List of artificial whitewater courses


The first whitewater slalom race took place on the Aar River in Switzerland in 1933. The early slalom courses were all set in natural rivers, but when whitewater slalom became an Olympic sport for the first time, at the 1972 Munich Games, the venue was the world's first concrete-channel artificial whitewater course, the Eiskanal in Augsburg. All Olympic whitewater slalom competitions have taken place in artificial courses, which now exist in 16 countries on five continents.
Streambed slalom courses still outnumber concrete channels, but most international competition takes place in the more controlled environment of an artificial course. The standard parameters for such a course, patterned on the Olympic model, are a length of about 300 meters, a slope of 2%, and a flow rate of. Within those parameters, designs vary. Water diversion features can be natural rocks, shaped concrete boulders and wing dams, plastic bollards, wooden dams, or truck tires. Channel walls can be straight or slanted, and smooth or cobbled. The floor of the channel may have raised turbulence generators to slow the water speed. The course may be a single straight channel, parallel channels, one or more loops, or a figure-8.
Water can be supplied by diversion from a nearby river, tidal current, electric pumps, or a combination. The expense of operation is largely dependent on the water source. A single channel on the Olympic model — a 6-meter drop at 17 m³/s — represents one megawatt of energy, either supplied by pumps or sacrificed in the case of diversion around a hydroelectric generator. Ironically, diversion is often more expensive than pumping if the diverted water would have made a bigger drop inside the hydroelectric facility. The extreme example of this is the Ocoee Whitewater Center where water must bypass a 96-meter drop in a dam, tunnel, and penstock, in order to water the 9-meter drop of the whitewater course.
Most artificial whitewater courses cover their operating costs by charging passengers for guided raft rides. Canoe and kayak slalom training and competition do not generate enough revenue.
The four riverbed courses on this list are all extensively engineered and used for major competitions. Ocoee is no longer used for slalom, but it was the 1996 Olympic venue. The other courses on the list have concrete channels, often built in former industrial canals or mill races. Every city that hosts a summer Olympics is now expected to build a spectacular new whitewater stadium, usually powered by electric pumps. The Lee Valley White Water Centre, constructed for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, cost £31million.
In the table below, the location of each facility for which there is no Wikipedia article is noted in the Comment column. If the facility is more than two years old, there is often a good satellite or aerial picture available via the link.
SlopeStreamflow
DateCourse NameLocationWater SourcePower SourceShapeft/mi cu ft/s Comment
Australia--------
2000Penrith Whitewater StadiumPenrithPenrith LakesPumpedLoop91 494 2000 Olympics Sydney
Austria--------
2013Vienna Watersports ArenaViennaNew DanubePumpedLoop79 424
Brazil--------
2006Itaipu Slalom CourseFoz do IguaçuItaipu Lake, Paraná RiverFlow diversion & PumpedLoop115 441
2015Deodoro Olympic Whitewater StadiumRio de Janeirocity waterPumped2 Loops95 420 2016 Olympics Rio de Janeiro
Canada--------
-Canoe Meadows Race CourseKananaskisKananaskis RiverDam release, Natural modifiedLinear- Normal
-Minden Wild Water PreserveMinden, OntarioGull RiverDam release, Natural modifiedRiverbed, Maintained-825-1650 2015 Pan-Am Games
-Pumphouse TailraceOttawaOttawa RiverFlow diversionLinear--
-Rutherford Whitewater ParkWhistlerRutherford CreekFlow diversionLinear--
China--------
2004Whitewater Stadium of NanjingNanjingXuanwu LakePumpedLoop79 565
2007Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing ParkShunyiChaobai RiverPumpedLoop110 -2008 Olympics Beijing
2007Xiasi Canoe Slalom CourseXiasiQingshui RiverFlow diversionLinear102 424
2007Rizhao Canoe Slalom CourseRizhaoRizhao HarborPumpedLoop--
Miyi Canoe Slalom Training BaseMiyiPeace RiverFlow diversionLinear119 494
Czech Republic--------
1983Prague-Troja Canoeing CentrePrague-TrojaVltava RiverFlow diversionLinear63 565
-Ceske Vrbne Slalom CourseCeské BudejoviceVltava RiverFlow diversionLinear--
1984Veltrusy Slalom CourseVeltrusyVltava RiverFlow diversionLinear53.50 353
-Trnavka Slalom CourseZelivZeliv Lake, Trnava StreamFlow diversionLinear86424
-Roudnice nad LabemRoudnice nad LabemLabe RiverFlow diversionLinear--
