The National Water Sports Centre
The National Water Sports Centre is just 10 minutes from the city of Nottingham and yet feels a world away. Within the site is a 2km Regatta Lake and a 700m White Water Course which were purpose built for elite athletes to train and compete at the highest level.
In addition to the world class facilities, the on-site accommodation, bar and restaurant, gymnasium and conference facilities mean everything you could need is provided at this unique and inspiring venue.
With over 30 years experience in hosting national and international competitions, the centre fully understands the needs of world class athletes in preperation for a major competition. The experienced and qualified staff take pride in providing tailored packages to meet your exact requirements and to ensure your stay is enjoyable, comfortable and rewarding. This makes the National Water Sports Centre the ideal venue to prepare for success.
The White Water Course
In May 2009 white water course staged the European Canoe Slalom Championships. The event was a huge success with many of the competing athletes regarding the course as "one of the best in the world".
The 700m course was extensively upgraded in early 2009 giving the course greater flow and depth, making the waves bigger and more stable and providing much greater flexibility with the addition of state of the art moveable obstacles.
With a head of 4m, the course produces grade 3 white water rapids with a regular flow of 24 cubic meteres per second. The course is a remarkable feat of engineering as it is gravity fed, making it truly environmentally friendly with no need for electric pumps. Adjacent to the course there is also a flat water gate training area.
As water is not pumped, the course flows 24 hours a day, it also has canoe slalom training gates permanently in place and being floodlit is always available for training. This is another reason why the course is so highly regarded and Team GB has made it their home.
2km Regatta Lake
At the heart of the centre is the 2km regatta lake with low-level, easy accessible solid concrete pontoon jetties and 5km of perimeter road for safe, land-based training.
With a depth of 4m and width of 140m the lake can be divided into 6 rowing lanes or 9 lanes for sprint canoe or kayak. With a start/finish tower providing excellent vantage points and with regular distance markers it enables you to train using competition scenarios and timings.
The centre is run by a committed team with a wealth of experience delivering national and international events. For the Great Britain flat water canoe and kayak teams, the National Water Sports Centre is the venue for Olympic selection. We also play host to national regattas, disabled kayaking events and has staged the World Marathon Championships. Whilst for rowing its hosting experience include the World Rowing Championships, the biannual Great Britain vs France Match, Great Britain National Championships, National Schools Regatta and British University Sports Association Regatta (one of Europes largest Regattas) and annual regional Regattas.
Both the White Water Course and the Lake can be hired for exclusive use or the facilities can be shared. We have a range of choices to suit your events needs and budget.
