The Tees Barrage International White Water Course, originally the Teesside White Water Course, is an

artificial whitewater An artificial whitewater course is a site for whitewater canoeing, whitewater kayaking, whitewater racing, whitewater rafting, playboating and slalom canoeing with artificially generated rapids. Course types Main types of course: Flow div ...

course on the north bank of the

River Tees The River Tees (), in England, rises on the eastern slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines and flows eastwards for to reach the North Sea in the North East of England. The modern-day history of the river has been tied with the industries ...

, in

northern England Northern England, or the North of England, refers to the northern part of England and mainly corresponds to the Historic counties of England, historic counties of Cheshire, Cumberland, County Durham, Durham, Lancashire, Northumberland, Westmo ...

. It is part of the

Tees Barrage The Tees Barrage is a barrage and road bridge across the River Tees, Northern England, just upriver of Blue House Point and is used to control the flow of the river, preventing flooding and the effects of tidal change. It is between the towns ...

and is located in the

Stockton-on-Tees Stockton-on-Tees is a market town in County Durham, England, with a population of 84,815 at the 2021 UK census. It gives its name to and is the largest settlement in the wider Borough of Stockton-on-Tees. It is part of Teesside and the Tees Val ...

district, accessible by road only from

Thornaby-on-Tees Thornaby-on-Tees, commonly referred to as Thornaby, is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of York and south-east of Middlesbrough. On the south bank of the River Tees, Thornaby falls within th ...

and best accessed by the A66. The course was built in 1995 at a cost of £2 million. The course is now open once more under the new name TBIWWC (Tees Barrage International White Water Centre).

Facilities

The course is owned by the

Canal & River Trust The Canal & River Trust (CRT), branded as in Wales, holds the guardianship of 2,000 miles of canals and rivers, together with reservoirs and a wide range of heritage buildings and structures, in England and Wales. Launched on 12 July 2012, the ...

but administered by Tees Active from the on-site watersports centre. The white water facility offers

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

ing,

whitewater slalom Canoe slalom (previously known as whitewater slalom) is a competitive sport with the aim to navigate a Spraydeck, decked canoe or kayak through a course of hanging downstream or upstream gates on Whitewater, river rapids in the fastest time pos ...

playboating Canoe freestyle (also known as playboating) is a discipline of whitewater kayaking or canoeing where people perform various technical moves in one place (a playspot), as opposed to downriver whitewater kayaking, whitewater canoeing or kayaking wh ...

and

white water rafting Rafting and whitewater rafting are recreational outdoor activities which use an inflatable raft to navigate a river or other body of water. This is often done on whitewater or different degrees of rough water. Dealing with risk is often a ...

plus

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suita ...

on the 'surf wave'. The centre's facilities include a high ropes course, a placid practice pool; watersports centre, shop and cafe; car parking, camping, picnicking and caravanning areas;

bandstand A bandstand (sometimes music kiosk) is a circular, semicircular or polygonal structure set in a park, garden, pier, or indoor space, designed to accommodate musical bands performing concerts. A simple construction, it both creates an ornamen ...

and landscaped

amphitheatre An amphitheatre (American English, U.S. English: amphitheater) is an open-air venue used for entertainment, performances, and sports. The term derives from the ancient Greek ('), from ('), meaning "on both sides" or "around" and ('), meani ...

, ''The Talpore'' pub, a restaurant and hotel. The course itself is a U-shaped loop, 250 m long, 7 m wide with a 3.7 m drop and a flow of 14 cumecs (m³/s). The immediate environs of the white water course include the

Teesdale Way The Teesdale Way is a long-distance walk between the Cumbrian Pennines and the North Sea coast of North Yorkshire in England. The walk is in length; it links in with other long-distance walks such as the Pennine Way and the E2 European Walk b ...

cycle path (

National Cycle Network The National Cycle Network (NCN) was established to encourage cycling and walking throughout the United Kingdom, as well as for the purposes of bicycle touring. It was created by the charity Sustrans who were aided by a £42.5 million N ...

), the

, the

and the placid grade A two star waters of the river Tees; the

David Lloyd Leisure David Lloyd Leisure Limited, trading as David Lloyd Clubs and commonly known simply as David Lloyd, is a chain of health clubs with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. It is the largest health, fitness and leisure business in Europe by reve ...

racquet centre, a superstore and

Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve Portrack Marsh Nature Reserve is a reserve by the northern bank of the River Tees between the Tees Barrage and the Tees Viaduct, near Portrack housing estate in Stockton-on-Tees borough, County Durham. It is the last remaining wetland on the ...

