Kayaking competitions are a test of skill and agility. Now you can expect to win a handsome amount of prize money by showcasing your kayaking skills in the 2006 International Special Olympics Invitational Games, Shanghai. The kayaking competition is scheduled to be held at the Shangai Water Sports Center on October 16-18, 2006.

The participants for the competitions must be citizens holding valid passports of participating countries. They must be at least 16 years of age and must be below 70 in IQ. They should also be able to meet Special Olympics eligibility requirements as deemed by the Olympics committee.

Each delegation is permitted to enter four athletes, and he or she cannot participate in more than two events. Partners can only take part in United Sports events. The professional athletes and proficient coaches cannot register for the competition as partners.

The Competition Department of the Games Organizing Committee received the information about the number of athletes required and the events scheduled before May 15 2006. The registration forms were duly received with particulars like name, age, entry time and score of the athletes before June 15, 2006.

The kayaking athletes will be divisioned by age, gender and athletic skill for preliminary rounds. The groups will be rearranged for the finals based on the preliminary results. Each group will have three to eight kayaks. All athletes are obligated to participate in a swimming test and wear life jackets.

The top three winners or finishers for each division of the event will be awarded gold, silver and bronze medals. The remaining four through eight will get ribbons for proficiency. There are more such kayaking competitions held in different kayaking loving parts of the world but all eyes are set and fingers are flexed for the thrills and spills in October.