Whitewater kayak history

Early whitewater kayaking was done with folding kayaks - see Sea Kayak History. This led to the development of whitewater as a sport and as a racing discipline. Slalom racing became popular in Europe, as did flatwater racing and eventually became part of the summer Olympic Games.

Wildwater?...

According to Charlie Walbridge in his book Boatbuilder's Manual, if you were a whitewater kayaker in the '60s, you were a kayak maker. Those who wished to participate had to get their hands on an existing design, often imported from Europe in the form of a slalom kayak, and copy it in fiberglass. These kayaks were built tough and many a kayaker spent time repairing the cracks and dings that rocks added to the fiberglass shells.

Plastic whitewater kayaks began to show up in the '70s. Some early ones were apparently made of olefin plastics, though most later ones (and most modern ones) are made of polyethylene.

Initially long and relatively slender, like the slalom kayaks they derived from, plastic kayaks evolved to meet the demands of specific whitewater disciplines - creeking, playboats and so on. The creek boats became higher in volume and the playboats became shorter and added features such as planing hulls and blunt ends.