Operation

The state of the course can depend on the level of the tide in the

. The course can operate by flow diversion for two or three hours either side of low tide but can operate at any time when the pumps are used. The course can operate all year round and in hours of darkness when it is flood-lit, and spot-lit on the two footbridges.

Photo gallery (2008)

Image:Tees_Whitewater_Centre-1024.jpg , Tees Barrage White Water Course Centre and practice/warm up pool Image:tees_white_water-1.jpg , Happy Eater pool Image:tees_white_water-2.jpg , Rapids in front of the bandstand Image:tees_white_water-3.jpg , Cruncher pool Image:tees_white_water-5.jpg , Valentines pool Image:tees_white_water-6.jpg , Pedestrian bridge and final rapids Image:tees_white_water-8.jpg , Lower settling pool Image:tees_white_water-4.jpg , One of the many public interpretation and information boards around the course.

Redevelopment

In 2010 and 2011, there was a £4.6 million redevelopment of the course. The changes include the addition of a new shorter, steeper course and a canoe lift. Four large 12 m long 3 m diameter

Archimedes' screw The Archimedes' screw, also known as the Archimedean screw, hydrodynamic screw, water screw or Egyptian screw, is one of the earliest documented hydraulic machines. It was so-named after the Greek mathematician Archimedes who first described it ...

s were installed to pump water from the bottom pool to the top pool guaranteeing water levels for paddlers at all states of the

tide Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon (and to a much lesser extent, the Sun) and are also caused by the Earth and Moon orbiting one another. Tide tables ...

. There are plans to generate electricity from the head of river water above the barrage by putting the Archimedes' screws into reverse when not pumping water around the course, making the course more energy efficient. These improvements made the site a world class training facility which is proposed as a training camp location for the

2012 Olympic games The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

. Work started in March 2010 and was completed in October 2011. Her Majesty

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, visited Stockton on 18 July 2012 to officially reopen the International White Water Course as part of their Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom.

Popular culture

The course was used in a segment of the film ''

1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Force's ...

''. In the scene, the actor George MacKay jumps into a river in France and is flung over rapids and a waterfall. An episode of ''Emmerdale'', where the character

Victoria Sugden Victoria Sugden (also Barton) is a fictional character from the British ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'', played since 12 October 2006 by Isabel Hodgins. As a young child, Victoria was played by Jessica Heywood until 1997, followed by Hannah Midg ...

fell down a waterfall, was filmed at the course.

Note

The Tees Barrage International White Water Course is not to be confused with The River Tees Watersports Centre, Dugdale Street,

1 km further upriver on the same side near the

Princess of Wales Bridge The Princess of Wales Bridge, sometimes referred to as the Diana Bridge or the Princess Diana Bridge, is a dual carriageway road bridge named after the late Diana, Princess of Wales. It carries Council of Europe Boulevard across the River Tees, ...

or indeed the Castlegate Quay Water Sports Centre a little further up-river near

Teesquay Millennium Bridge Teesquay Millennium Footbridge is a footbridge crossing east–west over the River Tees between Stockton high street and Thornaby ( Teesdale Business Park) in Northern England. It is just east of Stockton town centre and in the town's namesak ...

References

Tees Newport Bridge The Tees Newport Bridge is a vertical-lift bridge spanning the River Tees a short distance upriver from Tees Transporter Bridge, linking Middlesbrough with the borough of Stockton-on-Tees, Northern England. It no longer lifts, but still acts as ...

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BBC
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YouTube
{{Navboxes, list1 = {{Geographic location , Northwest = , North = Portrack , Northeast =

, West = Teesdale Business Park,

, Centre = Tees Barrage International
White Water Course , East =

Maze Park Nature Reserve Maze Park is a urban nature reserve in Middlesbrough, England on the south bank of the Tees on part of the former Tees Marshalling Yard. It was created by the Teesside Development Corporation and is owned and run by the Tees Valley Wildlife T ...

Tees Viaduct The A19 Tees Viaduct or Tees Flyover is a high level six-lane dual carriageway road bridge in the North East of England carrying the main A19 road, A19 trunk road north–south across the River Tees. The bridge is located between Middlesbroug ...

, Southwest =

, South = ''

'',

, Southeast =

Teesside Park Teesside Park is a retail and leisure park in Thornaby-on-Tees, built in 1988. Located just off the A66 road, A66 near the A66/A19 road (Great Britain), A19 interchange, it is split between the unitary authority, unitary authorities of Stockto ...

{{UK Artificial White Water Courses {{Canoeing and kayaking {{stockton Sports venues in County Durham Artificial whitewater courses in the United Kingdom Sport in the Borough of Stockton-on-Tees River Tees Thornaby-on-Tees