EKAITZ SAIES

I’m writing this on the plane, on my way to Copenhagen for the first Kayak Sprint Copenhagen race in partnership with Paddle Games.

If everything goes to plan, soon I’ll be on the train into the city, walking through Kødbyen, Copenhagen’s former Meatpacking District, now one of the city’s most vibrant creative neighbourhoods, grabbing something to eat in one of those cool places I follow on Instagram before settling into the hotel and preparing for the race.

Last night, sitting on the garden bench with my wife, we found ourselves talking about why Paddle Games exists in the first place.

For decades, we’ve expected people to come to us. We’ve built our sport around venues, often outside cities, difficult to reach by public transport, hidden away from everyday life. If someone wants to watch canoe sprint, they have to make a conscious decision to seek it out.

But what if there’s also another way?

What if, instead of asking people to come to paddling, we brought paddling to where people already are?

That conversation led us somewhere interesting.

I was explaining why I believe our races should be free to watch, both in person and online. Instead of putting barriers in front of people, I’d rather find other ways to make the sport sustainable—premium experiences, merchandise, partnerships, hospitality and all the things that create value without limiting access.

My wife smiled and said something that immediately clicked.

“The best museums in Oxford and London are free.”

She’s right.

Thousands of people walk into those museums every day, not because they already love art, history, zoology or anthropology, but because they’re there. They’re curious. They’re welcome.

Some spend twenty minutes.

Others spend five hours.

And for a few, that first free visit changes everything. It becomes the beginning of a lifelong passion.

Why shouldn’t our sport work the same way?

Paddling is one of the most beautiful sports in the world.

But it’s also one of the least accessible.

You can’t simply put on a pair of running shoes or kick a football around with friends. You need a boat. A paddle. Somewhere to store them. Somewhere to transport them. A suitable body of water. Competition venues that meet technical requirements.

By necessity, most of our races happen far from city centres, often in places that someone would never stumble across by accident.

Which means that, unless you’re already part of our community, there’s a good chance you’ll never experience the sport at all.

That’s what Paddle Games is trying to change.

When we raced in Palma de Mallorca last October, I remember swimming in the Mediterranean the evening before competition. Tourists were walking along the waterfront. Families were having dinner.

On race day, people around the Cathedral stopped, watched the racing, asked questions and probably stayed longer than they expected.

This weekend in Copenhagen, we want to achieve the same.

Not because we think one race will change the sport overnight.

But because movements begin with moments.

A family out for a walk.

Someone stopping for ten minutes.

A child watching athletes race through the city and saying, “I’d like to try that.”

Those moments matter.

Our ambition has never been to organise another regatta.

Our ambition is to create experiences.

Experiences for athletes who deserve to compete in incredible locations.

Experiences for fans who want to feel close to the action.

Experiences for people who weren’t planning to watch paddling at all, but happen to walk past, become curious and perhaps decide to pick up a paddle one day.

That’s how communities grow.

Not by asking more from the people who already care, but by inviting everyone else in.

Paddle Games is still young. We don’t pretend to have all the answers. We’ll make mistakes, we’ll learn and we’ll keep improving.

But one thing feels increasingly clear to me.

If we want the future of paddling to be bigger than its past, we have to stop waiting for people to find us.

We have to meet them where they are.

Together, we can create a movement. Because movements are never built by one organisation or one event. They’re built by people who believe sport can be experienced differently.

If that idea resonates with you, whether you’re an athlete, coach, organiser, volunteer, sponsor or simply someone who loves great sporting experiences, then you’re already part of what we’re trying to build.

Because Paddle Games isn’t just about changing the way we race.

It’s about changing the way the world experiences paddling.