Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course Explained

Whitewater Course Name:Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course
Native Name:Tor kajakarstwa górskiego w Krakowie
Locale:Kolna, Kraków, Poland
Managing Agent:Krakowski Klub Kajakowy
Main Shape:Linear
Main Length:Total: 3200NaN0Competition: 2500NaN0
Main Width:120NaN0
Main Drop:50NaN0
Main Slope:2.0% (105 ft/mi)
Adjustable:yes
Water Source:Vistula River
Flowrate:15m3/s
Flow Diversion:Yes
Pumped:No
Practice Pool:Yes
Canoe Lift:No
Grandstands:Two sets of bleachers
Facilities:Yes
Construction Dates:2003, 2013

The Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course is an artificial whitewater course in Poland, on the south bank of the Vistula River, in the suburb of Kolna, 100NaN0 west of Kraków. It is fed with river water diverted around a nearby dam. The top 1200NaN0 of the course is a flatwater start pool that is covered in winter by a long white tent. Air inside the tent is heated, but the water is cold.

This Olympic-standard slalom course is the site of frequent international competitions. In June 2013, it hosted the European Championships.[1] It is part of a larger complex called the Kolna Sports and Recreation Center (Ośrodek Sportu i Rekreacji „Kolna") which includes a canal for flatwater sprint canoeing and an indoor gymnasium and swimming pool.

Design

The concrete channel has a flat bottom and vertical sides. The flow diverters are two pairs of concrete wing dams and clusters of vertical blue and green plastic bollards attached to peg boards on the channel bottom. A foot bridge across the channel joins the first pair of wing dams.

To modernize the course for the 2013 European Championships, the top section was made shorter and steeper by extending the length of the start pool. This change entailed raising the channel walls 700NaN0 in the section above the foot bridge. Work was completed in April 2013.[2]

Gallery

European Canoe Slalom Championships, June 2013

References

50.032°N 19.825°W

Notes and References

  1. Book: . 2013 ECA European Canoe Slalom Championships, Kraków, Poland, Bulletin N° 1, Kraków, Kolna Regatta Course, June 6th - June 9th, 2013 . Polish Canoe Federation . 2013.
  2. Web site: Before the June European Championships in Slalom: the Kolna Whitewater Canoe course is being rebuilt . 2013 . 2013-10-22.