The international scale of river difficulty is an American system used to rate the difficulty of navigating a stretch of river, or a single (sometimes whitewater) rapid.[1] The scale was created by the American Whitewater Association to evaluate rivers throughout the world, hence international in the title.[2] It should not be confused with the internationally used whitewater scale, which is published and adapted by a committee of the International Canoe Federation (ICF).[3][4] The grade reflects the technical difficulty and skill level required associated with the section of river. The scale is of use to various water sports and activities, such as rafting, riverboarding, whitewater canoeing, stand up paddle surfing, and whitewater kayaking.[5]
- ^ Charlie Walbridge; Mark Singleton (2005). "Safety Code of American Whitewater". American Whitewater. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ "International Scale of River Difficulty". American Whitewater. Retrieved January 7, 2015.
- ^ "whitewater scale organisation". Deutscher Kanuverband. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- ^ "whitewater scale DKV" (PDF). Deutscher Kanuverband. 1979. Archived from the original (PDF) on May 28, 2016. Retrieved April 19, 2016.
- ^ Cassady, Jim; Fryar Calhoun; Bill Cross (1994). Western whitewater: from the Rockies to the Pacific, a river guide for raft, kayak, and canoe. Berkeley, CA: North Fork Press. ISBN 9780961365042.