Ailsa Harvey
White water rafting is a team sport, involving the navigation of an inflatable raft down the fast, white water of a river. The sport can include risky areas of white water, with different rivers graded with levels of difficulty. Teamwork is essential in balancing and manoeuvring the raft, ensuring the fastest route is taken, and done so safely.
It is an extreme sport when carried out in technical rivers, and mistakes can be fatal. The classes of white water range from the lowest difficulty rating, class 1, with very small rough areas requiring slight manoeuvring to class 6. Class 6 rapids are considered so dangerous that they are ‘not navigable on a reliably safe basis’. Huge waves, large rocks and drops can be expected on these rapids and have proved extremely dangerous in comparison to the lower classes.
