Tees Barrage International White Water Course Explained

Whitewater Course Name:Tees Barrage International White Water Course
Other Name:Teesside White Water course
Locale:Stockton-on-Tees
Road Access:via A66 in Thornaby-on-Tees
Maint:British Waterways
Managing Agent:Tees Active Limited
Website:TBIWWC
Main Shape:loop
Loops:Two, one long and one short
Main Length:Long: 250m (820feet)
Short: 95m (312feet)
Main Width:7m (23feet)
Main Drop:3.7m (12.1feet)
Adjustable:yes, via RapidBlocs
Water Source:Tees Barrage on the River Tees
Flowrate:14 m3/s (494 ft3/s)
Flow Diversion:optional
Pumped:optional
Class:1 – 3 (4)
Practice Pool:flatwater course
Surf Wave:yes
Lighting:Flood and spot-lights
Facilities:day and overnight
Construction Dates:1991–1995
Open:22 April 1995
Upgraded:2010–2011
Coordinates:54.5655°N -1.2857°W

54.5655°N -1.2857°W

The Tees Barrage International White Water Course, originally the Teesside White Water Course, is an artificial whitewater course on the north bank of the River Tees, in northern England.It is part of the Tees Barrage and is located in the Stockton-on-Tees district, accessible by road only from Thornaby-on-Tees and best accessed by the A66.The course was built in 1995 at a cost of £2 million.[1] The course is now open once more under the new name TBIWWC (Tees Barrage International White Water Centre).

Facilities

The course is owned by the Canal & River Trust but administered by Tees Active from the on-site watersports centre.[2] The white water facility offers kayaking, whitewater slalom, playboating and white water rafting plus surfing on the 'surf wave'.

The centre's facilities include a high ropes course, a placid practice pool; watersports centre, shop and cafe; car parking, camping, picnicking and caravanning areas; bandstand and landscaped amphitheatre, The Talpore pub, a restaurant and hotel.The course itself is a U-shaped loop,[3] 250 m long, 7 m wide with a 3.7 m drop and a flow of 14 cumecs (m3/s).[1] The immediate environs of the white water course include the Teesdale Way cycle path (National Cycle Network), the River Tees, the Tees Barrage and the placid grade A two star waters of the river Tees; the David Lloyd Leisure racquet centre, a superstore and Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve.

Operation

The state of the course can depend on the level of the tide in the River Tees.The course can operate by flow diversion for two or three hours either side of low tide[3] but can operate at any time when the pumps are used.The course can operate all year round and in hours of darkness when it is flood-lit, and spot-lit on the two footbridges.

Photo gallery (2008)

Redevelopment

In 2010 and 2011, there was a £4.6 million redevelopment of the course.The changes include the addition of a new shorter, steeper course and a canoe lift.

Four large 12 m long 3 m diameter Archimedes' screws were installed to pump water from the bottom pool to the top pool guaranteeing water levels for paddlers at all states of the tide.[4] [5] [6] [7] [8] There are plans to generate electricity from the head of river water above the barrage by putting the Archimedes' screws into reverse when not pumping water around the course, making the course more energy efficient.[4] [6] [7] These improvements made the site a world class training facility which is proposed as a training camp location for the 2012 Olympic games.[4] [5] [7] [8] Work started in March 2010 and was completed in October 2011.[9] Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, visited Stockton on 18 July 2012 to officially reopen the International White Water Course as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom.[10]

Popular culture

The course was used in a segment of the film 1917. In the scene, the actor George MacKay jumps into a river in France and is flung over rapids and a waterfall.[11]

An episode of Emmerdale, where the character Victoria Sugden fell down a waterfall, was filmed at the course.[12]

Note

The Tees Barrage International White Water Course is not to be confused with The River Tees Watersports Centre, Dugdale Street, Stockton-on-Tees 1 km further upriver on the same side near the Princess of Wales Bridge or indeed the Castlegate Quay Water Sports Centre a little further up-river near Teesquay Millennium Bridge.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Whitewater Parks Worldwide . Mississippi Whitewater Park Development Corporation . 24 February 2009.
  2. Web site: Tees White Water Course . 26 February 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20130313062932/http://canalrivertrust.org.uk/about-us/enterprise/health-well-being-and-sport/tees-white-water-course . 13 March 2013 .
  3. Web site: River Tees Barrage . Mike . Redding . The UK Rivers Guidebook . 20 February 2009.
  4. Web site: Team GB Future Olympic Stars Training at Tees Barrage . PDF . British Waterways & Stockton Middlesbrough Initiative . 8 December 2008 . 20 January 2009 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20111004104648/http://www.smi-teesvalley.co.uk/news/documents/MicrosoftWord-TEAMGBFUTUREOLYMPICSTARSTRAININGATTEESBARRAGE_000.pdf . 4 October 2011 .
  5. Web site: Public backing for £3.5m Tees Barrage development . Sandy . McKenzie . Gazette Live . Evening Gazette . Teesside . 25 June 2008 . 7 February 2009.
  6. Web site: Tees Barrage International White-Water Course upgrades . Tom. Walker. leisureopportunities.com. 13 June 2008. 20 January 2009 .
  7. Web site: Team GB Future Olympic Stars Training at Tees Barrage . Middlesbrough Council . 8 December 2008 . 20 January 2009.
  8. Web site: Information about River Tees . http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20080603103147/http://www.waterscape.com/canals-and-rivers/river-tees . dead . 3 June 2008 . waterscape.com . 29 November 2008 .
  9. Web site: Upgrade begins on Tees Barrage white water course. 21 May 2010 . Gazette Live . Evening Gazette . Teesside . 26 March 2010.
  10. Web site: Queen Elizabeth in Stockton as part of North-east visit. Evening Gazette. 18 July 2012.
  11. News: Barnard . Ashley . Tees Barrage takes starring role in film . 12 January 2020 . The Northern Echo . 12 January 2020 .
  12. News: Emmerdale's 'biggest ever stunt' filmed at Tees Barrage aired on TV this week. 19 October 2021 . Gazette Live . 19 October 2021 .