The Venue: Sydney International Regatta Centre

The Sydney International Regatta Centre is 44km West of Sydney Olympic Park, Homebush Bay, about one hour’s drive from Sydney’s central business district.

Set on 196 hectares of native and landscaped parkland it is one of the best rowing and sprint kayak courses in the world. The Centre won international acclaim while hosting 825 athletes from 56 countries during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. It has now been re-invented to become a popular water adventure park, sporting, corporate and social venue and receives an average of 50,000 visitors a month.

Formerly a sand and gravel quarry, the site has undergone extensive restoration works by the Penrith Lakes Development Corporation. The Centre is the first stage of the Penrith Lakes Scheme -- a major project to build a metropolitan regional park offering 2,000 hectares of public recreation space including seven lakes. When the project is complete in 2011, the lakes together will equal the distance of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to Sydney Heads.

Environmental considerations have been given utmost priority during the Centre’s design. Native aquatic plants and Australian bass fish have been added to the lakes to help maintain the ecosystems, wetlands have been established to provide natural habitat to water birds, and more than 30,000 native trees and shrubs have been planted to ensure the area’s regeneration is continued.

The Olympic Coordination Authority (OCA) was responsible for all NSW Government activities impacting on the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This included the delivery of sporting facilities and venues used during the Games as well as meeting the long-term needs of the people of NSW and for the redevelopment of Homebush Bay.

Since the wind-up of the OCA on 30 June 2002, the rights and responsibilities for management of the SIRC have been transferred to Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Natural Resources.

For more information - visit the Regatta Centre web site.