FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Lake Lanier Olympic Venue to Host 2003

World Canoe/Kayak Championships

More than 70 Nations, 1,250 Athletes and Thousands of Fans to Converge

on Gainesville in September for International Competition

GAINESVILLE, Ga., June 18, 2003 – Ten years after it was selected as the flatwater canoe and kayak racing venue for the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games, Gainesville, Georgia, U.S.A., is welcoming the world back.  The Lake Lanier Olympic Center, which has become a thriving hub for the sport of flatwater canoe/kayak since the ’96 Games, will host the 33^rd International Canoe Federation Flatwater Racing World Championships September 10-14, 2003. 

The event will be the first canoe/kayak World Championships ever held in the United States and is the major qualifying event for the 2004 Summer Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.  It is expected to draw between 2,000 and 4,000 spectators a day from the United States and abroad.  More than 70 countries and 1,250 athletes and officials are expected to attend, making the event the largest World Championships ever in terms of participating countries.  To prepare for the massive event, the Olympic Center is undergoing a $1.4 million renovation project to update and expand the existing facility.

“The Lake Lanier Olympic Center is the living legacy of the Atlanta Olympics,” said Connie Hagler, executive director of Lanier Canoe 2003, organizers of the upcoming World Championships.  “Community support for this facility and for this sport has been overwhelming.  In a way, it’s like the Olympics never left.”

The upcoming World Championships solidify the Lake Lanier Olympic Center’s status as a world-class racing site and is a culmination of years of work by supporters of the facility.  Since the ’96 Olympics, the Gainesville community has embraced the sport of flatwater racing and the Lanier Canoe and Kayak Club has grown to become the largest sprint canoe/kayak program in the United States, winning national club titles in 1999, 2000 and 2002.

“The Lake Lanier venue was spectacular during the 1996 Olympics, so we are thrilled that it will be hosting the World Championships this year,” said John Leukemans of the International Canoe Federation.                

The renovation project, funded by the City of Gainesville, Hall County and the State of Georgia through the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority and the Centennial Legacy Foundation, includes plans for a paved plaza, a new VIP room in the timing tower that also will be a tribute to the 1996 Olympics, a bathhouse, permanent seating for more than 1,600 spectators and temporary seating for an additional 1,000.  Once complete, the venue not only will accommodate the thousands of athletes, officials, coaches, media and spectators coming to the World Championships, but it also will serve as an outdoor amphitheatre for concerts and other special community events for many years to come.

“The people of Gainesville and Hall County created one of the best venues of the 1996 Olympic Games, and it has been inspiring to watch them foster that creation year after year for the betterment of the community,” said Billy Payne, President and CEO of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.  “Now, the world is returning to Gainesville once again to compete, proving this Olympic venue is still a special place.”

A number of official sponsors have been vital to financing and organizing the event, including: A.G. Edwards; Atlanta Bread Company; BellSouth; Carolina Skiff; Centennial Legacy Foundation; Enterprise Rent-A-Car; Georgia Power; Honda Marine; Hussey, Gay, Bell, & DeYoung International, Inc.; Jacobs Media; Jackson Spalding Communications; Milton Martin Honda; Northeast Georgia Medical Center and Health System; The Times; United States Olympic Committee and Up in Cumming.

More information about the 33^rd International Canoe Federation Flatwater Racing World Championships, including schedule of events, participating nations, team registration, media accreditation, accommodations and transportation is available online at www.LanierCanoe2003.org.

Media Contacts:

Randall Kirsch                                                  Eric O’Brien

Jackson Spalding Communications                            Jackson Spalding Communications

404.724.2516                                             OR            404.724.2511

rkirsch@jacksonspalding.com                           eobrien@jacksonspalding.com