In 2013, the International Canoe Federation (ICF) was approached by Paddle for the Planet (P4P), a registered NGO that unites paddlers and watermen for conservation, about the possibility of forming a partnership. P4P’s signature event is the annual Global Paddling Relay: simultaneous paddling events that start sequentially, on the same day and at the same time, in different time zones all over the world, thereby creating a global relay.
Paddlers of any type of paddling craft (rowing boats, dragon boats, canoes, kayaks and others) are united through the event.