Raft Racing
Raft racing is an internationally recognized competitive sport in which teams paddle rafts through whitewater. It rewards teamwork, speed, endurance, and precision. The USRA is the national governing body for the sport in the United States, sanctioning events under the rules of United Rafting (URF), the international federation.
The Five Disciplines
URF recognizes five disciplines. Each scoring discipline is worth a maximum of 100 points.
Sprint
100 pts max- Individual time trial over a 300–400 m course
- Teams race the clock, started one at a time
- Two runs (Classic) or one run (Adventure)
RX New
100 pts max- Rafting Cross — two teams start simultaneously
- Knockout elimination through upstream & downstream gates
- Short course (≤300 m) with a no-contact zone off the start
Head-to-Head
100 pts max- Two rafts race side by side through a rapid
- Knockout/elimination format
- Teams negotiate navigation markers; pairings set by the Sprint
Slalom
100 pts max- 8–14 gates (some upstream) run in numerical order
- Two runs — the best run counts
- Penalties for touching (2s Classic / 5s Adventure) or missing (50s) a gate
Downriver
100 pts max- Long course of 3,000–10,000 m of rapids and flatwater
- Group/mass start (4–8 rafts), fastest time wins
Scoring
Under the URF Sport Rules, each scoring discipline is capped at 100 points, for a maximum of 300 points per event. Points are awarded by finishing order.
| Place | Share of discipline points |
|---|---|
| 1st | 100% |
| 2nd | 90% |
| 3rd | 80% |
| 4th | 75% |
| 5th | 70% |
| 6th | 68% |
| 7th | 66% |
| 8th and beyond | −2% per place |
Classic Format
Sprint · RX · Slalom
Three scoring disciplines, 100 points each = 300 max.
Adventure Format
Head-to-Head · Slalom · Downriver
Sprint runs as the H2H qualifier (not scored). Three scoring disciplines = 300 max.
Categories
- Men
- Women
- Mixed (R4 only)
- Para-Rafting (R4 only)
- Junior (U19)
- Under-23 (U23)
- Senior
- Master (40+)
- R2 — 2 paddlers (USRA domestic)
- R4 — 4 paddlers
- R6 — 6 paddlers
National federations choose the format and disciplines for their domestic events under URF rules — the USRA may run a partial format (for example, the 2026 Nationals run Sprint, Slalom, and H2H). See the Race Rules and Race Scoring pages for full detail.