what is the name of the 1996 olympic course in tn?

by Bart Herman Sr. 6 min read

The Ocoee River Olympic course in use. It might be a stretch to say the whitewater canoeing and kayaking events held in Polk County, Tennessee 'saved' the 1996 Olympic Games - but not by much.

Where was the 1996 Olympic canoe canoe event held in Tennessee?

The Ocoee River near Ducktown Tennessee was the event venue for the whitewater canoe and kayak slalom event of the 1996 Olympic competition.

What was the name of the Olympics in 1996?

The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, commonly known as Atlanta 1996, and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games, was an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

How many sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics?

A total of twenty-nine sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics . Several sports venues for the 1996 Olympics were built before the 1960s as college venues. The first professional teams in Atlanta came in 1966, when Major League Baseball 's Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee and the NFL added the Atlanta Falcons as an expansion team.

How much did the 1996 Summer Olympics cost Atlanta?

This story is part of “Atlanta Remembers: The 1996 Olympics,” WABE’s series on the impact of the 1996 Summer Olympics on Atlanta, 20 years later. For more stories, click here. When the Summer Olympics came to Atlanta 20 years ago, organizers had to build dozens of sporting venues from scratch. The price tag was $1.7 billion.

Where were the Olympics held in Tennessee?

The Ocoee Whitewater Center, near Ducktown, Tennessee, United States, was the canoe slalom venue for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and is the only in-river course to be used for Olympic slalom competition....Ocoee Whitewater Center.AboutMain shapeRiverbedWater sourceOcoee River Dam releaseSurf waveYesCanoe liftNo12 more rows

When was the Olympics in Ocoee Tennessee?

1996The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into the cause of a fire that destroyed the Ocoee Whitewater Center. (CNN) The Ocoee Whitewater Center in Polk County, Tennessee, which hosted the 1996 Atlanta Olympics whitewater events, is "a complete loss" after a fire early Tuesday morning, officials said.

Who owns Ocoee whitewater?

As part of the National Forest system, the Ocoee Whitewater Center is managed by the Forest Service as a multiple use recreational and educational complex. Consisting of a four-acre recreation area, the OWC offers water play, picnicking, hiking, biking, and environmental education programs.

How did the Ocoee River get its name?

The Ocoee River gets its name from the Cherokee people that once lived on its banks. In Cherokee the word Ocoee means apricot, which is in reference to the wild apricot vines that grow throughout the region.

What happened to the Ocoee Whitewater Center?

On April 26, 2022, the Ocoee Whitewater Center caught fire and was destroyed. No one was injured in the fire. The Cherokee National Forest, along with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), are working on reopening portions of the Ocoee Whitewater Center.

Did the Ocoee Whitewater Center burn down?

The Ocoee Whitewater Center in Polk County, Tennessee, built for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, is permanently closed following an early morning fire April 26.

How many difficulty grades are there in river rafting?

Classes of white water are also known as the International Scale of River Difficulty. There are six grades of difficulty in white water rafting.

Are dogs allowed in the Ocoee Whitewater Center?

Permits & Regulations. Dogs are permitted around the Ocoee Whitewater Center. However, they must be kept on a 6 foot or less leash at all times.

When did white water rafting become an Olympic sport?

It's also at this time that several rafting companies began offering tours in iconic locations such as the Grand Canyon and many others. Next, whitewater sports, in particular canoe slalom, then experienced a pivotal moment when it debuted at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

What does Ocoee mean in Cherokee?

He took the name from a river in Tennessee. Ocoee means "apricot vine" in the Cherokee language - what we now call the passion flower.

Why do they drain the Ocoee River?

The Ocoee River Drains the Tennessee Valley As a result of the dams, the Ocoee River is mostly dry whenever the water in the Ocoee River is being used to generate electricity. In 1976, repairs to the flume of one of the dams allowed water to flow again.

How do you pronounce Ocoee River?

Ocoee River This river, which runs through Benton in Southeastern Tennessee, is correctly pronounced oh·co·weee.

When was the 1996 Olympics?

The 1996 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, commonly known as Atlanta 1996, and also referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games, was an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. The fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the ...

What happened at the 1996 Olympics?

Centennial Olympic Park bombing . Main article: Centennial Olympic Park bombing . The marker at the entrance to Centennial Park in downtown Atlanta. The 1996 Olympics were marred by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which occurred on July 27.

