Clydesmill - Scottish National Whitewater Course

Other Courses

Penrith, Australia

Australian Olympic course - Penrith, Sydney This very successful, demanding course (see the Penrith website) was on everybody's TV screens during the Olympics. It now runs a lower flows, and is a big hit with the general public doing WW rafting, and with playboaters. The designers included four times world slalom champ Richard Fox, Gilles Bernard, the successful French course designer, and local engineer Peter Heeley.

The Aussies are building another course at Perth, and there are rumours of courses to be built in the other Australian states.

Holme Pierrepont, Nottingham

The British Canoe Union (BCU) have budgeted £600k to expand the UK's 1st AWWC - open now for nearly 20 years, and site of the 1995 World Slalom Champs. Some of this work will involve using movable obstacles. The course attracts 25,000 rafters per year and is the site of the British Canoe Union HQ.The BCU's Director of Facilities, Chris Hawkesworth is responsible for developing strategy and helping with initial evaluations of proposals for other AWWC's elsewhere in England + Wales..

Teeside, Stockton on Tees

Britains second major AWWC, home to Len and Russ Smith - Ex GB Slalom team coach and paddler. Their shop, "4 seasons" has sites in Barnard Castle and at the Teeside AWWC. It's a unique tidal course - the drop is formed when the tide goes out. The site is forecasting growth year on year and branching out into the community of Middlesborough and Stockton. Paddlers from Elgin have been known to head down there to get their white water paddling in !

River Nene, Northampton

The UK's 3rd course opened recently. The Northampton AWWC was opened by Earl Spencer, Princess Di's brother, last year. It's aimed at the intermediate paddler, uses pumps to lift some of the water, and also has rafting. Visit their site for some great pictures depicting the construction of the site.

Canolflan Tryweryn, by Bala

This is a dam released river that has been adapted to improve the river flow for kayakers and rafters. The course is much longer than most artificial courses and can host different events along its length

Others

France - world centre for artificial courses and 'managed rivers' due to the expertise of Gilles Bernard and Pascal Simon of Hydrostadium (formerly as the French electricity company EDF). They helped design Penrith and invented the moveable obstacles.

Pumped courses include; a new rafting course built NW of Paris - conceived and built within a year, just before the Olympics; and a new mega course NE of Paris - 21 (!) cumecs flow over 10 m drop with 2 interlinking channels.Other existing courses include the tidal one at Lannion, Brittany; Laurent; and older courses at St Pierre leBoeuf, Vichy, Bourg St Maurice etc

Exeter, England - a course is planned beside the River Exe, using pumps, about 5 cumecs, running up to 10 for big events.

River Maas, Netherlands. A Dutch commercial team has been planning this one for 6 years - even longer than our course!. It features a 4m drop and flows above 25 cumecs, plus several playholes.

Other courses in Europe's include the Barcelona Olympic course at Seo-d'Urgell; many basic but effective sites in the Czech republic and Slovakia and the Munich Olympic course at Augsburg.

US has 20 'managed' river courses, another 20 in planning, with at least one using pumps

please mail any comments to info@clydesmill.org.uk

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