The first whitewater slalom race took place on the Aar River in Switzerland in 1933.William T. Endicott, Slalom E-Book, p2 The early slalom courses were all set in natural rivers, but when whitewater slalom became an Olympic sport for the first time, at the 1972 Munich Games, the venue was the world's first concrete-channel artificial whitewater course, the Eiskanal in Augsburg. All Olympic whitewater slalom competitions have taken place in artificial courses, which now exist in 16 countries on five continents.
Streambed slalom courses still outnumber concrete channels, but most international competition takes place in the more controlled environment of an artificial course. The standard parameters for such a course, patterned on the Olympic model, are a length of about , a slope of 2% (), and a flow rate of . Within those parameters, designs vary. Water diversion features can be natural rocks, shaped concrete boulders and wing dams, plastic bollards, wooden dams, or truck tires. Channel walls can be straight or slanted, and smooth or cobbled. The floor of the channel may have raised turbulence generators to slow the water speed. The course may be a single straight channel, parallel channels, one or more loops, or a figure-8.
Water can be supplied by diversion from a nearby river, tidal current, electric pumps, or a combination. The expense of operation is largely dependent on the water source. A single channel on the Olympic model — a drop at 17 m³/s — represents one megawatt of energy, either supplied by pumps or sacrificed in the case of diversion around a hydroelectric generator. Ironically, diversion is often more expensive than pumping if the diverted water would have made a bigger drop inside the hydroelectric facility. The extreme example of this is the Ocoee Whitewater Center where water must bypass a drop in a dam, tunnel, and penstock, in order to water the 9-meter drop of the whitewater course.
Most artificial whitewater courses cover their operating costs by charging passengers for guided raft rides. Canoe and kayak slalom training and competition do not generate enough revenue.
The four riverbed courses on this list are all extensively engineered and used for major competitions. Ocoee is no longer used for slalom, but it was the 1996 Olympic venue. The other courses on the list have concrete channels, often built in former industrial canals or mill races. Every city that hosts a summer Olympics is now expected to build a new whitewater stadium, usually powered by electric pumps. The Lee Valley White Water Centre, constructed for the London 2012 Summer Olympics, cost £31million."Rapids of Rockies come to Herts for 2012 Olympic canoeists," Matthew Beard, London Evening Standard, 24 May, 2010 retrieved: 16 December 2010
In the table below, the location of each facility for which there is no Wikipedia article is noted in the Comment column. If the facility is more than two years old, there is often a good satellite or aerial (bird's eye) picture available via the link.
+ Artificial whitewater canoe/kayak slalom courses — grouped by country — listed by completion dateSlopeStreamflow Date Course name Location Water source Power source Shape ft/mi (m/km) cu ft/s (m³/s) CommentAustralia 2000 Penrith Whitewater Stadium Penrith Penrith Lakes Pumped Loop 91 (17) 494 (14) 2000 Olympics Sydney 1974 Brady's Lake Slalom Course Bradys Lake, Tasmania Bronte Lagoon Dam release, Natural modified Riverbed 106 (20) 918 (26) Austria 2013 Vienna Watersports Arena Vienna New Danube Pumped Loop 79 (15) 424 (12) Brazil 2006 Itaipu Slalom Course Foz do Iguaçu Itaipu Lake, Paraná