GB team visit Olympic White Water Canoe Centre to check progress
The GB Canoe Slalom team visited the London 2012 White Water Canoe Centre for the first time today.
David Florence, Beijing silver medallist and Lizzie Neave, recent World Championship medallist were both on hand to answer questions. David, who’s been involved with the sport for over 12 years said,
“Everyone is really excited about the developments here and with our Performance Manager Andy Maddock being involved in the design and development of the White Water Canoe Centre site we know we are in good hands for a fantastic home venue.”
Lizzie is extremely positive about today’s visit and says winning bronze at the World Championships “was the inspiration she needed to drive her commitment for the 2012 Olympics. It’s incredibly motivating to know the site will be open for us to train at from Spring 2011 and as a home venue, we know the team will have the added advantage.”
The team were delighted with the progression of the course and anticipate moving from Nottingham to be closer to the site when Lee Valley Regional Park Authority open the site to the public and elite athletes in Spring 2011.
This is the only brand new 2012 Olympic venue to open to the public ahead of the London 2012 Games and will serve not only the elite athletes but also the local community. It will be the first brand new London 2012 Games venue to be completed and will be a major centre for white water rafting as well as canoeing and kayaking after the Games.
Shaun Dawson, Chief Executive at Lee Valley Regional Park Authority welcomed the GB athletes’ tour and said:
“We were honoured to welcome Team GB today, they seem to be very impressed and are delighted with the progress so far. We are welcome the team to this excellent venue and we will ensure it is well used by a wide range of people from the elite canoeists to people who’ve never paddled before. The Centre will open again shortly after the Games and we’re expecting 70,000 visitors per year - most of them taking up the challenge of white water rafting. We’ll also be providing canoeing sports development opportunities for clubs, colleges, universities, schools and community groups.”
Construction work on the site started in July this year and is set for completion at the beginning of 2011. It will be owned, funded and managed by the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority before and after the London 2012 Olympic Games.
ENDS
For more information contact Chloe Nelson chloe.nelson@bcu.org.uk