Lee Valley White Water Centre, 2012 Canoe Slalom Venue, London Olympics Building
London Olympics White Water Centre
Canoe Slalom Venue: Lee Valley Sports design by FaulknerBrowns Architects, England, UK
9 Dec 2010
Olympic Canoe Slalom Venue
Address: Station Road, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire EN9 1AB, England, UK
Phone: 0845 677 0600
Team GB canoeists use Olympic course for first time as venue is completed on budget and 18 months before the Games
Design: FaulknerBrowns, architects
Olympics White Water Centre
An early legacy of world-class new sporting facilities was unveiled today as HRH The Princess Royal viewed the white water canoe centre for the London 2012 Games – the first brand new 2012 venue completed by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA).
photos from Olympic Delivery Authority
The Lee Valley White Water Centre has been built near Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire and will host the canoe slalom events during the Olympic Games. Before and after 2012, the venue will be owned and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) as a sporting and leisure facility for canoeing and white water rafting, as well as a major competition and training venue. The venue will open to the public for rafting and canoeing in April 2011 delivering an early legacy over a year before the Games begin.
The Lee Valley White Water Centre includes funding from Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the East of England Development Agency, and Sport England, which played a key role in funding the legacy facilities at the venue. The ODA started construction in July 2009 and work has now been completed, making it the first brand new 2012 venue to be finished. The venue was unveiled today by HRH The Princess Royal, joined by LOCOG Chair Seb Coe, ODA Chairman John Armitt, Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson and LVRPA Chairman Derrick Ashley. A number of Team GB canoeists also attended the event to try out the Olympic competition course for the first time.
Campbell Walsh, Olympic Silver Medallist in Canoe Slalom said: “It’s hugely exciting to test the rapids at the new Lee Valley White Water Centre for the first time. The course looks great and I’m sure it will make a spectacle of a race for the Olympic Games.”
Olympic Delivery Authority Chairman John Armitt said: “The completion of the White Water Centre – on budget and over 18 months before the Games – is a huge milestone. As the first brand new 2012 venue we have finished, it is a clear sign of the early legacy the Games are already delivering. Seeing canoeists and rafters use the courses for the first time gives us a glimpse of the excitement we can expect here in 2012 and the world-class new facilities that people of all ages and abilities will be able to use for many years to come.”
Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “This is another great story. Our vision has always been to use the power of the Games to inspire change and this is another world-class venue that would not have been built without Britain staging the Games. With the centre open to the public both before and after the thrilling action at Games-time, it really does demonstrate the great legacy that London 2012 will leave for users from elite athletes to kids from local communities.”
Olympics Minister Hugh Robertson said: “The Lee Valley White Water Centre is an excellent example of the benefits London 2012 has brought to the UK. The construction of this purpose built site has created business and employment opportunities. This is now a major competition and training venue for elite athletes while the public rafting and canoeing facilities will bring more new people to the sport and help leave a legacy from hosting the Games.”
Derrick Ashley, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Chairman said: “It’s a hugely exciting time as we prepare to open the doors to this world class venue. Tickets are on sale now for white water rafting and from April 2011 members of the public can experience adrenalin pumping white water on the same course that will be used by the world’s best athletes. We will ensure that the venue is used by everyone from elite athletes to schools, sports clubs and community groups and the Centre will join our existing award-winning sports venues to become an integral part of the Lee Valley destination for active sport and leisure.”
Professor William Pope, Chair of the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) said: “EEDA’s £4 million investment into Lee Valley’s White Water Canoe Centre has increased the scale and flexibility of this world-class venue, thereby almost doubling the number of people who will be able to access and enjoy the centre after the Games. This brand new venue will be on the world stage come Summer 2012. But the long-term economic and social benefits of Lee Valley will be felt for decades to come – boosting Hertfordshire’s tourist trade before, during and after the Games, giving members of the public the opportunity to try out a thrilling new sport, whilst providing a venue fit to host future European and World Championships.”
Paul Owen Chief Executive British Canoe Union said: “We now have in Britain the best White Water Stadium in the world and we look forward providing a sensational event for the 2012 Olympic Games in a venue with a lasting legacy.”
Charles Johnston, Sport England’s Property Director, said: “As a world-class sporting facility available to people of all abilities throughout the community both before and long after the Games, the White Water Centre is a clear sign of things to come as we deliver a lasting legacy from London 2012. The Centre’s completion marks a major milestone on the road to the mass participation legacy and is another example of how our National Lottery funding is opening up grassroots sporting opportunities.”
Lee Valley White Water Centre – Further Information
The Lee Valley White Water Centre will now be owned and operated by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA).
The construction of the Lee Valley White Water Centre includes funding from Lee Valley Regional Park Authority, the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) and Sport England.
The Lee Valley White Water Centre was built by Morrison Construction.
Tickets for white water rafting at the Lee Valley White Water Centre are available to purchase now at www.better.org.uk/leisure-centre/lee-valley/white-water-centre or by calling 0845 6770 606
Previously:
17 Aug 2010
Design: FaulknerBrowns, architects
2012 Canoe Slalom Venue
New images released by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) today show water now flowing at the new white water canoe centre for the London 2012 Games. The progress keeps the venue on track to be completed later this year as the first brand new 2012 venue to be finished.
