The novel event, which will be streamed live, will pit world and Olympic athletes against recreational paddlers.

Athletes will race over approximately 2,000 metres on KayakPro ergo machines and, using the latest technology, will be able to measure their progress against opponents located in lounges, garages and gymnasiums around the world.

Thomas Konietzko, the ICF President, said the Virtual World Cup showed the importance of embracing innovation to remain relevant in a fast-changing sporting landscape.

"Today this specifically means for traditional sports to adapt and adopt, or be left behind and forgotten," Konietzko said.

"As the governing body of the sport, we want to drive innovation and foster the growth and development.

"By having an online virtual competition, we intend to do just that.

"The virtual competition will have the opportunity to increase our membership and increase engagement with paddlers all year round by making our sport more accessible.

"Not only can paddlers virtually anywhere join, but now they can enjoy our sport during cold winter months."

The ICF has partnered with KayakPro for the Virtual World Cup and competitors need access to both a KayakPro machine, and the Genesis Port Bluetooth Smart Console.

Athletes who don’t have the console may qualify for an ICF donation.

Competitors will also need to be able to film their performance to be part of the ICF livestream programme.

There will be individual races in three categories - junior, senior and masters 40-plus - for both men and women.

There will also be Para races.

Each race will have a cutoff of 15 minutes.