| Areál vodného slalomu Ondreja Cibáka | |
 | |
| About | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia |
| Managing agent | Tatra Canoe Club |
| Designer | Ondrej Cibák |
| Main shape | Y-shaped |
| Adjustable | No |
| Water source | Váh River |
| Pumped | No |
| Flow diversion | Yes |
| Practice pool | Yes |
| Grandstands | Covered Stadium |
| Canoe lift | No |
| Facilities | Yes |
| Construction | 2002 North (Orava) reconstuction 2004 South (Váh) reconstruction 2012 StadiumContents |
| Opening date | 1978 |
| Stats | |
| Length | North (Orava): 300 metres (984 ft) South (Váh): 335 metres (1,099 ft) |
| Drop | 7.5 metres (25 ft) |
| Slope | North (Orava): 2.5% (132 ft/mi) South (Váh): 2.2% (118 ft/mi) |
| Flowrate | 15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s) |
| Tatra Canoe Club | |
Coordinates: 49°04′25″N19°37′08″E / 49.0735°N 19.619°E
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are often chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position and two or three of the numbers represent a horizontal position; alternatively, a geographic position may be expressed in a combined three-dimensional Cartesian vector. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation. To specify a location on a plane requires a map projection.
The Ondrej Cibak Whitewater Slalom Course, in Liptovský Mikuláš, Slovakia, is the world's second-oldest artificial whitewater venue for international canoe slalom competition, after the Augsburg Eiskanal. Built in 1978, it diverts water around a small dam on the Váh river. With recent upgrades, including a covered stadium for spectators, it remains a prime site for the sport. [1]
Liptovský Mikuláš is a town in northern Slovakia, on the Váh River, about 285 kilometres (177 mi) from Bratislava. It lies in the Liptov region, in Liptov Basin near the Low Tatra and Tatra mountains. The town, known as Liptovský Svätý Mikuláš before communist times, is also renowned as a town of guilds and culture.
Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's territory spans about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi) and is mostly mountainous. The population is over 5.4 million and consists mostly of Slovaks. The capital and largest city is Bratislava, and the second largest city is Košice. The official language is Slovak.
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.
As a training facility, it is home course for canoe slalom's most highly decorated athlete, Michal Martikán, who has five Olympic medals, two of them gold, and for Elena Kaliská, who also has two Olympic golds. Both athletes have won numerous World and European Championships. [2]
Michal Martikán is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has been competing at the international level since 1994. In 1996 he became the first athlete to win an Olympic gold medal for Slovakia since the country gained independence in 1993. In total he won 5 Olympic medals, which is the most among all slalom paddlers. He has also won the World Championship title in the C1 individual category four times. He is considered by many the greatest C1 slalom paddler alive.
Elena Kaliská is a Slovak slalom canoeist who has competed at the international level since 1988. Competing in four Summer Olympics, she won two gold medals in the K1 event, earning them in 2004 and 2008.
In addition to slalom practice, experienced paddlers can train in kayaks and canoes for running narrow creeks. For the general public, it operates as a family water park with guided raft trips.
