Paddle Worldwide restores Russia and Belarus under flags and anthems from 2027: neutral status remains until the end of 2026.
Paddle Worldwide, the international body governing kayaking, canoeing and other paddlesport disciplines, has decided to end the special neutral regime for eligible Russian and Belarusian athletes from 1 January 2027. Under the Executive Board decision published on 10 August 2026, athletes and athlete support personnel who meet the eligibility requirements will once again be able to compete with full national representation. This includes official country names, national designations, national-team uniforms, flags and anthems. Until 31 December 2026, the existing Individual Neutral Athlete policy will remain in force, introduced after Russia and Belarus were suspended from international competitions under the authority of the then International Canoe Federation, ICF, following the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
The change, however, does not mean that national symbols will automatically appear at every competition from the beginning of 2027. For events whose hosting rights were awarded before that date, Paddle Worldwide is introducing a transitional model that depends on the laws and binding decisions of the host country. If local regulations allow full participation, Russian and Belarusian representatives will compete as national delegations. If flags and anthems are prohibited but national identification is permitted, they will be allowed to use the country's name and national equipment, while official ceremonies will be held without those symbols. Only if even that form of participation is not legally possible will athletes compete under Paddle Worldwide's neutral designation.
What changes on 1 January 2027
The most important part of the decision concerns the termination of the special Individual Neutral Athlete, or AIN, policy for eligible Russian and Belarusian athletes and their accompanying personnel. In practice, this means the return of country names to official lists and results, national colours and markings on equipment, and flags and anthems to competition protocols. This is a significant change from the regime that in recent years sought to separate individual athletes from the official representation of their countries. The decision also applies to Athlete Support Personnel, including coaches, medical and technical staff and other members of support teams who meet the eligibility requirements.
The term "eligible athletes" nevertheless remains important. The new decision does not mean an automatic right to compete without the usual sporting, anti-doping, registration and other criteria that apply to all competitors. In its decision of 7 July 2026, the International Olympic Committee explicitly stated that Russian athletes returning to international competition must meet the applicable anti-doping requirements. Paddle Worldwide also retains its own rules on qualification, rankings and disciplinary responsibility, meaning that the return of national symbols is not the same as removing all other participation requirements.
Three levels for competitions already awarded to hosts
A three-tier system has been prescribed for events whose hosting rights were awarded before 1 January 2027. Paddle Worldwide states that the levels are applied in sequence and that a stricter model is used only if the law or a binding decision of the host country makes the preceding level impossible. In this way, the organisation establishes full national representation as the default rule while allowing room for legal circumstances that competition organisers cannot directly influence.
- Full national representation: eligible athletes and members of support teams may use national names and designations, national-team equipment, flags and anthems.
- Limited national representation: if local law or a binding state decision prevents the full model, the country's name, national identification and uniforms are permitted, but flags and anthems are not used at medal ceremonies and other official ceremonies.
- Individual neutral participation: if the host country's legal framework does not permit either of the previous two solutions, athletes compete under Paddle Worldwide's neutral designation, without national names, markings, uniforms, flags or anthems.
The rule is different for competitions whose hosting rights are awarded from 1 January 2027 onward. Paddle Worldwide requires future hosts to ensure access and full national participation for all eligible athletes and members of support teams. The issue therefore becomes part of the bidding conditions, alongside sporting infrastructure, organisational capacity and the federation's other rules. In countries where domestic regulations would prevent such participation, the organisation would also have to take that legal obstacle into account when awarding future hosting rights.
From complete suspension to a neutral return
The current change follows several years of gradual policy adjustments. On 1 March 2022, the ICF suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from its international competitions and governing bodies following a recommendation by the International Olympic Committee made after the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. At the time, the federation removed Russian and Belarusian flags, anthems and identifying marks from its events and stripped Russia of the hosting rights to several competitions scheduled for 2022. The decision was part of a broader wave of sporting sanctions introduced by international federations during the first weeks of the war.
In April 2023, the ICF opened a path for some athletes to return as Individual Neutral Athletes. Under the rules published at the time, neutral status could be granted only to athletes who had not publicly supported the war and were not contractually linked to the Russian or Belarusian military or security services. Applications were assessed by an independent commission, and participation was permitted without national colours, flags, anthems or other symbols that would represent an athlete as a member of the Russian or Belarusian national team. In its August 2026 decision, Paddle Worldwide confirmed that this regime would remain fully in force until the end of the year.
In May 2026, the ICF further regulated the position of neutral athletes in world and Olympic qualification rankings. For administrative purposes, the designations AIN (A) are used for holders of Russian passports and AIN (B) for holders of Belarusian passports, without recognition of national representation. Points earned under a neutral designation remain valid even if an athlete later returns under the authority of a national federation. Therefore, the transition to full national representation from 2027 should not in itself erase results and qualification points achieved during the neutral period.
The change follows the International Olympic Committee's new direction
In its explanation, Paddle Worldwide directly links its decision to a change in International Olympic Committee policy. On 7 May 2026, the IOC announced that it no longer recommended restrictions on Belarusian athletes, including teams, in competitions organised by international federations and organisers of international sporting events. The Committee stated that athletes' participation should not be restricted because of the actions of their governments and referred to the right to access sport without political interference or pressure.
For Russia, the key decision was taken on 7 July 2026. The IOC Executive Board then provisionally lifted the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee, which had been in force since October 2023. The IOC stated that the Russian Olympic Committee no longer included regional sports organisations from territories the IOC considers to fall under the jurisdiction of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and that it had confirmed it would not conduct activities in those areas. At the same time, the IOC announced that its earlier recommendations to international federations regarding special participation conditions for Russian athletes and teams were no longer applicable.
