07/15/2026
Next week, our city is hosting one of the most important sporting events we’ve ever had in OKC. We’ve hosted the NBA Finals, we’ve hosted the Women’s College World Series, we’ve hosted NCAA championships, NCAA tournaments and rodeo finals, but we have never hosted the official world championship in a perennial Olympic sport.
That is about to change next week, when Oklahoma City hosts the 2026 Canoe Slalom World Championships, staged by the International Canoe Federation, the international governing body for the sport. Over 300 athletes from 50 countries are descending on our city right now.
Along with Softball, Canoe Slalom is one of two sports we are hosting in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, and this is your chance to engage with the sport we'll all be talking about in 2028.
The World Championships have been staged since 1949, and this is only the third time the World Championships have been staged in the United States, and the first time the Championships are in the U.S. since 2014.
Everything starts Saturday night (July 18) at 7 p.m. at RIVERSPORT with an opening ceremony that is free and open to the public. There will be a parade of nations, musical performances, and fireworks.
Competition lasts for six days, from Monday, July 20th through Saturday, July 25th. You can come anytime each day between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. and catch competition. If you're looking for some high points, I recommend coming to finals on Thursday afternoon, July 23rd, from 2 to 4 p.m., as well as finals on Friday afternoon, July 24th, from 2 to 4 p.m. And then on Saturday, July 25th are the kayak cross finals from 3 to 5 p.m., followed by the closing ceremony. Kayak cross is the new Olympic sport that pits paddlers against each other simultaneously.
Here is the full event schedule:
https://okc2026.com/event-schedule/
All of these events are accompanied by great food and entertainment. There will be a fun atmosphere at RIVERSPORT all week long.
You can buy your tickets right now at https://okc2026.com/tickets
Tickets are the price of a movie and readily available. If you've been stressing about the availability or cost of Olympics tickets, this is an easy and perfect opportunity to see the same athletes in a high-stakes atmosphere right here in OKC.
I hope you will make plans to come out to the World Championships! I promise you won’t regret it. I watched days of Canoe Slalom at the Paris Olympics, and I’m telling you, it’s a thrilling sport to watch. Thousands of our residents are going to discover that in the next two years. Let’s get a jump on that process next week at the World Championships!
