Lee Valley White Water Centre (2nd gate set, 2012 Olympics).svg
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Lee Valley White Water Centre (previously known as Broxbourne White Water Canoe Centre) is a white-water slalom centre, that was constructed to host the
canoe slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater 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 ...
events of the London 2012 Olympic Games. On 9 December 2010,
Anne, Princess Royal Anne, Princess Royal (Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise; born 15 August 1950), is a member of the British royal family. She is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, and the only sister of ...
officially opened the venue which is owned by
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) is a statutory body that is responsible for managing and developing the long, Lee Valley Regional Park. The park was established by Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1967. The headquarters of the ...
and was originally managed by them as well, but since April 1, 2022, is now managed by
Greenwich Leisure Limited Greenwich Leisure Ltd (GLL), operating under the brand "Better", is a non-profit charitable Social Enterprise organisation which runs over 250 sport and leisure facilities and libraries on behalf of local authorities in London and across the UK, ...
(GLL) under its "Better" brand. The £31 million ($50 million US) project to construct the centre finished on schedule and was the first newly constructed Olympic venue to be completed. The Olympic canoe slalom competition was held from 29 July through 2 August. The venue also hosted the
2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships 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) ...
.


Venue

The venue is located between the towns of Waltham Cross in Hertfordshire and
Waltham Abbey Waltham Abbey is a town and civil parish in the Epping Forest District of Essex, within the metropolitan and urban area of London, England, north-east of Charing Cross. It lies on the Greenwich Meridian, between the River Lea in the west and ...
in
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
. The site is just outside the northern boundary of Greater London and north-west of the
Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is a sporting complex and public park in Stratford, Hackney Wick, Leyton and Bow, in east London. It was purpose-built for the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics, situated adjacent to the Stratford City developm ...
in Stratford, east London. It is in the heart of
River Lee Country Park The River Lee Country Park is located in the Lee Valley Park and is managed by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority. Covering on either side of the River Lee Navigation between Waltham Abbey and Broxbourne, it is an area of lakes, watercours ...
which is part of the , long Lee Valley Park.London2012.com venue page
The venue opened in late 2010 offering canoeing and rafting activities to the public ahead of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The venue has a purpose-built slalom course for the Olympic white-water canoe events (flatwater canoeing and kayaking events took place at
Dorney Lake Dorney Lake (also known as Eton College Rowing Centre, and as Eton Dorney as a 2012 Summer Olympics venue) is a purpose-built rowing lake in England. It is near the village of Dorney, Buckinghamshire, and is around 3 km (2 miles) west of Wi ...
, Buckinghamshire, west of London). The main competition channel is an international- and Olympic-standard 300-metre canoe and kayak slalom course. It and the shorter warm-up course empty into the warm-up and cool-down lake. The white water is created by a system of pumps which lift water into the two start pools. All of the water contained in the system is slightly chlorinated in order to retain water quality.Planning green light for London 2012 Canoe / Kayak slalom venue
London2012.com Press Release, 1 October 2008
During the Games, temporary seating was installed around the venue for 12,000 spectators. The 300-metre competition course has a drop of 5.5 metresConstruction underway on 2012 canoe slalom venue
London2012.com Press Release, 3 July 2009
(18 ft), for an average slope of 1.8% (18 m/km or 95 ft/mile) and a pump-powered streamflow of 13 cubic metres per second (460 cubic feet per second). The intermediate/warm-up course is 160 metres long with a drop of 1.6 metres and flow of 10.5 cubic metres per second. A 10,000-square-metre lake, filled with groundwater, supplies the water for the pumps. Lee Valley Regional Park Authority hope to bring in up to £45,000 per day from visitors to offset the energy cost of pumping the water. The course is sited within a new landscaped parkland setting, including path and bridge networks to enable spectators to have access and view the events. A new facility building houses reception, café, changing rooms, shop, offices, spectator viewing, equipment storage and water pump and filtration facilities.


Pre-Games use

Lee Valley White Water Centre was the only brand new London 2012 venue available for public use before the Games. On 8 September 2012 it became the first London 2012 venue to reopen to the public. The centre is intended to provide canoeing and rafting activities for users of all abilities who will be able to take advantage of the Olympic and intermediate course.Lee Valley White Water Centre Information Page
Retrieved 4 October 2010
The venue is owned, funded and managed by
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) is a statutory body that is responsible for managing and developing the long, Lee Valley Regional Park. The park was established by Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1967. The headquarters of the ...
; it will join the other London 2012 venues – the Velopark, Hockey Centre and Tennis centre at
Eton Manor Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre is a sports and leisure venue located in Leyton, London Borough of Waltham Forest, to the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. It is regularly used for international field hockey fixtures by both the Great ...
– that the Park Authority will also own, fund and manage in legacy.


Gate maps for 2012 Olympics

Two gate sets were used for the Olympic Games, one for the first two days (left) and another for the last three days (right). Each gate set had six upstream gates (red numbers), but gate #12 of the first set was a flush gate with the second pole directly downstream of the first. Paddlers entered gate #12 from the left wall side and exited into the main current. Gate #18 of the second set was a downstream flush gate, with entrance from the flow and exit into the eddy. A 90-degree right turn direct from #18 to #19 was faster than the 270-degree eddy spin used by many contenders. All the gates were double-pole. There was no use of single-pole gates. Olympic Results.


