Rehd,

They start young in Greenland, using outriggers for stability. In the Greenland championships age classes start with children only four years old. I don't know how the anthropometric measurements are altered for children, but to help develop balance on land, many youngsters train on a "balance board". It has a flat platform of wood on top to sit on, and end pieces with round bottoms (attached perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the top).

In the following photo, Tuuma Niels Svendsen, then aged 6, is escorted by former Qajaq Nuuk president Pavia Tobiassen, during the opening of the 2000 national kayaking championship in Nuuk, Greenland. Pavia worked closely with the boy to introduce him to kayaking over the months prior to the competition.

Greg Stamer