This did not create an automatic obligation for all international federations to introduce the same model. In July, the IOC stated that sporting bodies had previously implemented its recommendations differently, depending on their own statutes and circumstances. Paddle Worldwide therefore adopted its own decision and set a specific transition date of 1 January 2027. The new regime thus becomes the rule for competitions under its authority, with specifically defined exceptions for hosting rights awarded earlier.
Paddle Worldwide's decision does not automatically determine status at the Olympic Games
Although the change comes during the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, it does not by itself determine which symbols Russian athletes will compete under at the Games themselves. Paddle Worldwide governs its own competitions and qualification systems, while the final Olympic protocol and participation conditions are determined by the IOC. In its 7 July decision, the IOC specifically stated that it would decide at the appropriate time on the display of the Russian flag, anthem, colours and other national identifiers at the Olympic Games.
The distinction is important because national symbols may return within an individual international federation before a final Olympic decision is made. The IOC also linked the easing of its policy to the beginning of the qualification period for Los Angeles 2028 and the Dolomiti Valtellina 2028 Winter Youth Olympic Games, citing the need for equal access to qualification. In paddlesport, neutral athletes are already included in the relevant rankings, meaning that 2026 will function as a transitional season: status remains neutral until 31 December, but results may affect later qualification positions.
Ukraine referred the IOC decision to CAS
The change in international sports policy toward Russia remains legally and politically contested. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine and the Ukrainian Ministry of Youth and Sports announced in late July 2026 that they had initiated proceedings before the Court of Arbitration for Sport, CAS, against the IOC's 7 July decision provisionally restoring the rights of the Russian Olympic Committee. The Ukrainian side is seeking annulment of the decision and argues that the reasons for which the Russian committee was suspended have not actually been removed.
Ukrainian Minister of Youth and Sports Matviy Bidnyi called the decision premature and recalled that CAS had rejected the Russian Olympic Committee's appeal against the original suspension in 2024. At that time, the arbitration court upheld the IOC's 2023 decision after the Russian committee incorporated regional sports organisations from Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia. The new Ukrainian proceedings concern the IOC's July 2026 decision, not Paddle Worldwide's decision directly. As of 15 August 2026, according to publicly available information, no final CAS ruling had been published in the new dispute.
The dispute demonstrates that Russia's return to international sport is taking place in an environment where different principles are interpreted in opposing ways. Ukrainian institutions emphasise territorial integrity and the links between Russian sporting structures and occupied Ukrainian territories. The IOC increasingly emphasises the individual right of athletes to access competition regardless of the actions of their government. With its new policy, Paddle Worldwide has joined the federations that have decided to translate that changed Olympic framework into a return to full national representation.
Anti-doping remains a separate requirement
The removal of neutral status does not remove anti-doping obligations. In July, the IOC stressed that all Russian athletes returning to international competitions must meet the relevant anti-doping requirements. In June 2026, the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, continued to list Russia's national anti-doping organisation among signatories not compliant with the World Anti-Doping Code.
This means that the return of the flag and anthem does not erase other regulatory issues surrounding Russian sport. The anti-doping system operates separately from a delegation's political status, so an athlete must satisfy testing rules and other requirements regardless of whether they compete neutrally or under national symbols. For Paddle Worldwide, this means that from 2027 it can change the way athletes are represented while sporting and anti-doping eligibility continue to be assessed under separate rules.
The new rules also change how future hosting rights are awarded
The practical consequences of the decision will also be visible beyond the competition itself. Organisers awarded hosting rights from 1 January 2027 onward will have to ensure access and full national participation for eligible Russian and Belarusian athletes and accompanying personnel. This may include the issuance of visas, border entry, accreditation, national markings at competition venues, and flag and anthem protocols. Future bids will therefore have to comply not only with sporting requirements but also with the domestic legal framework.
For already awarded events, the federation has retained a more flexible model so that it can adapt to existing laws and binding state decisions. For new hosts, such flexibility will be considerably narrower because full national participation has been set as a condition. This distinction between "events awarded before" and "events awarded from" 1 January 2027 is one of the key elements of the decision and may affect the future competition calendar.
Until 31 December 2026, the basic rule for Paddle Worldwide competitions remains unchanged: eligible Russian and Belarusian athletes compete as Individual Neutral Athletes, without national symbols. From 1 January 2027, the starting point shifts in the opposite direction and full national representation becomes the standard. Restrictions may apply at events already awarded if required by the law of the host country, while future organisers will have to be capable of accepting all eligible delegations with their national identifiers. The question of Olympic flags and anthems for Los Angeles 2028, however, remains under the IOC's authority and has not yet been finally resolved.
Sources:
- Paddle Worldwide – official Executive Board decision on removing AIN restrictions from 1 January 2027 and the three-tier model for hosting rights awarded earlier (link)
- International Olympic Committee – decision of 7 July 2026 on provisionally lifting the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee and ending the application of earlier recommendations for Russian athletes (link)
- International Olympic Committee – decision of 7 May 2026 on ending recommended restrictions for Belarusian athletes (link)
- ICF / Planet Canoe – official announcement on the suspension of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials on 1 March 2022 (link)
- ICF / Planet Canoe – April 2023 decision on the return of eligible athletes as Individual Neutral Athletes and the neutrality criteria (link)
- ICF – May 2026 addendum to the AIN rules on world and Olympic qualification rankings and the retention of points after a change of status (link)
- Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine – announcement on initiating appeal proceedings before CAS against the IOC's decision of 7 July 2026 (link)
- WADA – report on the compliance status of Russia's national anti-doping organisation and current issues concerning implementation of the World Anti-Doping Code (link)