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Sport by Sport: Canoe-Kayak
About Canoe | About Kayak | Event Courses
Penrith Whitewater Stadium
The $6.5 million stadium, constructed specifically for the Sydney Olympics, will operate as a public recreational facility when not used for competition.
Whitewater Course
This man-made course consists of 25 gates, at least six of which must be negotiated upstream, that are suspended over whitewater rapids 300-600m long. Paddlers maneuver through the green downstream gates and the red upstream gates as quickly as possible. time penalties are given for touching poles-2 seconds-and missing gates-50 seconds. The four events on this course include men's single and double canoe, men's single kayak and women's single kayak. Below is an example of a whitewater slalom course.
Sprint Course
There will be 12 flatwater races for canoe and kayak at the Sydney International Regatta Centre, a former sand and gravel quarry. Men compete in single and double canoes and kayaks at distances of 500-1000m, and in the four-position kayaks for races longer then 1,000 meters. Women compete in the single, double and four-person kayaks in 500m races. Nine lanes are marked by buoys, colored red for the last 200m of each race. Competitors concentrate on a quick start as well as maintaining a solid rhythm and straight course.
Text by Whitney Stensrud, Graphic by Mark Nowlin/The Seattle Times
Sources: United States Canoe and Kayak team; Penrith Whitewater Stadium; Sports, The Complete Visual Reference; The Associated Press
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