The Lee Valley White Water Centre is being built by the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) near Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire and will host the canoe slalom events during the Olympic Games. Before and after 2012, the venue will be owned and managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) as a sporting and leisure facility for canoeing and white-water rafting, as well as a major competition and training venue for elite events.
photos from Olympic Delivery Authority
The ODA started construction work on the venue in July 2009 and over 150 people are now working on site. Works on the new lake and competition courses have now been completed allowing water to begin flowing at the venue and testing work to begin on the canoe courses. Internal fit-out is also now underway on the two-storey facility building and landscaping works have started, keeping the venue on track to be finished later this year. A video blog showing the water flowing and construction progress at the venue can also now be viewed on the London 2012 website.
Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) Chairman John Armitt said: “With water flowing down the courses at the White Water Centre we are getting our first look at the facilities that the world’s best canoeists will compete on in 2012. With the venue due to be completed later this year, we are also on track to deliver an early sporting legacy for the East of England region well before the Games begin.”
Seb Coe, Chair of the London 2012 Organising Committee, said: “It’s really exciting to see such good progress being made in the delivery of a facility that will provide a world-class venue for Games-time and an excellent facility for elite athlete and community usage after the Games, living up to our promise of leaving a lasting legacy for sport. These images of the water at the venue show how quickly the Lee Valley White Water Centre is taking shape. We are developing a challenging Olympic course for a world class Canoe Slalom event and a community facility which will provide a thrilling new experience for beginners.”
Shaun Dawson, Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Chief Executive said: “This is thrilling progress. We will start to take bookings for the Lee Valley White Water Centre this autumn and from April 2011 thousands of rafters and canoeists will be able to enjoy this adrenalin charged Centre before the Olympians arrive.
The training course will provide an excellent transition facility for newcomers to the sport and enable us to cater for both competition and recreational users in legacy. As the only brand new 2012 venue to open to the public ahead of the Games, the Centre is a very tangible piece of legacy from the Games. Along with the Lee Valley White Water Centre, in legacy the LVRPA will also own and manage the VeloPark and the Hockey and Tennis centres on the Olympic Park.”
Lord Edward Iveagh from the East of England Development Agency (EEDA) said: “It is great to see water now coursing through what will be a fantastic leisure and sports venue for canoeists of all levels. EEDA has been instrumental in helping to create not just a world-class white water facility but also to secure a lasting economic and social legacy for local people and businesses for years to come.”
Paul Owen, Chief Executive, of the British Canoe Union said: “We are beginning to see a real transformation now that water is filling the course, the site no longer looks like a footprint of building works, it is really coming together as a world class Olympic canoeing venue. The progress also gives us a glimpse of the legacy it will leave behind for canoeists and we are all extremely excited about the benefits for the sport.”
Charles Johnston, Sport England’s Property Director, said: “With water now filling the course, we’re really starting to see an early legacy of new sporting and leisure facilities from London 2012 taking shape. Our investment of National Lottery funding is going towards meeting a long-standing need for high-quality water sport facilities in the area. With the venue on track to open its doors for public use in 2011, I look forward to seeing community paddlers – from beginner to elite – take to the water both before the Games and long after the closing ceremony.”
The Lee Valley White Water Centre is being built in the heart of the 10,000 acre Lee Valley Regional Park, on a 10 hectare site covering an area the equivalent of 25 full-size football pitches, and will include:
An Olympic standard 300m competition course
– A boat conveyor to transport participants to the course start in their rafts or canoes
A 160m intermediate/training course
– The intermediate course will help create an inclusive and comprehensive sports programme in legacy from novice paddler through to elite competitors
Lake
– Finish lake area of 10,000m2 (1 hectare / 2.5 acres)
A facility building and pumping house
– Containing a reception, café, changing rooms, admin offices, spectator viewing facilities, storage, and water pump/filtration plant
Landscaping works
– With path and bridge networks throughout the venue to facilitate spectator viewing and access
The construction of the Lee Valley White Water Centre is due to be completed for Games training and testing in 2010-11 and will open to the public for rafting and canoeing in April 2011. During the Games, temporary seating will be installed around the venue for spectators.
After the Games, the spectator seating will be removed, and the venue will be developed into the Lee Valley White Water Centre, creating a major leisure attraction for canoeing and white water rafting as well as a venue for future international competition and sports development opportunities.
Anyone keen to find out more information on the development of the venue and how it will be used before, after, or during the Games can go to www.gowhitewater.co.uk or visit a dedicated Information Point, located a 20 minute walk away from the site, at YHA Lee Valley in Cheshunt, part of the Lee Valley Regional Park.
Lee Valley White Water Centre was previously known as Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre
London Olympics White Water Centre images / information from the Olympic Delivery Authority
White Water Canoe Centre, London – new photos
Location: Lee Valley, London, England, UK
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