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Tag Archives: London 2012

VENUE PEOPLE: Mark Coleman – ‘Bringing a little bit of Rio to the Lee Valley’

Mark Coleman has brought a little bit of Rio to Lee Valley White Water Centre.  Having spent time in Rio helping out with the fine tuning and commissioning of the rapids on the prestigious Rio 2016 Olympic Canoe Slalom Course in the Deodoro X-Park in Rio, he has reproduced sections of the Rio rapids at Lee Valley for all to enjoy.

As a specialist in ‘tuning rapids on artificial white water courses’, Mark was asked to help with the commissioning and adjustment of the rapids at the Deodoro X-Park white water course – a final step in the venue delivery process focused on ensuring safety and excitement for the athletes, as well as its ability to perform consistently for Olympic competition.  Additionally, after having helped to set up the course he had the honour of being the first to try them out in a raft on a test run last year.

He worked in Rio at the invitation of course modellers and designers Whitewater Parks International (WPI), the company that also designed the Lee Valley White Water Centre.  They called him in on a special assignment for 10 days last November to assist in the initial Rio course configuration tuning, adding his years of experience and proven ability in redesigning the rapids at the Lee Valley White Water Centre after the London 2012 Olympics to the WPI Team.

Mark’s unique experience and expertise at Lee Valley White Water Centre has made him an acknowledged expert in the use of RapidBlocs, the moveable and reconfigurable white water obstacle system used at both London and Rio to make the rapids.

But Mark has not always been working with fast flowing water and RapidBlocs.  Little did he know when he ran away to sea at the age of 21 that nearly four decades later he would have a hand in setting up the Olympic white water slalom course in Rio for this year’s games.

He has gone from being a building site labourer, to medical research chemist, to runaway sailor, to development chemist, to raft guide and now, at nearly 60 having retired from his first career in the Pharma industry he has become the Course Designer at Lee Valley White Water Centre. Mark said:

I was thrilled to be asked by Whitewater Parks International’s Managing Director Bob Campbell to come out to Rio to help them with the commissioning and tuning of the rapids at the Deodoro X-Park white water course.

It was a great honour to be asked to go to Brazil and to contribute to the course commissioning.  When I got there, we turned the water on at competition level for the first time and I could see that WPI had done an excellent job of designing the concrete channels and modelling the initial placement of the RapidBlocs that make the rapids.  As an anticipated part of the process, there were some areas that needed additional fine tuning to improve hydraulics. But overall the first configuration was good – really good!  The competitors at the test event absolutely loved it.

During the 10 days he was there Mark helped the team to refine all the areas that needed attention.  The course was shortly after declared suitable for the Canoe Slalom test event in November 2015 by the International Canoe Federation.  Mark added:

The test event was hailed a great success and Great Britain’s David Florence won gold in the Men’s C1 event.

Since his return and the test event he says he has ‘brought a little bit of Rio to Lee Valley.’  At the request of British Canoeing he has recreated sections of the Rio rapids at Lee Valley to help the GB athletes prepare for the games and for the public to enjoy rafting or kayaking.

Mark Coleman (above in Rio) is an expert in the use of RapidBlocs

Mark Coleman (above in Rio) is an expert in the use of RapidBlocs

Mark Coleman in Rio tweaking their course

With 13,000 litres of water a second powering down the Olympic Course at Lee Valley, enough to fill 75 bath tubs every second, or an Olympic sized swimming pool in a little over three minutes, Mark has been working with some strong currents, on what he describes as ‘the largest continuous flow experiment that I have had the pleasure of working on.’

It is a far cry from the early beginnings when he started out life as a Medical Research Chemist with a major pharmaceutical company.  Then after three years in the Merchant Navy as a young man he returned as a development chemist, developing life changing medicines.  During his time in the Pharma industry he became a pioneer and expert in the use of continuous flow chemistry and continuous processing which, albeit on a much smaller scale, has some parallels with fast flowing water moving down a concrete channel over and around obstacles.

But Mark’s heart was always on the water, having been kayaking for over 30 years as his key hobby.  Now he has come full circle ‘living the dream’, with his job as a hobby.

The pivotal time came in 2009 when Mark, from Ware in Hertfordshire, took the opportunity of early retirement to be with his wife Julie who was recovering from cancer. Mark explained:

At the time we didn’t know how things would pan out, but thankfully she has made a full recovery and she spent 5 years at the Lee Valley White Water Centre helping to set up and run the kit room.  And with a white water centre having just been built down the road from us, It’s the only way she was going see me.

