Cardiff International Whitewater Course - An Overview

The Cardiff International Whitewater Course (CIWW for short) is a powerful course located on the outskirts of Cardiff.

It has access from the M4 motorway and is a great stop off for paddlers travelling on to South Wales.

The full address for the course is Watkiss Way, Cardiff, CF11 0SY.

Dave ready for his run down CIWW - although the course does NOT look ready!

The whitewater course runs between 4 and 10 cumecs for normal paddling sessions and slightly higher for competitions.

The flow is produced via pumps that transfer the water from the bottom pool into the top of the course. The water is contained in the course so the water quality is very good and remains warm even into the early cooler months.

Obstacles are created using plastic barriers as seen in the photo below. These do provide excellent restrictions of the flow and it can be challenging to navigate down the course.

Plastic barriers creating a narrow flow

Flows going directly against the plastic barriers will hold and capsize a kayak so extra care is needed.

The course is in a loop and returns to the pool where you started.

Once you reach the pool at the course, there is a powered ramp to take you and your kayak back to the top of the course. You don't even have to get out of your kayak!

The first drop on the course at 8 cumecs

It's a very interesting and challenging course. The variation in flow rates changes the drops significantly and pushes your kayaking skills.

Running the course is fairly straightforward as the paddling lines are easy to spot - see the video below for more explanation.

You can easily stop and play on the rapids - there are plenty of eddies to rest in too. On the higher levels, the water is very powerful and some advance play boating are possible - including loops and wave spins.

Practicing river lines is a fun way to run this course. In several places, the flow is pushing towards the side or the plastic barriers so setting up your line in advance is needed.

Being able to roll will help enormously as swims can be tiring especially when you need to collect, empty and re-board your kayak.

All in all a great course and I would recommend it to those competent on grade 2-3 water.

Have fun!

See the full course video below:

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