VALERIE PECRESSE PDT OF ILE DE FRANCE INAUGURATES OLYMPIC WATER SPORTS STADIUM

USPA NEWS - The canoeing and rowing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games, officially opened five years before the Games, while the inauguration of the watersport stadium, by Valerie Pecresse President of the Ile de rance Region, as the Olympic Day kicks off in France, in the Vaires Leisure Centre, today. Designed by the Ile-de-France region with the support of the state, the new Olympic Water Sports Stadium has been opened as part of Olympic Day, held in partnership with the Festival of Sport. Attending the opening were Valérie Pécresse, the president of the Ile-de-France Region; Roxana Maracineanu, the French Minister for Sport; Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet; Denis Masseglia, the president of the French National Olympic Committee (CNOSF), and Marie-Amélie Le Fur, the president of the French National Paralympic Committee (CPSF). To mark the occasion, the water sport stadium´s whitewater channels were filled and tested for the first time, as some 35 athletes and a group of Generation 2024 youngsters were joined by Valérie Pécresse, Roxana Maracineanu and Tony Estanguet on rafts and canoes.

A ONE OF A KIND OLYMPIC AND PARALYMPIC VENUE INAUGURATED FOR PARIS 2024------------------------------ An outstanding Olympic and Paralympic venue that is the only one of its kind in Europe and which will host the canoeing and rowing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games “¨Sit in the Vaires Leisure Centre, the Ile de France Water Sports Stadium will offer the best possible facilities for elite water sports. Boasting a new 11,000m2 sports hub comprising the whitewater stadium, training channel, and a training and accommodation centre with 140 beds, it is one of only three sites in the world, along with Beijing and Sydney, that caters for the three Olympic and Paralympic canoeing disciplines ““ slalom, sprint and paracanoe ““ and rowing-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The site´s multi-functionality, which makes it unique in Europe, means that all the canoe slalom, canoe sprint, rowing, paracanoe and Paralympic rowing events at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games can be held at a single venue within easy reach of Paris. Thanks to this outstanding venue, the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games will provide a magnificent showcase for water sports, and will also help nurture the champions of tomorrow and encourage people in the ÃŽle-de-France region to take up sport. The placing of this already iconic site in the spotlight will only enhance its profile and boost the region´s development.

BEYOND THE GAMES 2024 THE SITE TAKES THE NEEDS OF ILE DE FRANCE COMMITTED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF WARE SPORTS------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ It is a site that looks beyond the Games and takes the needs of ÃŽle-de-France´s inhabitants and the development of water sports into consideration The strength of this facility lies in the fact that it has been designed from the outset for local people, who can make use of it before and after the 2024 Games, while also satisfying the demand for excellence among elite athletes. With the creation of a landscaped river for learning canoeing, rafting, whitewater swimming and a host of other new activities (fitness, sailing, paddleboarding, and much more besides), everyone from elite athletes to sports water lovers will be able to make use of the new site.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Olympic Water Sports Stadium will also provide a place where the representative bodies of water sports can come together. In terms of canoeing, it will provide a home for the French Federation, its regional committee and its national and youth hubs, and it will also be the base for the ÃŽle-de-France Rowing League, its youth hub and the logistical platform of the French Rowing Federation----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Roxana Maracineanu, French Minister for Sport: “Today´s official handover of the ÃŽle-de-France Olympic Water Sports Stadium provides further proof, if it were needed, that with five years to go before the start of the Games, the state is continuing to fulfil the commitments it made with regard to delivering Olympic and Paralympic construction projects and facilities. France can take pride in what is a truly outstanding setting, one of the very few venues in the world to provide a single home for canoe slalom and sprint and for rowing, not to mention a wide range of leisure and adventure sport activities open to the general public. It will be of great use to elite athletes, who can train for future Olympic and Paralympic Games in the best possible conditions, starting with the Paris Games in 2024. It will also allow the rowing and canoeing federations to speed the development of their sports. And last but not least, spectators will be able to watch the various events from closer than ever before at a compact site that is easy to reach and unmistakably modern.“---------------------------------------------------- Paris 2024 President Tony Estanguet: “It means a lot to me to see the whitewater channel for myself, in its Olympic layout. Every channel is different and the one at Vaires-sur-Marne has taken its inspiration from best practice in every area. Fast and technical at the same time, it is very exciting to negotiate. I hope everyone who comes here to dip their paddles in the water, whether they be kayakers or canoeists, Olympians or Paralympians, juniors or seniors, elite athletes or recreational paddlers, has a lot of fun in doing so. We will be delighted and proud to welcome the world´s greatest champions in 2024.“-------------- Jean-Jacques Mulot, President of the French Rowing Federation: “The rowing community is already well acquainted with this water sports complex. It has hosted a number of competitions over the years, including the challenge match between France and Great Britain and last summer´s Gay Games, as well as two World Cups, in 1994 and 1997. Our athletes in the French team are the most familiar with it, however. The elite, Paralympic rowing and junior teams regularly trade places on the water during the course of the season. With a number of services on offer and infrastructures adapted to our needs when it comes to organising training camps, the Olympic Water Sports Stadium provides us with the very best facilities.“ Jean Zoungrana, President of the French Canoeing and Paddle Sports Federation: “The opening of this site is a landmark moment for the French Canoeing and Paddle Sports Federation and the ÃŽle-de-France region. With its man-made watercourses, lake, office spaces and the facilities it offers in terms of accommodation, catering and playing sport, the Ile de France Olympic Water Sports Stadium is the biggest paddle sports hub in the world. It is an ideal venue for hosting the Paris 2024 Games. It is also the 21st-century facility that the Federation needs in order to develop both itself and paddle sports across the country. It thus has all the makings of being the centrepiece of the Federation´s development strategy.“

Key figures: ·        A sports complex covering an area of 11,000m2 ·        A new whitewater stadium and two courses measuring 300 and 150 metres long ·        A rowing and canoe sprint course measuring 2,200 metres long ·        A training and accommodation centre with 140 beds ·        Natural terracing accommodating up to 2,000 people ·        250m of landscaping on the banks of the River Marne ·        A facility constructed in line with high-quality environmental standards (HQE) ·        Five hectares of landscaped areas and 450 trees planted Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 June, 700 events in France The opening of the Ile de France Olympic Water Sports Stadium forms part of Olympic Day, held in partnership with the Festival of Sport. Over the course of two days, 700 events are organised across France to promote the values of sport and Olympism and encourage people to play sport. (Source Paris2024 Organisation)