAN, BOLIVIA, BOTSWANA, BURKINA FASÓ, BURUNDI, CAMBODIA, CAPE VERDE, REPUBLIC OF CAMEROON, CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC, CHAD, CHINA, COLOMBIA, COMOROS, CONGO, CÔTE d’IVOIRE, CUBA, DJIBOUTI, DOMINICA, DOMINICAN REPUBLIC, ECUADOR, EGYPT, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ERITREA, ETHIOPIA, FIJI, GABONESE, GAMBIA, GEORGIA, GHANA, GRENADA, GUINEA, GUINEA-BISSAU, GUYANA, HAITI¸ INDIA, INDONESIA, IRAN, IRAQ, JAMAICA, JORDAN, KAZAKHSTAN, KENYA, KIRIBATI, KOREA, STATE OF KUWAIT, KYRGYZSTAN, LAO, LEBANON, LESOTHO, LIBERIA¸ LIBYA, MADAGASCAR, MALAWI, MALDIVES, MALI, MARSHALL ISLANDS, MAURITANIA, MAURITIUS, MICRONESIA, MOLDOVA, MONGOLIA, MOROCCO, MOZAMBIQUE, MYANMAR, NAMIBIA, NAURU, NEPAL, NIGER, NIGERIA, OMAN, PAKISTAN, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, PERU, PHILIPPINES, STATE OF QATAR, RUSSIAN FEDERATION, RWANDESE, SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES, SAMOA, SAO TOMÉ AND PRÍNCIPE, SAUDI ARABIA, SENEGAL, SEYCHELLES, SIERRA LEONE, SOLOMON ISLANDS, SOMALI, SOUTH AFRICA, SRI LANKA, SUDAN, SURINAME, SWAZILAND, SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC, TAJIKISTAN, TANZANIA, THAILAND, TOGOLESE, TONGA, TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, TUNISIA, TURKMENISTAN, TUVALU, UGANDA, UKRAINE, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES, UZBEKISTAN, VANUATU, VIET NAM, YEMEN, ZAMBIA, ZIMBABWE.

ANNOUNCEMENT: All teams who will not represent their country and want to come at WRC to give moral help to their mates, we will provide place for camping free of charge. You need to inform us if you comming at email info@2009wrc.com.

Schedule

May, 17th (Sunday)
DAY 1 Training / Arrival

11:00 - 17:00 Trainings
20:00 Captains meeting
21:00 Visiting town Banja Luka

May, 18th (Monday)
DAY 2 Training / Arrival

11:00 - 17:00 Trainings
20:00 Captains meeting
21:00 Opening ceremony

May, 19th (Tuesday) Discipline: Sprint & H2H
River: Vrbas
City: Banja Luka
DAY 3 Spint & H2H

11:00 - 17:00 Sprint & H2H - Bijeli buk
18:00 Captains meeting
19:00 Prize/giving ceremony for Sprint & H2H

May, 20th (Wednesday)
DAY 4 Transport / Training

06:00 - 11:00 Transport to the River Tara
13:00 - 18:00 Training for Downriver on Tara

May, 21th (Thursday) Discipline: Downriver
River: Tara
City: Foca
DAY 5 Downriver

10:00 Start of Downriver
16:00 Prize/giving ceremony for Downriver
17:00 Transport to Banja Luka

May, 22th (Friday)
DAY 6 Free day in Banja Luka

11:00 - 17:00 Training (Canyon Tijesno)
19:00 Captains meeting

May, 23th (Saturday) Discipline: Slalom
River: Vrbas
City: Banja Luka
DAY 7 Slalom

10:00 - 17:00 Slalom 1 & 2 run (Canyon Tijesno)
21:00 Prize/giving ceremony for overall and official closing

May, 24th (Sunday)
DAY 8 Regatte (Optional)

10:00 Promotional regatte to downtown (this regatte is optional) Organizer reserves the right to change schedule of the races !!! All other relevant information and possible changes will be announced on official web presentation!