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Whitewater Parks Worldwide

Truckee River Whitewater Park at Wingfield    http://www.cityofreno.com/res/com_service/parks/kayak.php

Technical Details:
Length: 2,600 feet, including 1,400 feet in the north channel and 1,200 feet in the south channel or one-half mile. Note: The north and south channels are created by Wingfield Park, an island in the river that divides the flow and has been a city park for years.

Class 2 to 3 course. (on a scale of 1 to 6; one being a lake, six being a waterfall)

Users: kayaks, canoes and rafts, inner tubes

Maneuvers: freestyle including front and side surfing, cartwheeling, throwing ends, blunt moves, spoofing and splatting, flat spinning, loops, front flips, slalom racing. Random boulders in channels

Articles:    http://www.rgj.com/news/printstory.php?id=55888                    Reno whitewater.pdf

South Bend, Indiana    http://www.sbpark.org/parks/erace.htm

Highlights:     Opened 1984. 2000 ft long; 12 ft drop; flow from 9 cfs to 1300 cfs.  Part of South Bend park system; acts as fish ladder for salmon and trout (with underwater viewing room and window so biologists may evaluate fish passage).  Moving water rescue training site for fire & rescue personnel from around the country, including the Twin Cities.  Open only 42 days (only about 15 hours/week, apparently due to requirement that it be staffed with overtime parks personnel), yet served some 16,000 people in each of last 2 years; very popular with corporations for company events.  The Director of the Parks & Rec. Department calls it "one of the most successful redevelopment projects the city undertook," as the raceway has been a catalyst for improvement of adjacent property.

Financial:     Cost $4.5 million, including $1.18 million for city-sponsored hydroelectric facility & DNR fish ladder.  DNR provided $ 1.1 million of financing.  User fees ($2.00 per ride for inflatable raft riders; $6.00/day for kayakers & canoeists) meet operating expenses.

Augsburg, Germany

Highlights:     Built 1972 for Munich Olympic Games. 600 m long. 10-12 m wide. 4.4 m drop. 25,000/day watched 72 Olympics.  Part of riverside park owned by the city, includes restaurant & 2 clubhouses.  Recreation, competition, training, schools, safety & rescue training, armed forces, schools.

Financial:    1.6 million DM.  Operates 280 days; 46,000 user/yr.  Restaurant income 500,000-600,000 DM/yr. 8 employees.  Charging system used since 94 to cover operation & maintenance costs.

La Seu d'Urgell, Spain    http://www.parcolimpic.com/instalaa.htm

Highlights:     Built for 92 Barcelona Olympics.  Three closed circuit channels, Class II, III and IV. Main channel is 340 m long, 5-17 m wide, 6.5 m drop; flow adjustable up to 15 m³/s.  Beginners channel 130 m long; drop 1.5 m. Integrated into public park including 1840 m circuit for roller-blading, jogging & walking. Park located 2 hours from Barcelona, in a rural area near Andorra.

Financial:     Cost $6,830,000 ($2,115,000 for water courses; $969,000 for Urban Park; $1,677,000 for building, $2,069,000 for a turbine-pumping station).  Includes administration & facilities building of 1700 m².

Owned by the city of La Seu d'Urgell (pop. 10,000). 10 fixed employees, 29 temporaries. Annual income: $700,000, 2/3 from rafting, 1/3 canoes & kayaks.  Annual local economic impact estimated to be $2.5 million.

Includes 1200 kW mini-hydroelectric station with 4 turbine pumps.  This system sells power to the national electricity network in the wet season (4 million kWh per year) and pumps up to 12 m³/s into the course for operation during dry season.

1997 use:     35,000 course users + 100,000 visitors to the park

Nottingham, England     http://www.kineticadesign.co.uk/nationalsportscentres/hpp/index.htm

                                                                  More info at:  http://www.unsponsored.co.uk/venue/uk/hpp.htm

Highlights:     Part of National Watersports Centre on River Trent, combining international facilities for rowing, flatwater canoeing & whitewater slalom. 700 m long, 8-16 m wide, 3.5 m drop, flow range 8-28 m³/s.  Includes 80 bed accommodation center with bar and restaurant, conference facilities for 120, covered training area for indoor sports, sports medicine testing laboratory, and 10 boathouses.

Financial:     Cost 2.2 m ₤ in 1986.  Funded by government thru UK Sports Council, Nottinghamshire County Council & British Canoe Union.  Open 364 days; used for training & competition on 62 days; rest of the year for recreational rafters, canoeists & kayakers.

1995/6 use:     39,000 canoeing/kayaking & 11,500 rafters.  Total income: ₤163,000.  Slalom course has 4 full time employees with seasonal staff for instruction.

Teesside, England

Highlights:     250 m long, 7 m wide, 2.5 m drop, 10 m³/s flow.  Built 1995.  Part of a landscaped amphitheater.  Year round operation.  Retail outlet.  Restaurant.  Part of L50 urban regeneration project.

Financial:     ₤2 million, including many experimental innovations.  Operated by a private corporation. 80% of revenue from recreational rafters & canoeists/kayakers.

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