Whitewater Parks International (WPI), designated as an approved technical consultant by the International Canoe Federation and the Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for Rio 2016, has been selected to provide professional services for the planning, design, and development of the Canoe Slalom venue intended for the Deodoro Sports Complex – one of several multi-sport clusters being prepared for Olympic events in 2016.

WPI recently signed an agreement with Consortium Vigliecca Marobal, who ranked first in the bidding competition to oversee the overall design development of the Deodoro plan. WPI’s previous Olympic project expertise in particular will ensure that the proper technical specifications, as stipulated by the International Olympic Committee, are addressed in the Canoe Slalom venue design.

WPI has been hard at work over the past ten days on the ground in Rio de Janeiro, performing site visits, reviewing reports, and collaborating with other project team members to outline crucial next steps, as the detailed design must be completed within the next few months in order to keep the project’s completion on track for the Games.

Meanwhile, the International Canoe Federation will also be in Brazil this week to participate in meetings with 2016 organizers and the City of Rio to discuss recent issues raised about locating the project on the proposed site, as well as an alternative venue some 700 miles away.

“We’ve been busy working out how we can best utilize this site in Deodoro,” observes WPI Projects Director, John Felton. “We’re clear there’s a tremendous opportunity for Legacy benefit here in Rio, but we can only progress our efforts so far before the location questions are answered,” he said. “We’re anticipating some important outcomes from this week’s organizer’s meetings though and look forward to continuing our work with the consortium.”