Al

White Water Rafting Ocoee Olympic Course

 The 1996 Summer Olympics were held in Atlanta, Georgia. The Ocoee Whitewater Center served as the canoe slalom. The Ocoee is the only in-river course to be used for Olympic slalom competition. Others are man-made, such as the Lee Valley Whitewater Center in London, constructed for the 2012 games. The more recent Olympic venues rely entirely on pumped water and use smaller concrete channels.

 Since most Olympic host cities are located far from usable whitewater, canoe slalom is a relatively recent addition to the Olympic games. The 1996 Atlanta Games produced the third such venue by modifying the then-dry stream bed of the Upper Ocoee River. As the only in-river Olympic venue ever, it had the greatest water volume, the highest drop, and the steepest slope. 

PreviousNext

123

Ocoee Olympic Course – History

 A 1,640 foot stretch of the Upper Ocoee River was narrowed by two-thirds to create the drops and eddies needed for a slalom course. The course now only runs summer weekends, for use by guided rafts and private boaters. Finally, when the river has water, 24 commercial rafting companies take more than 750 raft passengers through the course each day. No longer used as a slalom course, the Ocoee Whitewater Center now operates as part of the U.S. Forest Service, offering assistance to hikers, mountain bikers, and even hosting conferences and weddings. On average, 300,000 people visit here annually. Guest love that they can do Olympic rafting on the Ocoee River. 

For the final slalom race of the 1996 Olympic games, there were 25 gates, 6 upstream and 19 downstream. Also the 500-meter course was twice the length of the Lee Valley course, but with a similar number of gates. At Ocoee, racers had to sprint between the widely separated gates at the top and maneuver through the closely spaced gates around the Humongous rapid at the bottom.

Commercial rafts often go down the right side at Humongous for the two-drop roller coaster ride. Here at Outland Expeditions, we take pride in the historical importance of our river. We strive to give our guests the same experience that competitors received as the world watched.

Book your White Water Rafting Ocoee Olympic Course with Outland Expeditions!