What city was selected for the IOC?

Atlanta was selected on September 18, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan, over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto at the 96th IOC Session. The city entered the competition as a dark horse, being up against stiff competition. The US media also criticized it as a second-tier city and complained of Georgia's Confederate history. However, the IOC Evaluation Commission ranked Atlanta's infrastructure and facilities the highest, while IOC members said that it could guarantee large television revenues similar to the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Additionally, former US ambassador to the UN and Atlanta mayor Andrew Jackson Young touted Atlanta's civil rights history and reputation for racial harmony. Young also wanted to showcase a reformed American South. The strong economy of Atlanta and improved race relations in the South helped to impress the IOC officials. The Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games (ACOG) also proposed a substantial revenue-sharing with the IOC, USOC, and other NOCs. Atlanta's main rivals were Toronto, whose front-running bid that began in 1986 had chances to succeed after Canada had held a successful 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, and Melbourne, Australia, who hosted the 1956 Summer Olympics and after Brisbane, Australia 's failed bid for the 1992 games (which were awarded to Barcelona) and prior to Sydney, Australia 's successful 2000 Summer Olympics bid. This would be Toronto's fourth failed attempt since 1960 (tried in 1960, 1964, and 1976, but defeated by Rome, Tokyo and Montreal).

How long did the Olympics last?

Preparations for the Olympics lasted more than six years and had an economic impact of at least US$5.14 billion. Over two million visitors came to Atlanta, and approximately 3.5 billion people around the world watched at least some of the events on television. Although marred by the tragedy of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, the Games were a financial success, due in part to TV rights contracts and sponsorships at record levels.

How much did the 1996 Olympics cost?

The total cost of the 1996 Summer Olympics was estimated to be around US$1.7 billion. The venues and the Games themselves were funded entirely via private investment, and the only public funding came from the U.S. government for security, and around $500 million of public money used on physical public infrastructure including streetscaping, road improvements, Centennial Olympic Park (alongside $75 million in private funding), expansion of the airport, improvements in public transportation, and redevelopment of public housing projects. $420 million worth of tickets were sold, sale of sponsorship rights accounted for $540 million, and sale of the domestic broadcast rights to NBC accounted for $456 million. In total, the Games turned a profit of $19 million.

When did Greece win the Olympics?

In 1997, Athens, Greece was awarded the 2004 Summer Olympics. Along with addressing the shortcomings of its 1996 bid, it was lauded for its efforts to promote the traditional values of the Olympic Games, which some IOC observers felt had been lost due to the over-commercialization of the 1996 Games.

When will the Olympics be held in Los Angeles?

The 1996 Olympics are the most recent edition of the Summer Olympics to be held in the United States. Los Angeles will host the 2028 Summer Olympics, 32 years after the Games were held in Atlanta.

Where was the 1996 Olympic canoe race?

The Ocoee River near Ducktown Tennessee was the event venue for the whitewater canoe and kayak slalom event of the 1996 Olympic competition. The site for the Olympic course was chosen to be built in the typically dry riverbed of the Upper Ocoee River.

What was the only natural river course to ever be used for Olympic slalom competition?

The Ocoee venue is the only natural river course to ever be used for Olympic slalom competition.

How many days a year is whitewater released on the Ocoee River?

This reimbursement is one of the reasons water is only released 34 days per year and whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River has restricted use. Prior to the development of the Olympic venue this section of the river was not viewed as having the potential for Ocoee River whitewater rafting as it occurs on the Middle Ocoee.

Where is Dam 3 located?

The hydroelectric power plant for Dam # 3 is located downstream from the Olympic Course. The water passes from the dam to the power plant via a tunnel buried in the mountain, thus bypassing the upper section of river.

Does the Olympic course have to be released into the river?

Consequently, all water that runs through the Olympic course must be released directly into the river from Dam #3, bypassing the tunnel. Since the water is not being used for electrical power production when it is released into the river bed, TVA must be reimbursed for the cost of the power.

1996 Olympics Whitewater Competition Channel

The location of Ocoee Whitewater Center is just a few miles west of Ocoee Adventure Center. This whitewater center was built to host the whitewater slalom events of the 1996 Olympic games. During construction of the whitewater park one quarter mile of river bed was modified.

