(ATR) International Canoe Federation second vice president Richard Fox tells Around the Rings he wants to "bring the public closer to the athletes" for Rio 2016.
Fox was speakingduring the canoe sprint competition at Eton Dorney, which has also hosted rowing events during the Games. Fox was positive about how the competition had gone so far, but in looking forward to Rio he was already coming up with new ideas.
"There have been many positives to take from both the slalom and sprint competitions, and there’s much that can be emulated at Rio 2016," he said. "However, we have to have a complete debrief of the Games with LOCOG in order to give a conclusive answer.
"From my own assessment, I think the spectator turnout has been fantastic, we have had a full house almost every day in both competitions, the broadcast of our events have been good. I think we may have to look at the sport presentation [for canoe sprint] in the future and find a way to bring the public closer to the athletes, maybe by doing a victory lap on the water," he added"
"We will have to see the venue in Rio first to see how to make the best of it."
In the meantime, Eton Dorney is just six years old and is privately owned by Eton College. The 2,200m eight-lane purpose-built canoe lake does appear to face a transport issue, especially considering the nearest Olympic venue is Earls Court (volleyball) 39km away.
However, the thousands of spectators who attended the day’s events do not seem to mind the long journey to get to the Olympic venue. One man who made the trip from North London with his wife and two children told ATR: "Yes, it’s a bit of a long way, but it’s quite simple: you know you get the train, then there’s a shuttle bus. And then once you’re here, it’s a lovely day out".
Similar to the shooting event at Royal Artillery Barracks, spectators enjoy theopen green spaces of the venue. Big screens that showed the sporting action on the lake would later on show action from other Olympic events once the particular day’s competition had finished.
The ICF’s other events were in the canoe slalom discipline held at the Lee Valley White Water Center, which is much closer to the Olympic Park than Eton Dorney. The slalom competition finished on August 2, and a spokesperson for the ICF says it was "the best the sport has ever seen" – a big statement for Rio to try to step up to.
The ICF also praised the efforts by LOCOG and the volunteers in what they described as "an exceptional Games".
Reported by Christian Radnedge
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