The Kanu Schwaben in Augsburg organized the first ICF Sprint Wildwater World Championships in 1963 on the river Loisach (Garmisch Partenkirchen, Germany) and on the river Saalach (Unken, Austria). Since 2000 the Kanu Schwaben has hosted the annual Wildwater Canoeing Sprint competitions on the “Eiskanal”; a famous wildwater course in Augsburg.
The Eiskanal was the venue of the 2011 ICF Wildwater Canoeing (Sprint) World Championships; during these Championships new standards on and off the course were set.
The high level performances from all athletes excited the spectators at the venue and it completely transformed
the Eiskanal into a boiling pot full of canoe sport enthusiasts. Over 5000 spectators attended the event and rapturous applauses for the new World Champions could be heard everywhere.
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Picture Gallery
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Description of Competition Venue and sport infrastructure
Length 600 meters, Drop 4 m Width 10-12 m, Depth 40-120 cm, Grade III-IV
The Augsburg Whitewater Stadium is located in the city Augsburg, close to „Hochablass“.It is an artificial whitewater sporting facility which hosted the canoe/kayak slalom at events the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich/Augsburg. The facility is part of the channels in Augsburg. The channel starts at „Hochablass“ and the water comes from Lech River, the channel is 600 metres in length, between 0.40 and 1.2 metres deep and between twelve and 12 metres wide. The drop from top to bottom is 4.1 metres. There are no pumps necessary on the whole course. It is close to the city. By bus approximately 15 minutes to historical old town (more than 2000 years old).
The facility, which includes a restaurant, is a popular recreational area, offering individual training in kayaking/canoeing. It is regularly used for local, national and international canoeing/slalom events, but also wildwater races, rafting competitions and freestyle competitions. There is also the famous canoe museum in the tower direct on the course, by the clubhouses.
There are a number of training facilities close to the clubhouse, not necessary to travel far. We have the following: Forestcourse, Baby course, Youth course, Olympia course, the river Lech nearby, 10 km to drive river up, the dam no. 23 on the river Lech.
Augsburg – some information
The first Olympic kayak slalom stadium was built in Augsburg for the 1972 Olympics. Located in the suburb Hochzoll-Spickel, the area with the name Eiskanal, is situated in the city’s most lovely recreation area, the Olympic course has a total length of 600 m. This challenging course has built-in cement obstacles and movable water deflectors. At a flow rate of 10 and more cubic metre/sec., the water speed is about 3-6 m/sec, the difference in elevation between the start and finish lines is 4.5 m. Kayakers from all over the world come to work out in several additional practice courses. Many of the world’s key kayak competitions took and take place in Augsburg.
The Augsburg Town Hall was built between 1615 and 1620 under the guidance of city architect Elias Holl and is considered the most significant secular Renaissance building north of the Alps. During a bombing attack in February 1944, the Town Hall took a direct hit and only the burned-out shell remained standing. The façade was restored after the war, and in 1985, in honour of the city’s 2000-year anniversary, the inside of the building was completely renovated. The restorers paid careful attention to historical detail, particularly in the famous “Goldener Saal “with its magnificent golden portals, coffered ceiling, and murals; and to the adjacent Prince’s Chambers.
The premier event in paddlesports and first of its kind, the World Paddle Awards (WPA) for the 2014 season will take in Augsburg in May 2015.
