Lee Valley White Water Centre

The Lee Valley White Water Centre is a white-water slalom venue beside the River Lee in Hertfordshire. It sits within the 40-square-kilometre Lee Valley Park, 14 kilometres north-west of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. The centre was built for the London 2012 Olympic canoe slalom events and opened in late 2010. Princess Anne performed the official opening in December 2010. The site is managed by Lee Valley Regional Park Authority and operated by Greenwich Leisure Limited. The venue features an Olympic-standard 300-metre course with a 5.5-metre drop and a pumped flow of 13 cubic metres per second. A shorter 160-metre warm-up course runs alongside. Water is drawn from a 10,000-square-metre lake and lightly chlorinated to maintain quality. Temporary seating for 12,000 spectators was installed during the Games. The centre also hosted the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships. Visitors find a landscaped parkland with paths and bridges for viewing the water. The main building houses a café, shop, changing rooms and equipment storage. The course is designed to be reconfigured using moveable boulders and rapids. Paths link to the Lee Navigation towpath and National Cycle Route 1. Canoeing and rafting sessions are available for all abilities.