Canoe slalom is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on river rapids in the fastest time possible. It is one of the two kayak and canoeing disciplines at the Summer Olympics, and is referred to by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as Canoe/Kayak Slalom. The other Olympic canoeing discipline is canoe sprint. Wildwater canoeing is a non-Olympic paddlesport.
Holme Pierrepont Country Park, home of The National Water Sports Centre is located in the hamlet of Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham, England and on the River Trent. It is used for many different types of sports and has recently received significant investment which has enabled a major refurbishment of existing facilities as well as introduction of new facilities.
Lee Valley Regional Park is a 10,000-acre (40 km2) 26 miles (42 km) long linear park, much of it green spaces, running through the northeast of Greater London, Essex and Hertfordshire. The park follows the course of the River Lea (Lee) along the Lea Valley from Ware in Hertfordshire through Essex and the north east of Greater London, through the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to East India Docks Basin on the River Thames. The park is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and is made up of a diverse mix of countryside areas, urban green spaces, heritage sites, country parks, nature reserves and lakes and riverside trails, as well as leading sports centres covering an area of over 10,000 acres (40 km2). It is crossed by a number of roads and railways.
An artificial whitewater course (AWWC) is a site for whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, whitewater racing, whitewater rafting, playboating and slalom canoeing with artificially generated rapids.
The 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics venues were mostly located in the host city of London, though some other events required facilities located elsewhere. Between the successful bid and the Olympics and Paralympics themselves, several details and venues changed.
The Penrith Whitewater Stadium is located near Sydney, Australia. It is an artificial whitewater sporting facility which hosted the canoe/kayak slalom events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The facility is part of the Penrith Lakes Scheme, which is converting open-pit sand and gravel mines into lakes for recreation. It is close to Cranebrook and is adjacent to the Sydney International Regatta Centre. These lakes are not filled via the Nepean River, but are filled via rain water and ground water. The operation of the facility aerates the water and improves water quality in the flat water rowing and canoeing course.
Broxbourne is a town in the Borough of Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, England, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census. It is located to the south of Hoddesdon and to the north of Cheshunt, 17 miles (27 km) north of London. The town is near the River Lea, which forms the boundary with Essex, and 5 miles (8.0 km) north of the M25 motorway. To the west of the town are Broxbourne Woods, a national nature reserve. The Prime Meridian runs just east of Broxbourne.
The Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park was built for the rowing, canoeing and 10 km open-water swimming events in the 2008 Summer Olympics. It is located in Mapo Village in the Shunyi District in Beijing.
The Lea Valley Walk is a 50-mile (80 km) long-distance path located between Leagrave, the source of the River Lea near Luton, and the Thames, at Limehouse Basin, Limehouse, east London. From its source much of the walk is rural. At Hertford the path follows the towpath of the River Lee Navigation, and it becomes increasingly urbanised as it approaches London. The walk was opened in 1993 and is waymarked throughout using a swan logo.
Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC) was the first artificial whitewater canoe slalom course in the UK when it was completed in July 1982, having been first discussed in 1972.
Parc Olímpic del Segre is a canoeing and kayaking facility in La Seu d'Urgell, Catalonia, Spain, built in 1990 for use during the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona.
The Ocoee Whitewater Center, near Ducktown, Tennessee, United States, was the canoe slalom venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and is the only in-river course to be used for Olympic slalom competition. A 1,640 foot stretch of the Upper Ocoee River was narrowed by two-thirds to create the drops and eddies needed for a slalom course. Today, the course is watered only on summer weekends, 34 days a year, for use by guided rafts and private boaters. When the river has water, 24 commercial rafting companies take more than 750 raft passengers through the course each day.
Canoeing at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London were contested in two main disciplines: canoe slalom, from 29 July to 2 August, and canoe sprint, from 6 to 11 August. The slalom competition was held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre and the sprint events were staged at Eton College Rowing Centre, at Dorney Lake, known as Eton Dorney.
Canoeing – recreational boating activity or paddle sport in which you kneel or sit facing forward in an open or closed-decked canoe, and propel yourself with a single-bladed paddle, under your own power.
The 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships were the 37th edition of the ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. The event took place from 15 to 20 September 2015 in London, United Kingdom, under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF), at the Lee Valley White Water Centre facility, which was also the venue for the canoe slalom events at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
S2o Design and Engineering were the detailed designers of the London 2012 whitewater venue. The selection of this team to design the Olympic venue was unique because the designer was a former Olympic competitor who started a firm to design whitewater parks after receiving a degree in Engineering. The company was started in 2003 by Scott Shipley. Scott Shipley is a registered professional engineer who was formerly a World Cup Slalom Champion and World Silver Medalist in both freestyle kayaking and slalom kayaking.
The Prague Canoeing Centre is one of the most frequently used venues for international canoe slalom competition. Built in 1983 in Czechoslovakia, it diverts water around a 3.6 metres (12 ft) dam at Troja on the Vltava river in Prague. Its two unique features are its use of car and truck tires as flow diverters and its shallow slope, closer to 1% than the usual nearly 2% for such venues. Despite these characteristics, the Troja facility has hosted ten World Cup races and one World Championship in the 21 years 1992–2012, and the 2013 World Championships.
The 2023 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships took place from 19 to 24 September 2023 in London, United Kingdom under the auspices of International Canoe Federation (ICF). It was the 43rd edition and the events were held at the Lee Valley White Water Centre, the site of the 2012 Summer Olympics. London hosted the championships for the second time after previously hosting in 2015.
