Lee Valley White Water Centre

Key facts:

Sport: Canoe Slalom
Capacity: up to 12,000
Location: 30km north of the Olympic Park, on the edge of the 1,000-acre River Lee Country Park – part of the 26-mile long, 10,000 acre Lee Valley Regional Park in Hertfordshire
New or existing?: New, permanent venue

During the Games

Two new canoe slalom courses are being built for the Games: a 300m competition course and a 160m intermediate/training course. A new 10,000sq m lake is also being constructed. This will feed a system of pumps that will provide the 300m course with 15 cubic metres of water per second. The white water will be created by these pumps and obstacles placed in the course

Canoe Sprint events will be held at Eton Dorney.

Getting to the Lee Valley White Water Centre during the Games.

After the Games

The two courses and the facilities building will remain but the temporary seats will be removed. The Centre will become a venue for canoeing and kayaking for the local community and visitors, and be suitable for beginners to elite athletes. It will also be a major leisure attraction for white water rafting. It will be owned, funded and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. The centre will offer an extensive sports development programme, run in partnership with the British Canoe Union.
Getting ready

Construction on the new courses started in July 2009. The venue will be completed in time for Test Events in 2011 and pre-Games training.
It will also be the only brand new Games venue that the public will be able to use ahead of the 2012 Games: they will be able to enjoy white water canoeing and white water rafting at the Centre from 2011.

Timeline

2009

• Construction starts

2010

• Construction due to be completed

2011

• Venue due to open for use by the public

2012

• London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games