Penrith Whitewater Stadium

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The Penrith Whitewater Stadium as an artificial whitewater hosted the canoe/kayak slalom events at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. The facility is located at the Penrith Lakes Scheme close to Cranebrook, New South Wales adjacent to the Sydney International Regatta Centre. These lakes are not filled via the Nepean River, but are filled via rain water and ground water. The operation of the facility aerates the water and improves water quality in the flat water rowing and canoeing course.

The course is in the shape of a massive 'u', 320 metres in length, between 0.8 and 1.2 metres deep and between eight and 12 metres wide. The overall drop from top to bottom is 5.5 metres. During events a conveyor belt may take boats, and their occupants, from the finish pool back to the start.

The channel is constructed from concrete with sloping sides and by setting river pebbles into concrete it is tried to make the course look like a natural river. Large immovable rocks shape the course, as well as movable obstacles may be used for varying the difficulty of the course and for fine-tuning of the rapids.

The total cost amount to $6 million of which $1.5 million is paid by Penrith City Council, $1.5 million by the International Canoe Federation (including $300,000 by Australian Canoeing) and $3 million by the Government of New South Wales.