The newly-built Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoe Park is about one hour north of Beijing. (ATR)(ATR) The rowing venue for the Beijing Olympics is easily the most spacious ever--and free of problems from the wind--says the president of international rowing federation FISA.
Speaking at the Shunyi Olympic Rowing and Canoe Park, Denis Oswald tells Around the Rings that the lack of winds at the venue will help keep racing on schedule during the Games. Delays from weather hit rowing in both Athens and Sydney
“The additional advantage here is the wind conditions. In the summer there is hardly any wind, and when it blows, you can see the flags, it blows in the direction of the course. That means for all rowers it is the same,” he says.
Oswald says space, plenty of it, is a second major advantage of the Shunyi venue, which measures more than 162 hectares in size.
Located an hour north of the city, longer if the traffic is snarled, the sprawling site includes the 2000m main rowing course, a warm-up lake that connects to the start of the course and the whitewater venue. In addition to rowing and canoe events, the main course will be the site of the marathon swim event at the 2008 Games.
A grandstand seating 5,000 is perched on the spectator side of the course and a covered tribune for press and federation officials is on the other side.
The venue is receiving its first test this week with the FISA World Rowing Junior Championships, a competition drawing about FISA President and IOC member Denis Oswald at the Shunyi venue. (ATR)600 athletes from 49 countries.
“So far nothing special has appeared,” says Oswald about the first two days of competition. The event closes on August 12.
“We will wait until the end of the week and possibly make recommendations, but as far as we could see at this stage, there won’t be much to change,” says Oswald, who adds that venue staff is picking up valuable experience.
“Test events are also a way to train the people. Some people are very nice but The Shunyi venue is well-landscaped and has much more space than previous rowing and canoe venues. (ATR)they lack a bit of experience and we just hope that the same people will be in charge next year, so they can gain experience this year,” he says.
FISA vice president Anita DeFrantz, senior IOC member in the U.S., calls the venue “magnificent” and says it is the best one she’s seen for her sport. DeFrantz was a bronze medalist in the 1976 Games.
Speaking on a day when a broiling sun pushed temperatures into the range of 96f/36c, DeFrantz says hydration will be an important health issue for spectators, who have no shade in their section of the venue.
Oswald says FISA would like to see some shade, but that the decision is up to the Beijing hosts.
On Thursday’s round of competition, spectators numbered just a few hundred, with few sitting in the stands.
The slalom canoe course, with its own shaded grandstand, will be tested with an August 16 to 19 event, while flatwater canoe, to held on the main course, will have its test event from August 23 to 26.
While Shunyi is located some distance from the center of Beijing, Oswald says the trek from the Olympic Village, also in the north of the city, is only 25 to 30 minutes. He says that obviates the need for housing closer to the venue.
A new, four-lane divided highway connects the venue to the expressway.
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