Cardington Artificial Slalom Course
Encyclopedia
Cardington Artificial Slalom Course (CASC) was the first artificial whitewater
canoe slalom course in the UK when it was completed in July 1982, having been first discussed in 1972.
Based on the River Great Ouse
adjacent to Cardington
sluice, within the grounds of Priory Country Park
and approximately 2.5 km downstream from Bedford
, the course has a dual role as both a flood control structure and a whitewater course for canoe slalom training and events.
The course cost £273,000 and was funded by a consortium of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
, Anglian Water
(now the Environment Agency
), the Sports Council (now UK Sport
) and local councils and was seen as an excellent example of the relatively low cost adaptation of a necessary structure to provide a facility of national significance.
The structure consists of an automatically controlled dropleaf control sluice, 9 metres wide, at the head of a concrete-lined channel which connects the upper reach of the river to the lower. The channel is 120 m long with a bed slope of 1:100. To create the required water flow pattern, fibreglass boulders known as "hippos" and "dollies" are secured to the base of the channel. The maximum head is 1.7 m with a maximum water capacity of 15 cubic metres per second.
Originally seen primarily as a training venue, the course also holds two national ranking canoe slalom competitions per year at up to Division 2 level, and is the host every year to the Inter Clubs Final, which pits teams from all the top canoe slalom clubs against each other for an overall trophy. Running all weekend with camping overnight, the Inter Clubs is the largest canoe slalom event in the UK (by number of participants), a great social event for the sport and one of the highlights of the UK slalom calendar.
The course celebrated its 25th anniversary in September 2007 with a visit by Frank Branston
the Mayor of Bedford. The original project's vision of becoming 'a regional centre for canoeing' has come to fruition.
Competition events at CASC are organised by Bedford's Viking Kayak Club
which also organises national ranking events and finals in kayak marathon. Viking celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011.
Artificial whitewater
An artificial whitewater course is a site for whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, whitewater racing, whitewater rafting, playboating and slalom canoeing with artificially generated rapids.-Flow diversion:...
canoe slalom course in the UK when it was completed in July 1982, having been first discussed in 1972.
Based on the River Great Ouse
River Great Ouse
The Great Ouse is a river in the east of England. At long, it is the fourth-longest river in the United Kingdom. The river has been important for navigation, and for draining the low-lying region through which it flows. Its course has been modified several times, with the first recorded being in...
adjacent to Cardington
Cardington, Bedfordshire
Cardington is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, EnglandPart of the ancient hundred of Wixamtree, the settlement is best known in connection with the Cardington airship works founded by Short Brothers during World War I, which later became an RAF training station...
sluice, within the grounds of Priory Country Park
Priory Country Park
Priory Country Park is a country park located in the Newnham area of Bedford, England alongside the River Great Ouse. The park is managed by Bedford Borough Council....
and approximately 2.5 km downstream from Bedford
Bedford
Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...
, the course has a dual role as both a flood control structure and a whitewater course for canoe slalom training and events.
The course cost £273,000 and was funded by a consortium of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...
, Anglian Water
Anglian Water
Anglian Water is a privatised water company that operates in the East of England. Named for East Anglia, apart from Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire it also covers Lincolnshire, Essex, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire, a small part of north Nottinghamshire and Greater London...
(now the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency is a British non-departmental public body of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and an Assembly Government Sponsored Body of the Welsh Assembly Government that serves England and Wales.-Purpose:...
), the Sports Council (now UK Sport
UK Sport
UK Sport is the UK Government's organisation for directing the development of sport within the home countries.-History:The Sports Council previously had been formed in 1972, and had the motto Sport for All. There was also the Central Council of Physical Recreation. In July 1994 it was decided to...
) and local councils and was seen as an excellent example of the relatively low cost adaptation of a necessary structure to provide a facility of national significance.
The structure consists of an automatically controlled dropleaf control sluice, 9 metres wide, at the head of a concrete-lined channel which connects the upper reach of the river to the lower. The channel is 120 m long with a bed slope of 1:100. To create the required water flow pattern, fibreglass boulders known as "hippos" and "dollies" are secured to the base of the channel. The maximum head is 1.7 m with a maximum water capacity of 15 cubic metres per second.
Originally seen primarily as a training venue, the course also holds two national ranking canoe slalom competitions per year at up to Division 2 level, and is the host every year to the Inter Clubs Final, which pits teams from all the top canoe slalom clubs against each other for an overall trophy. Running all weekend with camping overnight, the Inter Clubs is the largest canoe slalom event in the UK (by number of participants), a great social event for the sport and one of the highlights of the UK slalom calendar.
The course celebrated its 25th anniversary in September 2007 with a visit by Frank Branston
Frank Branston
Frank Branston was a journalist, novelist and newspaper proprietor, and the first directly elected mayor of the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England.-Early life and career:...
the Mayor of Bedford. The original project's vision of becoming 'a regional centre for canoeing' has come to fruition.
Competition events at CASC are organised by Bedford's Viking Kayak Club
Viking Kayak Club
Viking Kayak Club is an open, community-based, multi-disciplinary club and is now one of the foremost canoe and kayak clubs in the UK. The club offers a broad range of paddling opportunities from easy recreational paddling to competition in canoe slalom, canoe racing and canoe polo and is active in...
which also organises national ranking events and finals in kayak marathon. Viking celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2011.
See also
Other UK artificial whitewater centres- Lee Valley White Water Centre
- Holme Pierrepont National Watersports CentreHolme Pierrepont National Watersports CentreThe National Watersports Centre, Holme Pierrepont is located in the hamlet of Holme Pierrepont near Nottingham, England and on the River Trent....
- Nene Whitewater CentreNene Whitewater CentreThe Nene Whitewater Centre was the UK's first pumped artificial whitewater course. It is located on the River Nene in Northampton.The course was designed by slalom designers, Proper Channels Ltd and built in 1999 by Wrekin Construction. Water can be partially diverted around a weir via a manually...
- Teesside White Water CourseTeesside White Water CourseThe Tees Barrage International White Water Course, formerly the Teesside White Water Course, is an artificial whitewater course on the north bank of the River Tees, in North East England....
.