“I strongly believe that a course such as the one at Shunyi would be a winner with the Irish public at large and with the fast-growing canoeing fraternity in particular”, said Eoin. ” It’s a no-brainer, one that dozens of local authorities in France have discovered”
In France, the canoeing courses double as adventure centres, with the focus on family participation and on creating a market for sports tourism. A side result is the development of Olympic class canoeing competitors and frequent medallists for France.
The cost? “About six million euro, with the course situated alongside the Shannon so as to be near a strong flow of water”, said Ireland’s Olympic canoeing manager Deaglan O”Drisceoil.”And these courses make money all over Europe – so why not in Ireland?” he said. Any takers amongst our local authorities, tourism bodies or the ESB?