River Flow diversion & Pumped Loop 115 (22) 441 (13) 2015 Deodoro Olympic Whitewater Stadium Rio de Janeiro city water Pumped 2 Loops 95 (18) 420 (12) 2016 Olympics Rio de JaneiroCanada – Canoe Meadows Race Course Kananaskis Kananaskis River Dam release, Natural modified Linear – (27–31) Normal – Minden Wild Water Preserve Minden, Ontario Gull River Dam release, Natural modified Riverbed, Maintained – 825–1650 (25–50) 2015 Pan-Am Games – Pumphouse Tailrace Ottawa Ottawa River Flow diversion Linear – – – Rutherford Whitewater Park Whistler Rutherford Creek Flow diversion Linear – – China 2004 Whitewater Stadium of Nanjing Nanjing Xuanwu Lake Pumped Loop 79 (15) 565 (16) 2007 Shunyi Rowing-Canoeing Park Shunyi Chaobai River Pumped Loop 110 (21) – 2008 Olympics Beijing 2007 Xiasi Canoe Slalom Course Xiasi Qingshui River Flow diversion Linear 102 (19) 424 (12) 2007 Rizhao Canoe Slalom Course Rizhao Rizhao Harbor Pumped Loop – – Miyi Canoe Slalom Training Base Miyi Peace River Flow diversion Linear 119 (23) 494 (14) Czech Republic 1983 Prague-Troja Canoeing Centre Prague-Troja Vltava Flow diversion Linear 63 (12) 565 (16) – České Vrbné Slalom Course České Budějovice Vltava Flow diversion Linear – – 1984 Veltrusy Slalom Course Veltrusy Vltava Flow diversion Linear 53.50 (10) 353 (10) – Trnávka Slalom Course Želiv Trnava Flow diversion Linear 86(16) 424(12) – Roudnice nad Labem Roudnice nad Labem Elbe Flow diversion Linear – – –USD OpavaOpavaOpava (river)Flow diversionLinear – – Proposed Zdiměřice Whitewater Park Zdiměřice Pumped Loop – – France 1988 Épinal Slalom Course Épinal Moselle River Flow diversion Linear – – 1992 Lannion Whitewater Stadium Lannion Leguer River Flow diversion, Tidal Linear 47 (9) 530 (15) 1992 Parc des Eaux Vives Huningue Rhine River Flow diversion Loop 75 (14) 353 (10) 1993 L'Argentière-la-Bessée L'Argentière-la-Bessée Durance River Natural flow Riverbed 47 (9) 2470 (70) 1996 St Laurent Whitewater Stadium St Laurent Scarpe River Gravity, Pumped Linear 86 (16) 424 (12) 1997 Bourg-Saint-Maurice Bourg-Saint-Maurice Isère River Dam release Riverbed 184 (35) 883 (25) 1997 Nancy Whitewater Stadium Nancy Meurthe River Flow diversion Linear 72 (14) 706 (20) 1999 Cesson-Sévigné Whitewater Stadium Cesson-Sévigné Vilaine River Gravity, Pumped V-shape 39 (7) 424 (12) 2000 Cergy Whitewater Stadium Cergy Oise River Pumped Loop 103 (20) 565 (16) 2000 Millau Whitewater Course Millau Tarn River Flow diversion Linear 31.5 (6) 565 (16) – Saint-Pierre-de-Bœuf-Paradise Saint-Pierre-de-Bœuf Rhône River Flow diversion Linear – – – Isle de la Serre Sault-Brénaz Rhône River Flow diversion S-shape – – – Slalom Ardèche Vallon-Pont-d'Arc Ardèche River Flow diversion Linear – – 2008 Pau-Pyrénées Whitewater Stadium Pau Gave de Pau Flow diversion Loop 94 (18) 494 (14) 2008 Châteauneuf Whitewater Sports Châteauneuf-sur-Cher Cher River Diversion, Pumped 110 meter Loop 58 (11) 459 (13) 2013 Sainte Suzanne Whitewater Stadium Sainte Suzanne, Réunion Island Sainte Suzanne River Pumped 250 meter loop 63 (12) 420 (12) 2019 Vaires-sur-Marne Nautical Stadium Vaires-sur-Marne Marne River Pumped 300 meter Loop 2024 Olympics Paris2022Base Nautique: Natur'O ViveÉpinalMoselle RiverPumpedS-shape79 (15)420 (12)Germany 1971 Augsburg Eiskanal Augsburg Lech River Flow diversion Linear 79 (15) 353 (10)1972 Olympics Munich 2006 Kanupark Markkleeberg Leipzig Markkleeberger See Pumped 2 Loops 111 (21) 494 (14)Greece 2004 Heleniko Whitewater Stadium Athens Gulf of Athens Pumped Figure-8 – 618 (18) 2004 Olympics Athens 2008 Evinos River Slalom Course Nafpaktos Evinos River Diversion 520 meter Linear 53 (10) 530 (15) Italy 2007 Ivrea Whitewater Stadium Ivrea Dora Baltea River Flow diversion Linear 168 (32) 706 (20) Japan 2019 Kasai Canoe Slalom Centre Tokyo Pumped Linear/Lift 103 (20) 424 (12) 2021 Olympics TokyoMacedonia Skopje Slalom Canoeing Center Skopje Treska In stream, Dam release Linear Mexico Union de Tula Union de Tula Rio Ayuquila Dam Release Altered stream New Zealand 27 April 2016 Vector Wero Whitewater Park Wiri, Auckland, New Zealand Pumped 79 (15) Poland 2003 Krakow-Kolna Canoe Slalom Course Kraków Vistula River Diversion Linear – – 1995Wietrznice Water Sports CentreZabrzeżDunajec RiverDam releaseLinearRussia 2008 Okulovka Whitewater Canal Okulovka, Novgorod Oblast Peretna River Dam release, Natural modified S-shape 100 (10) 309 (30) Slovakia 1978 Ondrej Cibak Whitewater Slalom Course Liptovský Mikuláš Vah River Diversion Parallel Linear 113 (21) 530 (15) 1996 Čunovo Water Sports Centre Bratislava Danube River Dam release 2 Loops 98 (19) 777 (22)Slovenia 1990 Tacen Whitewater Course Ljubljana Sava River Dam Spillway, Tailrace Linear – 989 (28)Spain 1991 Segre Olympic Park La Seu d'Urgell Segre River Flow diversion, Pumped 2 Loops 114 (22) 618 (17.5) 1992 Olympics Barcelona 2008 El Canal de Aguas Bravas Zaragoza Ebro River Pumped Loop 101 (19) 424 (12) Expo 2008 2012 Parc del Mig Segre Ponts Segre River Dam release, Natural flow Linear 13 (4) 1272 (36) 300-meter courseSweden 2019 Falu Vildvattenpark Falun Pumped United Arab Emirates 2012 Al Ain Adventure Al Ain Pumped 3 loops United Kingdom 1981 Canolfan Tryweryn Bala, Gwynedd Llyn Celyn / Afon Tryweryn Dam release Riverbed – 350 (10) 1000-meter course 1982 Cardington Slalom Course Bedford River Great Ouse Flow diversion Linear 60 (11) 530 (15) 150-meter course 1986 Holme Pierrepont National Watersports Centre Nottingham River Trent Flow diversion Linear 30 (5.7) 883 (25) 500-meter course 1999 Nene Whitewater Centre Northampton River Nene Flow diversion, Pumped Loop – – 300-meter course 1995 Tees Barrage International White Water Course Stockton-on-Tees River Tees Flow diversion, Pumped Loop 53 (10) 353 (10) 250-meter course 2010 Cardiff International White Water Cardiff fully enclosed Pumped 1½ Loops 565 (16) 250-meter course 2010 Lee Valley White Water Centre London Groundwater Pumped 2 Loops 88 (17) 460 (13) 2012 Olympics London 2014 Pinkston Watersports Glasgow Forth and Clyde Canal Pumped 2 Loops 79 (15) 247 (7) 100-meter courseUnited States 1984 East Race Waterway South Bend IN St. Joseph River Flow diversion Linear 33 (6) 500 (14) 1991 Dickerson Whitewater Course Dickerson MD Potomac River Pumped Linear 91 (17) 600 (17) Heated water 1996 Ocoee Whitewater Center Ducktown TN Ocoee River Dam release Riverbed 99 (19) 1560 (44) 1996 Olympics Atlanta 2001 Lock 32 Whitewater Park Pittsford, New York Erie Canal Diversion Linear 2006 U.S. National Whitewater Center Charlotte NC city tap water Pumped 2 Loops 113 (21) 550 (16) 2007 Adventure Sports Center International McHenry MD Deep Creek Lake Pumped Loop 91 (17) 550 (16)2010Marge Cline Whitewater CourseYorkville, ILFox RiverFlow DiversionLinear 2016 Riversport Rapids Oklahoma City OK city tap water Pumped 2 Loops – 2028 Olympics Los Angeleshttps://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/us/los-angeles-olympics-oklahoma-city.html 1974 Wausau Whitewater Park Wausau WI Wisconsin River Dam Release River Bed – 650 2023Montgomery WhitewaterMontgomery, ALMan made reservoirPumpedDual Channel Whitewater Course and Flat WaterNote: Slope and Streamflow numbers refer only to the 300-meter section used for Olympic-style slalom training and competition.