Vienna Watersports Arena

The Vienna Watersports Arena is an artificial whitewater venue for canoe and kayak slalom competition in Vienna, Austria, the only such facility in Austria. It also serves as a family water park, with guided raft trips and practice times for individual boaters. Located across the Danube from the city, on Danube Island, it pumps its water from the New Danube river channel. It opened in August 2013; the following June it hosted the 2014 European Canoe Slalom Championships.[1]

Vienna Watersports Arena
Vienna Watersports Arena
About
LocaleVienna, Austria
Managing agentAustrian Canoe Federation
Main shapeLoop
AdjustableYes
Water sourceNew Danube River Channel
PumpedYes
Practice poolYes
GrandstandsBleachers
Canoe liftYes
FacilitiesYes
Construction2010-2013
Opening dateAugust 2013
Stats
Length255 metres (837 ft)
Drop3.75 metres (12 ft)
Slope1.5% (80 ft/mile)
Flowrate12 m3/s (420 cu ft/s)
Vienna Watersports Arena

Venue
Course Map

The course was designed by Hydrostadium, the French engineering firm responsible for many of the world's artificial whitewater courses.[2] The chief financial backer is Vienna Watersports Arena, Austria's largest electricity producer—hence the German language name "Vienna Watersports Arena."[3] Its modest cost of 5.1 million € ($6.4 million)[2] is one-fourth the cost of the similar facility at Cardiff and only 13% of the cost of Lee Valley, the large venue built for the 2012 Olympics in London. It meets the minimum Olympic standards of 250 meters, 1.5% slope, and 12 m3/s (420 cu ft/s) streamflow. The concrete channel has vertical sides, with concrete steps in the eddies formed by wide spots. The flow diverters are adjustable hexagonal green plastic bollards.[2]

To avoid the need for expensive water filters, the facility is drained once a week and refilled with fresh water from the New Danube.[4]

Slalom gates for 2014 European Championships (all races)

References
  1. "European Canoe Slalom Senior Championships 2014 Vienna - Austria" (PDF). Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  2. "Vienna Whitewater Course". Hydrostadium. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  3. "Vienna Watersports Arena". Archived from the original on 18 December 2014. Retrieved 11 October 2014.
  4. "Olympic home advantage for red white red canoeists in Rio?" (PDF). Retrieved 11 October 2014.

Video

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