Cardiff International White Water ( cy, Dŵr Gwyn Rhyngwladol Caerdydd) is an Olympic standard white water rafting centre based at the Cardiff International Sports Village in

Cardiff Bay Cardiff Bay ( cy, Bae Caerdydd; historically Tiger Bay; colloquially "The Bay") is an area and freshwater lake in Cardiff, Wales. The site of a former tidal bay and estuary, it serves as the river mouth of the River Taff and Ely. The body of w ...

. The centre opened on 26 March 2010, after taking two years to build the £13.3m venue, which is the first on-demand white water centre in the UK. The facility was designed by the French company, HydroStadium, who designed similar courses for the Sydney, Athens and Beijing OlympicsWales Online ''Ride those rapids at new centre in the bay''
/ref> The centre offers on-demand white water rafting and canoeing and a flat-water pond for warm-up and initial training. Off-site activities include gorge walking and surfing.CIWW About

History

Construction of the Cardiff International White Water

Prior to the 1999 completion of the Cardiff Bay Barrage,

and the tidewater sections of the Rivers

Ely Ely or ELY may refer to: Places Ireland * Éile, a medieval kingdom commonly anglicised Ely * Ely Place, Dublin, a street United Kingdom * Ely, Cambridgeshire, a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England ** Ely Cathedral Ely Cathedral, formal ...

and Taff were a saltwater estuary which filled and emptied twice daily with tides as high as . At low tide, moored boats were stranded on mud flats. The barrage converted the estuary into a permanent freshwater lake, maintained at the level of the former high tide. The shoreline of this new lake is the location of the CIWW. Plans for the CIWW were revealed and approved in 2006 and the centre was originally due to open in 2008, with an original estimated cost of £8.4m and funding support from the Welsh Assembly Government, Sportlot, the Welsh Canoe Association and the Heritage Lottery fund. In November 2008, a 180-tonne crane was constructed on the site in order to start work on a temporary dam that held back the water while four large pumps were installed. The crane was then floated on a pontoon in the River Ely to create a retained water pool separating the course from the river. An estimated 50,000 people are expected to use it each year.

Canoe Slalom Competition

Cardiff International White Water (2012 gates)

The CIWW centre was developed by Cardiff Council for full international and Olympic competition use. The first event of the International Canoe Federation's 2012 World Cup, held on 8 June through 10 June, was used by several nations to finalize their selection of athletes for the 2012 London Olympics. The 23-gate course for the final race on 10 June had seven upstream gates, six downstream gates in eddies, and an unusual set of three flush gates forming a zig-zag chicane. Downstream gates 13, 14, and 15 had all six of their poles in a straight line, evenly spaced, with the racers required to start from the left and pass each pole on alternating sides.

Activities

The CIWW centre is situated near the Rivers Taff,

and the Welsh coastline. It offers on and off-site: * Gorge scrambling *

Surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Canoeing Canoeing is an activity which involves paddling a canoe with a single-bladed paddle. Common meanings of the term are limited to when the canoeing is the central purpose of the activity. Broader meanings include when it is combined with other acti ...

and

Kayaking Kayaking is the use of a kayak for moving over water. It is distinguished from canoeing by the sitting position of the paddler and the number of blades on the paddle. A kayak is a low-to-the-water, canoe-like boat in which the paddler sits fac ...

* Bushcraft *

Rock climbing Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

Mountain Biking Mountain biking is a sport of riding bicycles off-road, often over rough terrain, usually using specially designed mountain bikes. Mountain bikes share similarities with other bikes but incorporate features designed to enhance durability and pe ...