ProposedZdimerice Whitewater ParkPrague-ZdimericePumpedLoop--
France--------
1992Lannion Whitewater StadiumLannionLeguer RiverFlow diversion, TidalLinear47 530
1992Parc des Eaux VivesHuningueRhine RiverFlow diversionLoop75 353
1993L'Argentière-la-BesséeL'Argentière-la-BesséeDurance RiverNatural flowRiverbed47 2470
1996St Laurent Whitewater StadiumSt LaurentScarpe RiverGravity, PumpedLinear86 424
1997Bourg-Saint-MauriceBourg-Saint-MauriceIsère RiverDam releaseRiverbed184 883
1997Nancy Whitewater StadiumNancyMeurthe RiverFlow diversionLinear72 706
1999Cesson-Sévigné Whitewater StadiumCesson-SévignéVilaine RiverGravity, PumpedV-shape39 424
2000Cergy Whitewater StadiumCergyOise RiverPumpedLoop103 565
2000Millau Whitewater CourseMillauTarn RiverFlow diversionLinear31.5 565
-Saint-Pierre-de-Bœuf-ParadiseSaint-Pierre-de-BœufRhône RiverFlow diversionLinear--
-Épinal Slalom CourseÉpinalMoselle RiverFlow diversionLinear--
-Isle de la SerreSault-BrénazRhône RiverFlow diversionS-shape--
-Slalom ArdècheVallon-Pont-d'ArcArdèche RiverFlow diversionLinear--
2008Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater StadiumPauGave de PauFlow diversionLoop94 494
2008Châteauneuf Whitewater SportsChâteauneuf-sur-CherCher RiverDiversion, Pumped110 meter Loop58 459
2013Sainte Suzanne Whitewater StadiumSainte Suzanne, Réunion IslandSainte Suzanne RiverPumped250 meter loop63 420
Germany--------
1971Augsburg EiskanalAugsburgLech RiverFlow diversionLinear79 353 1972 Olympics Munich
2006Kanupark MarkkleebergLeipzigMarkkleeberger SeePumped2 Loops111 494
Greece--------
2004Heleniko Whitewater StadiumAthensGulf of AthensPumpedFigure-8
-
618 2004 Olympics Athens
2008Evinos River Slalom CourseNafpaktosEvinos RiverDiversion520 meter Linear53 530
Italy--------
2007Ivrea Whitewater StadiumIvreaDora Baltea RiverFlow diversionLinear168 706
Japan--------
2019Kasai Canoe Slalom CentreTokyoPumpedLinear/Lift424
Macedonia--------
Skopje Slalom Canoeing CenterSkopjeTreskaIn stream, Dam releaseLinear
Mexico--------
Union de TulaUnion de TulaRio AyuquilaDam ReleaseAltered stream
Netherlands--------
2006Dutch Water DreamsZoetermeerPlas van PootPumpedLoop88 572
New Zealand--------
2015Vector Wero Whitewater ParkAuckland, New ZealandPumped79
Poland--------
2003Krakow-Kolna Canoe Slalom CourseKrakówVistula RiverDiversionLinear--
Russia--------
2008Okulovka Whitewater CanalOkulovka, Novgorod OblastPeretna RiverDam release, Natural modifiedS-shape100 309
Slovakia--------
1978Ondrej Cibak Whitewater Slalom CourseLiptovský MikulášVah RiverDiversionParallel Linear113 530
1996Cunovo Water Sports CentreBratislavaDanube RiverDiversion2 Loops98 777
Slovenia--------
1990Tacen Whitewater CourseLjubljanaSava RiverDam Spillway, TailraceLinear-989
Spain--------
1991Segre Olympic ParkLa Seu d'UrgellSegre RiverFlow diversion, Pumped2 Loops114 618 1992 Olympics Barcelona
2008El Canal de Aguas BravasZaragozaEbro RiverPumpedLoop101 424 Expo 2008
2012Parc del Mig SegrePontsSegre RiverDam release, Natural flowLinear13 1272 300-meter course
United Arab Emirates--------
2012Wadi AdventureAl AinPumped3 loops
United Kingdom--------
1981Canolfan TrywerynBala, GwyneddLlyn Celyn / Afon TrywerynDam releaseRiverbed-350 1000-meter course
1982Cardington Slalom CourseBedfordRiver Great OuseFlow diversionLinear60 530 150-meter course
1986Holme Pierrepont National Watersports CentreNottinghamRiver TrentFlow diversionLinear30 883 500-meter course
1999Nene Whitewater CentreNorthamptonRiver NeneFlow diversion, PumpedLoop-- 300-meter course
1995Tees Barrage International White Water CourseStockton-on-TeesRiver TeesFlow diversion, PumpedLoop53 353 250-meter course
2010Cardiff International White WaterCardifffully enclosedPumped1½ Loops565 250-meter course
2010Lee Valley White Water CentreLondonGroundwaterPumped2 Loops88 460 2012 Olympics London
2014Pinkston WatersportsGlasgowForth and Clyde CanalPumped2 Loops79 247 100-meter course
United States--------
1984East Race WaterwaySouth Bend INSt. Joseph RiverFlow diversionLinear33 500
1991Dickerson Whitewater CourseDickerson MDPotomac RiverPumpedLinear91 600 Heated water
1996Ocoee Whitewater CenterDucktown TNOcoee RiverDam releaseRiverbed99 1560 1996 Olympics Atlanta
2006U.S. National Whitewater CenterCharlotte NCcity tap waterPumped2 Loops113 550
2007Adventure Sports Center InternationalMcHenry MDDeep Creek LakePumpedLoop91 550
2016Riversport RapidsOklahoma City OKcity tap waterPumped2 Loops-
1974Wausau Whitewater ParkWausau WIWisconsin RiverDam ReleaseRiver Bed-650
Note: Slope and Streamflow numbers refer only to the 300-meter section used for Olympic-style slalom training and competition.--------