Lea Valley Whitewater Centre...My opinion and a Podium Result

Yesterday I was lucky enough to have been chosen to take part in a special Youth Freestyle event which was to be held on the Legacy Loop. Now, credit it where it is due, the build quality of this course is outstanding. The water had no silt in because the water is held in a concrete lake and the water is slightly chlorinated..swimming pool?

The Legacy course itself was pretty nice and I would compare it to CIWW but slightly deeper. In regards to the main feature..it took time to get used to but was deep enough for loops although it was common for people to hit the bottom every so often but all hole tricks could be done with enough effort. Directly after this hole was another feature which loops could also be obtained in. In the competition, I came 2nd in the 15 and under age category which I was pretty pleased with!

However, I felt that the legacy loop still had a long way to go before it could be classed as a good paddling destination such as the Tryweryn or HPP. First of all, nearly every eddy was almost as fast as the main current itself creating some amusing carnage (to some)...it reminded me of bumper cars but with less control! To add to this some of the other features could be easily tweaked to become even better but I guess all this will improve with time!

James Weight mcnasties in the main feature on the 'Legacay Loop'

Unfortunately only the gb team were allowed to paddle the main Olympic course but believe me in saying it is world class as it indeed is! I cannot wait to take on the main course as it looks a top quality bit of white water. From observations and after asking people who have paddled it, it is definitely harder than the like of the Tryweryn, Hpp or any other 'artificial' or 'altered' course I have ever been to. It looked very continuous and included some pretty steep drops and big surging waves. It is also very continuous and I can imagine a swim on here would be fairly exhausting. It is definitely not for the faint hearted!

Now I have heard a lot of speculation on the price of the main course but I am pretty sure after an hour on this piece of whitewater you will be pretty tired and after 2 hours you will probably be tired for the next week!

See you on the water,

Charles