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.
Three main types of course exist:
These work by diverting a natural river through boulder placement or damming, or by creating new channels next to an existing river, possibly by a weir or power station outflow.
Created in estuaries with large tidal reaches, on a barrage across the river. The barrage is opened during a rising high tide to allow the sea water in, then shut as the tide turns. The water stored above the barrage is then forced through an artificial channel to provide water features.
The nature of artificial whitewater courses necessitates the need for a drop in the river, and enough water flow to provide hydraulics. When this isn't possible (often in flat low-lying areas), electric pumps are used to lift and re-circulate the water to the top of the course. The shapes of these courses are commonly circular or U-shaped.
Pumped courses are extremely expensive to run, typically 1-2 megawatts of electrical power are needed to pump 15 cubic metres per second of water down a course with a 5-meter drop in height.
1972 - Eiskanal in Augsburg, Germany flow diversion1992 - Parc Olímpic del Segre in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain, flow diversion/pumped1996 - Ocoee Whitewater Center near Copperhill, Tennessee, USA, altered riverbed2000 - Penrith Whitewater Stadium, near Sydney, Australia pumped2004 - Helliniko Olympic Canoe/Kayak Slalom Centre, Athens, Greece pumped2008 - Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park, Beijing, China pumped2012 - Lee Valley White Water Centre, London, England pumped2016 - Olympic Whitewater Stadium, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil pumpedAdventure Sports Center International in McHenry, Maryland, USA pumpedCanolfan Tryweryn near Bala, Gwynedd, North Wales natural flow modificationsCardington Artificial Slalom Course near Bedford, England flow diversionDickerson Whitewater Course in Dickerson, Maryland, USA pumpedDutch Water Dreams in Zoetermeer, Netherlands pumpedHolme Pierrepont in Nottingham, England flow diversionU.S. National Whitewater Center, near Charlotte, North Carolina, USA pumpedNene Whitewater Centre in Northampton, England pumpedRutherford Creek in British Columbia, Canada flow diversionTacen Whitewater Course near Ljubljana, Slovenia flow diversionTeesside White Water Course in Stockton-on-Tees, England tidalWater Sports Centre Čunovo near Cunovo, Slovakia flow diversionCanal de Aguas Bravas, Luis Buñuel Water Park, Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain.Wadi Adventure in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, UAE. pumpedRio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics pumped
