Cardiff International White Water ( cy, Dŵr Gwyn Rhyngwladol Caerdydd) is an Olympic standard

white water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

centre based at the

Cardiff International Sports Village Cardiff International Sports Village ( cy, Pentref Chwaraeon Rhyngwladol Caerdydd) is located in Cardiff Bay in the city of Cardiff, Wales. It is one of the largest Urban renewal, regeneration projects currently in the UK and is a Public-priv ...

in Cardiff Bay. 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

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 Cardiff Bay Barrage ( cy, Morglawdd Bae Caerdydd) lies across the mouth of Cardiff Bay, Wales between Queen Alexandra Dock and Penarth Head. It was one of the largest civil engineering projects in Europe during construction in the 1990s. Histo ...

, Cardiff Bay and the tidewater sections of the Rivers Ely and

Taff Taff may refer to: * River Taff, a large river in Wales * ''Taff'' (TV series), a German tabloid news programme * Trans-Atlantic Fan Fund, an organisation for science fiction fandom People * a demonym for anyone from south Wales * Jerry 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 Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

, 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 The River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, ri ...

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 A chicane () is a serpentine curve in a road, added by design rather than dictated by geography. Chicanes add extra turns and are used both in motor racing and on roads and streets to slow traffic for safety. For example, one form of chicane is ...

. 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, Ely and the Welsh coastline. It offers on and off-site: * Gorge scrambling * Surfing * Canoeing and Kayaking *

Bushcraft Bushcraft is the use and practice of skills, thereby acquiring and developing knowledge and understanding, in order to survive and thrive in a natural environment. Bushcraft skills provide for the basic physiological necessities for human li ...

* Rock climbing * Mountain Biking *

Team building Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. It is distinct from team training, which is designed by a combine of business ...

challenges and courses * Stag and

hen Hen commonly refers to a female animal: a female chicken, other gallinaceous bird, any type of bird in general, or a lobster. It is also a slang term for a woman. Hen or Hens may also refer to: Places Norway *Hen, Buskerud, a village in Ringer ...

activities *

Birthday party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

activities

White water rafting

The Cardiff International White Water centre is the first on-demand

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 Canoe Wales ( cy, Canŵ Cymru) is the national governing body for paddlesport in Wales. It covers all branches of the sport from recreational canoeing, kayaking, stand up paddleboarding and rafting to whitewater racing, slalom racing and wild ...

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,

A Level The A-Level (Advanced Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education, as well as a school leaving qualification offered by the educational bodies in the United Kingdom and the educational au ...

and BTEC curriculum, or as part of the

Duke of Edinburgh Award The Duke of Edinburgh's Award (commonly abbreviated DofE) is a youth awards programme founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, that has since expanded to 144 nations. The awards recognise adolescents and young ...

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 Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for Cardiff, one of the Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established ...

Cardiff Harbour Authority Cardiff Harbour Authority (CHA) is the managing authority for Cardiff Bay under the Cardiff Bay Barrage Act 1993, and was established on 1 April 2000. It took over responsibility from Cardiff Bay Development Corporation and is responsible for ...

, RNLI,

South Wales Fire and Rescue Service South Wales Fire and Rescue Service (SWFRS; cy, Gwasanaeth Tân ac Achub De Cymru) is the fire and rescue service covering the ten Welsh principal areas of Blaenau Gwent, Bridgend, Caerphilly, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Monmouthshire, Newport, ...

and the

Transport

The site is connected to the national road network via the Cogan Spur on the A4055 of the A4232 which leads to M4 J33 (Cardiff West). The nearest station is Cogan railway station, approximately 10 minutes away by foot. There are four trains per hour northbound to , three southbound to and one southbound to via .

Cardiff Bus Cardiff Bus ( cy, Bws Caerdydd) is the dominant operator of bus services in Cardiff, Wales and the surrounding area, including Barry and Penarth. The company is wholly owned by Cardiff Council and is one of the few municipal bus companies to ...

routes 9, 9A, 35 and 36 which through the village to

Cardiff city centre Cardiff city centre ( cy, Canol Dinas Caerdydd) is the city centre and central business district of Cardiff, Wales. The area is tightly bound by the River Taff to the west, the Civic Centre to the north and railway lines and two railway s ...

.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. Pa ...

, 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
{{navboxes , list1 = {{UK Artificial White Water Courses {{Canoeing and kayaking {{Landmarks and Visitor Attractions in Cardiff {{Sport in Cardiff Canoeing in Wales Artificial whitewater courses in the United Kingdom Redevelopment projects in Cardiff Articles containing video clips