* Team building challenges and courses *

Stag Deer or true deer are hoofed ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. The two main groups of deer are the Cervinae, including the muntjac, the elk (wapiti), the red deer, and the fallow deer; and the Capreolinae, including the reindeer ...

and hen activities * Birthday party activities

White water rafting

The Cardiff International White Water centre is the first on-demand white water rafting facility in the UK.CIWW Official Brochure
The 250 metre hairpin-shaped course can hold up to 16 cubic metres of water per second when being used for full international competitions but for recreational use it will generally hold only 10 cubic metres. In addition to the standard 2 hour white water rafting sessions, CIWW also has a Hydro Speed ride, similar to a body board which is ridden on a water float at "hydrospeed". Additionally, one or two person inflatable kayaking, known as hot-dogging, is guided initially by CIWW instructors until allowing the rider to go solo. The course is also open to free kayakers with their own equipment.

Training and instruction

Cardiff International White Water (aerial)

CIWW is recognised as a centre of excellence by several bodies including Canoe Wales and the BCU. The centre is used as a training venue by Europe's rescue services. CIWW provides educational canoe and kayak courses, from an introductory level to leadership and coaching awards. The Paddle School is aimed at beginners of the sport for the first time, offering 'try it' days and development towards British Canoe Union (BCU) awards. The school is a National Training Centre and is able to undertake on and offsite courses using local rivers or the centre at CIWW. Training and instruction is offered in BCU Star, Safety, Coaching, Moderate Water Endorsement, and Paddlepower Awards.CIWW British Canoe Union
/ref> The National Raft Guide School provides raft guide training and assessment. The teaching staff has experience in training and assessment to British Canoe Union raft guide standard, obtained at locations in the UK, Europe, Africa and New Zealand. The National Raft Guide School runs an annual programme of guide training, BCU Level 1 and 2 courses at the CIWW centre. The centre can offer activities to schools and colleges as part of the

GCSE The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a particular subject, taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. State schools in Scotland use the Scottish Qualifications Certificate instead. Private sc ...

, A Level and

BTEC BTEC may refer to: * Begumgonj Textile Engineering College, a college in Bangladesh * Biomass Thermal Energy Council, a US advocacy organization * Business and Technology Education Council, a British body, now part of Edexcel, which awards vocationa ...

curriculum, or as part of the Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Other facilities

Cardiff International White Water geograph-3881304-by-Jaggery

The centre also has a café with Wi-Fi access, two conference rooms, and a retail area. The White Water Cafe's ''True Taste of Wales'' menu consists of locally sourced Welsh ingredients, organic produce, and Fair Trade products. There is also a retail shop onsite that sells white water related items.

Partners

CIWW works with industry leaders including Cardiff Council, Cardiff Harbour Authority, Canoe Wales,

RNLI The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is the largest charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man, as well as on some inland waterways. It i ...

, South Wales Fire and Rescue Service and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Transport

The site is connected to the national road network via the Cogan Spur on the A4055 of the

A4232 The A4232, which is also known either as the Peripheral Distributor Road (PDR) ( cy, Ffordd Ddosbarthu Ymylol) or the Cardiff Link Road ( cy, Ffordd Gyswllt Caerdydd), is a distributor road in Cardiff, the capital of Wales. The first section ...

which leads to M4 J33 (Cardiff West). The nearest station is

Cogan railway station Cogan railway station is a railway station serving Cogan in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales. It is on the Vale of Glamorgan Line south of Cardiff Central on the way to Barry Island and Bridgend. Passenger services are operated by Transport for ...

, approximately 10 minutes away by foot. There are four trains per hour northbound to , three southbound to and one southbound to via . Cardiff Bus routes 9, 9A, 35 and 36 which through the village to Cardiff city centre.Cardiff Bus Overground
The nearest airport is

Cardiff International Airport Cardiff Airport ( cy, Maes Awyr Caerdydd) is the only airport offering commercial passenger services in Wales. It has been under the ownership of the Welsh Government since March 2013, operating at an arm's length as a commercial business. ...

, about 30 minutes away by road, or by rail on the Vale of Glamorgan line from Cogan railway station, which has frequent scheduled and charter flights to the UK, Europe, North America and Africa.

References

External links

CIWW Official Website
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