Mairie de Vaires Sur Marne Olympic venue

Mairie de Vaires Sur Marne Olympic Venue

Olympic Games

Canoeing | Kayking | Rowing

Paralympics

Para Canoe | Para Rowing

The Vaires-Torcy outdoor leisure park encapsulates the Greater Paris regional authorities’ desire to equip the region with infrastructure that can host top international sports competitions. The leisure park offered state-of-the art facilities even before the Île-de- France Water Sports Centre opened, hosting the 1991 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships, Canoe World Cup events in 1992 and 1996 and, more recently, Gay Games events and the France Elite Canoe/Kayak Slalom Championships in 2018. The leisure park was extensively renovated recently. The work involved building a white water centre with a 250 m slalom course, modernising the 2,200 m rowing and sprint course, as well as building related infrastructure, a media centre and accommodation for athletes and visitors.

Open since June 2019, the new Île-de-France Water Sports Centre will be the venue of choice for the canoe/kayak and rowing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is one of the only three centres worldwide – the other two being in Beijing and Sydney – that bring together the three Olympic and Paralympic canoe/kayak events – slalom, sprint and para canoe – as well as rowing. One of the major advantages of the centre is that it was designed with the people who could use it before and after the 2024 Games in mind and meets elite athletes’ rigorous standards. Boasting a landscaped river section as well as a training river for people to learn how to canoe, kayak, raft or swim in white water, along with a range of other new activities open to all (including fitness, sailing and standup paddleboarding), the new centre can benefit and is accessible to everyone, even people not currently involved in sport, attracting over 500,000 visitors each year.

Practical Info

Capacity
Canoe, kayak sprint and rowing: 24,000 | 14,000 seated and 10,000 standing Canoe and kayak slalom (White Water) & para canoe: 12,000 Para rowing: 14,000

Location
39Km east of the Olympic and Paralympic Village, Vaires – Torcy (77)

Getting There
• RER lines A and E
• Transilien train line P, then bus

Nearby Tourist Attractions
• Disneyland Paris theme park
• Torcy outdoor activities centre
• Former Menier chocolate factory

Post 2024 Legacy
The Water Sports Centre located at the Vaires-Torcy outdoor leisure park offers top-class facilities for water-based activities and sports, catering for amateurs and elite athletes alike. After the Games, the Water Sports Centre will also bring together water sports representative bodies. It already houses the headquarters of the French Canoe and Kayak Federation and its regional committee, advanced development centre and youth development centre, the Île-de-France Rowing League and its youth development centre, as well as the logistics platform of the French Rowing Federation.