Artificial whitewater
A wild water plant as an artificial whitewater course can be used for training and for competitions of Wildwasserpaddelns, including for canoe slalom, freestyle, canoe rodeo, playboating, whitewater racing ( sprints ), hydro speed and rafting.
The construction of artificial whitewater sections is a 20 years international focus continuing trend.
The advantages of an artificial plant, are the better control and better safety measures. In competition and in training artificial plants can provide more uniform conditions. They function either by supply from a natural flow through the pump, or the tide.
About changeable inserts and an adjustable water flow several combinations and variations of obstacles and water flow can be adjusted. This enables very high levels can be achieved without undue risk to the canoeists.
Through artificial plants can use natural white water, especially by inexperienced paddlers decrease, and thus also serves to nature conservation. For competitions the stands and entry and exit can be realized without additional consumption of natural resources.
A wild water plant is sometimes used for the Olympic sport of canoe slalom canoe necessary if the brood city has no natural route nearby. In particular, certain criteria must be met for the Olympic Games. The relatively high cost of developing such a facility were the basis of the consideration, to remove the discipline from the Olympic sports.
Addition to the cost to build a plant in the operation of a pump and high operating costs. Therefore, a high utilization is needed. A freestyler or playboater practicing some time in a wave, it is not as attractive as possible, many recreationists send down in a raft. In this respect, very complex systems are not necessarily the best training facilities.
As the first artificial whitewater facility in Augsburg ice track was built for the 1972 Olympics. For the application of Leipzig as a candidate for the 2012 Olympic Games originated in Markham, a whitewater course on Markkleeberger lake. Despite the early exit of Leipzig as a candidate was to Sydney which was built with the Penrith Whitewater Stadium at the Games in 2000 and Athens to the Olympic Canoe / Kayak Slalom Centre at Helliniko Olympic Complex at the 2004 Games in Markham, the third high-performance sports and competition facility in the world that corresponds to the new guidelines of canoe slalom sport of ICF.