Post-Games use

The venue opened again to the public after the Games as part of the Olympic Legacy Works. Spectator seating was removed and the venue returned to providing a leisure attraction for canoeing and white-water rafting and a competition venue for elite events, to be managed by
Lee Valley Regional Park Authority Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) is a statutory body that is responsible for managing and developing the long, Lee Valley Regional Park. The park was established by Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1967. The headquarters of the ...
.New Canoeing venue in Broxbourne confirmed for the London 2012 Olympic Games
London2012.com Press Release, 16 April 2008
In April 2011 it was confirmed that the centre would host the
2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships 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) ...
. A£6.3 million redevelopment project was completed in February 2014 leading to the creation of new visitor facilities and new offices and training base for the GB Canoe Slalom team.


Design

The main facility building is designed by FaulknerBrowns Architects. The canoe course is located within a wider parkland setting designed by U.S.-based landscape architects Michael Van Valkenburgh Associates. White-water course specialists Whitewater Parks International, working with civil and structural engineers Cundall, are the designers of the white-water courses. Indigo Planning were the planning consultants and managed the preparation of the Environmental Statement. Stage D of the design process was completed by Morrison Construction The Team o
S2o Design and Engineering
an
Engineering Paddler Designs
completed the detail design of the white-water channel itself. The detail design of the white-water channel involved the creation of a 1:10 Froude scaled physical model that resulted in numerous changes to the initial white-water channel design. One of these changes was the conceptualization, design and implementation of the RapidBlocs Obstacle system. Th
RapidBlocs
system allows course operators to reconfigure the placement of boulders, eddies, and rapids to meet design objectives. S2o and EPD were further responsible for course tuning and commissioning. Following nomination from
Broxbourne Borough Council Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...
, Lee Valley White Water Centre won a special commendation at the 2011 Hertfordshire Building Futures Awards in recognition of the excellence of its design in meeting the needs of the sport, and the understated addition it makes to its parkland setting. The centre has also won or been shortlisted for the following awards: 2012 winner of the Royal Institute of British Architects East Spirit of Ingenuity Award; 2012 winner of Secured by Design Award; 2011 Essex Tourism Awards (shortlisted) Best Large Attraction and Best Tourism Experience.


Transport


Road

The site is located just off the A121 road, with easy access from the A10 road, and junctions 25 and 26 of the M25 motorway.


Rail

Rail access to the site is via
Cheshunt Cheshunt ( ) is a town in Hertfordshire, England, north of London on the River Lea and Lee Navigation. It contains a section of the Lee Valley Park, including much of the River Lee Country Park. To the north lies Broxbourne and Wormley, ...
and Waltham Cross railway stations on the
West Anglia Main Line The West Anglia Main Line is one of the two main lines that operate out of , the other being the Great Eastern Main Line, which operates services to Ipswich and Norwich via Colchester. It runs generally north through Cheshunt, Broxbourne, Har ...
, with frequent services from Stratford, near the main Olympic site, and Liverpool Street. Theobalds Grove railway station, on the
Lea Valley Lines The Lea Valley lines are two commuter lines and two branches in north-east London, so named because they run along the Lower Lea Valley of the River Lea. They were part of the Great Eastern Railway, now part of the ''Anglia Route'' of Network ...
, is nearby.


Bus

Arriva Herts and Essex operates services 66,86,251 which pass close to the venue. Other bus routes run by Transport for London and
Intalink Intalink is the organisation responsible for organising the management of public transport services, such as buses and trains, in Hertfordshire on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council. They design, create and promote cross-operator multi-jour ...
stop at the nearby bus station in Waltham Cross town centre.Timetable
Retrieved 27 July 2012


Cycle and pedestrian

The
Lee Navigation The Lee Navigation is a canalised river incorporating the River Lea (also called the River Lee along the sections that are navigable). It flows from Hertford Castle Weir to the River Thames at Bow Creek; its first lock is Hertford Lock and its ...
towpath A towpath is a road or trail on the bank of a river, canal, or other inland waterway. The purpose of a towpath is to allow a land vehicle, beasts of burden, or a team of human pullers to tow a boat, often a barge. This mode of transport w ...
forms part of the Lee Valley Walk and the
National Cycle Route 1 The cycle-path is located in the United Kingdom. Route Dover to Canterbury Dover , Deal , Sandwich , Canterbury Links with National Cycle Route 2, Regional route 16, and Regional route 17 in Dover. Leaves Dover passing Dover Castle. S ...
is adjacent to the venue.


References


External links


Lee Valley White Water Centre
Official Site
Water Turned OnOpening Day''London Evening Standard'': "Rapids of Rockies come to Herts for 2012 Olympic canoeists"FaulknerBrowns Architects2015 World Championships
* 2012 Olympic competition results
2014 World Cup #1 K-1 Finals2015
Full video of Olympic competition
K-1 & C-1 Men Heats, Sunday, 29 July 2012.

K-1 Women Heats 1st Run, Monday, 30 July 2012.K-1 Men Final, Thursday, 2 August 2012.

K-1 Men Gold and Silver Medalists, split screen.K-1 Women Final, Thursday, 2 August 2012.C-2 Men Final, Thursday, 2 August 2012.
{{Authority control 2010 establishments in England Venues of the 2012 Summer Olympics Artificial whitewater courses in the United Kingdom Lee Valley Park Olympic canoeing venues Sports venues completed in 2010 Sports venues in Hertfordshire Waltham Cross