Butcher (22) has had a mixed season so far but can make up for some disappointments with an impressive performance in Pau in France.
The Alexandra product has been racing on the world cup circuit this year but, in a sport which can go wrong in the blink of an eye, his best performance has been 29th.
The depth though is frightening with the sport having a high profile in Europe and paddlers from all over the world lining up.
In Butcher's division there are 103 paddlers competing.
The top 40 paddlers will go through to the semifinal when they will take part in two races.
From there, the top 10 will go through to the final.
Butcher is the second-ranked New Zealander in the field behind Olympian Mike Dawson.
Callum Gilbert, of Bay of Plenty, is also competing.
Butcher is rated 48th in the event so is on the cusp of making the semifinal based on his ranking.
The event is in an adjusted canal near the town centre of the city of Pau in southern France.
Butcher first started paddling in Central Otago when he was 9 and has gradually risen up the ranks. This will be the second world championships in which he has competed after London in 2015. There were no world championships last year because of the Olympics.
Also appearing at the championships is Kensa Randle, who hails from Alexandra, although she spends most of her time these days in Auckland.
She is competing in the women's K1 division, alongside Rio de Janeiro Olympics silver medallist Luuka Jones.