Engineering Olympic Whitewater

Rocks are precisely placed and cemented in place to make this a world class slalom course. TVA currently adds a few hundred cfs to the Olympic level to improve rafting on this section of river. CFS stands for cubic feet per second. These changes to the river created the steepest and highest volume Olympic whitewater venue ever used.

Blue Hole

Nowadays the whitewater center has been turned into a visitor center. The operating months run April to October. The center offers many attractions including snorkeling and swimming on the weekdays. Watch our video to see some of the “Swiss Cheese” one of our guides swam through.

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Overview

A total of twenty-nine sports venues were used for the 1996 Summer Olympics.
Several sports venues for the 1996 Olympics were built before the 1960s as college venues. The first professional teams in Atlanta came in 1966, when Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee and the NFL added the Atlanta Falcons as an expansion team. In 1968, the NBA came to the city when the Atlanta Hawks arrived from St. Louis, and the NHL arrived four year…

Before the Olympics

Before professional sports came to Atlanta and the Southern United States in the 1960s, college sports were followed in a manner similar to that of professional sports in the New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Midwestern part of the United States. The oldest of the venues in the South used for the 1996 Games was Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, which opened in 1926 and used from 1948 to 1988 f…

During the Olympics

Olympic Stadium witnessed American Carl Lewis win his fourth straight Olympic gold medal in the men's long jump. Lewis tied Al Oerter, who won four straight Olympic gold medals in the men's discus throw from 1956 to 1968. Oerter, who carried the Olympic flame into the stadium during the opening ceremony before handing it off to boxer Evander Holyfield, embraced Lewis after his win.

After the Olympics

The Georgia World Congress Center, first opened in 1976 and expanded twice before the 1996 Olympics, was expanded again in 2002. As of 2010, the three buildings containing the twelve total exhibit halls had a total of 1,366,000 sq ft (126,900 m ).
The Georgia Tech Aquatic Center opened in 1977 as the Student Athletic Cent…

Overview

The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. These were the fourth Summer Olympics to be hosted by the United States, and marked the centennial of the 1896 Summ…

Bidding process

Atlanta was selected on September 18, 1990, in Tokyo, Japan, over Athens, Belgrade, Manchester, Melbourne, and Toronto at the 96th IOC Session. The city entered the competition as a dark horse, being up against stiff competition. The US media also criticized it as a second-tier city and complained of Georgia's Confederate history. However, the IOC Evaluation Commission ranked Atlanta's infrastructure and facilities the highest, while IOC members said that it could guarante…

Development and preparation

The total cost of the 1996 Summer Olympics was estimated to be around US$1.7 billion. The venues and the Games themselves were funded entirely via private investment, and the only public funding came from the U.S. government for security, and around $500 million of public money used on physical public infrastructure including streetscaping, road improvements, Centennial Olympi…

Games

The ceremony began with a 60-second countdown, which included footage from all of the previous Olympic Games at twenty-two seconds. There was then a flashback to the closing ceremony of the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, showing the then president of the IOC, Juan Antonio Samaranch, inviting the athletes to compete in Atlanta in 1996. Then, spirits ascended in the northwest corner of t…

Participating National Olympic Committees

A total of 197 nations, all of the then-existing and recognized National Olympic Committees, were represented at the 1996 Games, and the combined total of athletes was about 10,318. Twenty-four countries made their Olympic debut this year, including eleven of the ex-Soviet countries that competed as part of the Unified Team in 1992. Russia participated in the Summer Olympics separately f…

Centennial Olympic Park bombing

The 1996 Olympics were marred by the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, which occurred on July 27. Security guard Richard Jewell discovered the pipe bomb and immediately notified law enforcement, helping to evacuate as many people as possible from the area before it exploded. Although Jewell's quick actions are credited for saving many lives, the bombing killed spectator Alice Hawthorne, …

Legacy

Preparations for the Olympics lasted more than six years and had an economic impact of at least US$5.14 billion. Over two million visitors came to Atlanta, and approximately 3.5 billion people around the world watched at least some of the events on television. Although marred by the tragedy of the Centennial Olympic Park bombing, the Games were a financial success, due in part to TV rights co…

Sponsors

The 1996 Summer Olympics relied heavily on commercial sponsorship. The Atlanta-based Coca-Cola Company was the exclusive provider of soft drinks at Olympics venues and built an attraction known as Coca-Cola Olympic City for the Games.
The Games were affected by several instances of ambush marketing—in which companies attempt to use the Games as a means to promote their brand, in competition with the exclusive, …