Holme Pierrepont Canoe Slalom Course: The National Watersports Centre has been the anchor point of the British canoe program since its inception in 1986. The progressive evolution of the sport had left this venue dated by the 2004 Olympics and efforts had been underway to revitalise the site for some time.
The design improvements required a faster, shorter course with better eddies, features and adjustability. EPD completed an approved design for construction and implemented the project in under one year.
The design effort was innovative on this course as it used a relatively simple software to model varying configurations / alignments and then compared them in terms of velocity / depth etc.
A significant and contentious issue was resolved through the modelling exercise, namely that classic features, such as the “Muncher” section of the course remained un-altered by the propose works.
Stakeholder involvement was key to the success of the project and the completed scheme was very well received at the 2009 European Canoe Slalom Championships; which took place a few months after the refurbished course re-opened.
