IAM floats the boats out for Irish team (21st July, 2008)

Air Canada Cargo has carried 20 canoes and associated equipment from Dublin to Edmonton, Canada, destined for the 8th ICF World Canoe Polo Championships, taking place from July 24 to 27.

The shipment of ultra-lightweight, specially-designed canoes belongs to the Irish Senior Men’s, Women’s and Under-21 Men’s teams, all of whom have qualified in this year’s series, and will now face strong competition from other qualifying teams including the USA, the UK, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand.

The shipment was arranged by Air Canada’s Irish GSSA, IAM, on behalf of the Irish team’s agent Ceva Logistics. The canoes were palletised, then trucked to London by IAM’s trucking division ITC; they were then loaded onto a direct flight to Edmonton to reach their destination ahead of the event, to allow for training.

Canoe Polo combines paddling and ball handling skills with an exciting contact team game, where tactics and positional play are as important as the speed and fitness of the individual athletes. Two teams each with five players on the pitch at any one time (and up to three substitutes) compete to score goals in their opponent's net which is suspended 2 metres above the water. The ball can be thrown by hand, or flicked with the paddle.

Boats are specifically designed for Polo and are shorter (3m) than typical kayaks, making them highly-manoeuvrable. Paddles are very light weight and designed with both pulling power and ball control in mind. Body protection, helmets and faceguards are all compulsory.

The Irish Canoe Polo Teams comprise amateur athletes from the north and south of Ireland, who receive a small grant from the National Governing Body (ICU) supplemented by fundraising and their own personal contributions. The teams have attended the World and European Championships for the past 20 years; the U21 Men's Team have achieved the highest ranking to date, winning Bronze in the 2007 European Championships in France. The Senior Men’s team is also a well-respected and competitive team on the international circuit, having previously achieved a Top 5 ranking in the World Championships.

Says Yvonne McCormack, Manager of the Irish Women’s Team: “This year, the training and preparation have been tough, but we are hopeful that it will all pay off and that the Irish Canoepolo Teams will arrive home with some medals!”

IAM is the lead company in a growing aviation services group, represents 12 major airlines, and is the exclusive Irish member of EGSAC, the world’s largest GSA network with 80 stations in 35 countries.