When I realised that an artificial white water course was being built just down the road from me, my love of the outdoors and paddlesports kicked in and I just knew that I wanted to work there is some capacity.  I was knocking on the door before it opened and I decided to train as a Raft Guide in November 2010.

Mark has been at Lee Valley White Water Centre ever since.  Mark concluded:

It is fantastic to be earning and living my hobby.  Plus it’s brilliant that I’ve been able to use my 35 years’ experience in science and engineering in my role as course designer and raft guide.  And going to Rio has been the icing on the cake!

UK VENUE PROFILE: Lee Valley White Water Centre

Every day is a big event day at a venue like Lee Valley White Water Centre. General Manager Paskell Blackwell and his team welcome a steady flow of guests on all seven days of the week. These paddlers, rafters, diners and walkers all need to be kept safe and looked after during their stay. After all, there are 13,000 litres of water per second powering through the site. The flow could fill an Olympic-sized swimming pool in a little over three minutes.

lvwwc course

The white water course and the terrace overlooking the course start. Practice lake.

The white water course and the terrace overlooking the course start. Practice lake.

lvwwc practice lake

These visitors pay for white water packages, food and drink and merchandise. An occasional televised canoeing competition raises the centre’s profile but it’s the daily visits and income that enable the venue’s operator Vibrant Partnerships to keep it solvent.

This world class centre has 25 acres of landscaping and car parks, an all-round security fence, a 330 metre Olympic course, a lake the size of two football pitches, boats, rafts, gates, blocks, hotel-level finishes, lockers and bathrooms.

Rafting for the people

Rafting is undoubtedly exciting and fun – take this writer’s word for it. It also looks a bit daunting. “The guides are key to matching the level of excitement with the participants’ appetite for it,” explains Blackwell.

Safety briefing from raft guide.

Safety briefing from raft guide.

The raft guides – professionals, some also athletes in training, with qualifications and experience to match – engage with customers to understand what they are enjoying, or not. It’s an itinerant profession, with guides moving between southern and northern hemispheres to match demand and Vibrant Partnerships trains apprentice raft guides from among the local population.

It all starts with safety. The guides provide an equipment briefing and show how to be safe in and out of the rafts. After that, it’s fun all the way and plenty to talk about in the café afterwards, together with digital action photos to take away.

Rafting course.

Rafting course.

Back in the cafe and on the terrace to share stories and photos.

Back in the cafe and on the terrace to share stories and photos.

lvwwc cafe terrace

Customer engagement

“Vibrant is a new company finding out how it wants to do things but the name tells you we want to make our venues exciting for customers,” states Blackwell.

The centre remains open all year round, serving walkers and cyclists using the Lee Valley Country Park. Blackwell concedes that this is not profitable business in itself but is an important part of keeping the centre at the heart of its community: “Getting people on site is important, especially to get families and young people to experience what we have to offer.”

Breaking down barriers to encourage people to visit is a constant part of the centre’s marketing initiatives, for example family rafting and March Mayhem discounts.

Weekends tend to be booked up so the centre encourages students and schools during the week and is also focussed on getting corporate customers on weekdays. The centre hosts an annual schools festival when thousands of children from across London, Essex and Hertfordshire experience white water rafting.

“We are available to host big events and support British Canoeing’s bids, but we need frequent attractions so we are also inventing our own. We’ll have outdoor cinema and Free summer activities and games during the school holidays at the pavilion in the park on the white water course side,” explains Blackwell.

Venue development

In 2014 Lee Valley White Water Centre spent £6.3 million to extend the main building with the Terrace Bar & Café, including a huge decked terrace which extends to the edge of the white water course. The café hosts live entertainment in the evenings.

lvwwc entrance

lvwwc reception

A ground floor extension was also built to incorporate British Canoeing’s High Performance Centre which is the base for the British Canoe Slalom squad and all UK Sport funded Podium athletes. The budget also paid for a separate pavilion with café and terrace, adding to the hire options Vibrant Partnerships can offer to customers.

The original building built for the London Olympics in 2012 has performed well. Green credentials include grey water recycling, solar panels and a heat recovery system. Energy use is equivalent to a large leisure centre.

Lee Valley White Water Centre – by the numbers

  • 2012 London Olympics – 82 athletes, 55,000 spectators
  • 2014 ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup – 300 athletes
  • 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
  • 2011-2016 – more than 600,000 visitors, including more than 100,000 rafters and more than 50,000 canoeists

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