Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course

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, 10 kilometres (6 mi) west of Kraków. It is fed with river water diverted around a nearby dam. The top 120 metres (394 ft) 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.

Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course

Tor kajakarstwa górskiego w Krakowie
About
Locale	Kolna, Kraków, Poland
Managing agent	Krakowski Klub Kajakowy
Main shape	Linear
Adjustable	yes
Water source	Vistula River
Pumped	No
Flow diversion	Yes
Practice pool	Yes
Grandstands	Two sets of bleachers
Canoe lift	No
Facilities	Yes
Construction	2003, 2013
Stats
Length	Total: 320 metres (1,050 ft) Competition: 250 metres (820 ft)
Width	12 metres (39 ft)
Drop	5 metres (16 ft)
Slope	2.0% (105 ft/mi)
Flowrate	15 m3/s (530 cu ft/s)

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 70 centimetres (28 in) in the section above the foot bridge. Work was completed in April 2013.^[2]

Kraków-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course map

Gate map for 2013 European Championship Finals, 9 June 2013. All gates were single-pole.

Gallery

European Canoe Slalom Championships, June 2013

• 
  From the foot bridge, the top 10 gates. British C-2 team.
• 
  From the foot bridge, the lower gates
• 
  The K-1W team final. The first Spanish boat at gate #12.
• 
  The C-2 team final. The first two Slovakian boats pass gate #12.
• 
  From the road bridge, the finish line