Official speeches - Pau 2016
Vincent HOHLER, French Canoe Federation President.
Dear canoe lovers,
Dear spectators,
Dear partners,
This time again I am honoured to invite you in Pau with a great pleasure for the second step of our new cycle of international events. Following the great success of the 2015 ICF Canoe Slalom Final World Cup last summer, the organising committee is going on the adventure :
- 2016 ICF Canoe Slalom & Wildwater Canoeing World cups from 17th to 19th June
- 2017 ICF Canoe World Championships (Canoe Slalom & Wildwater Canoeing) from 10th to 17th September
Tony ESTANGUET, our Executive Director, is more than motivated to do his best again for this new edition. Moreover, as we add to Canoe Slalom events a complete Wildwater Canoeing World Cup (that means classic and sprint events), the spectacle promises to be more beautiful, more exciting, more breathtaking !
The White Water Festival is also looming into the horizon with a new programmation ! All animations will be again proposed to general public to make this sport event an unforgettable sharing moment.
That is why I invite you warmly to come very numerous to the bank sides of the river and to the whitewater stadium place.
Tony ESTANGUET, Executive director Pau Pyrenees 2017
What a beautiful season is looming at the horizon… 2016, Olympic year! Soon 4 years since the London feelings and I am convinced that we are again going to live extraordinary moments in 2016.
The French Canoe Slalom National Championships (French National Team Trials for Canoe Slalom) from 5th to 10th of April will qualify the 5 better French boats who will compete in the next Olympics.
But, on the road of Rio 2016, there will be first the 2016 ICF Canoe Slalom and Wildwater Canoeing World Cups in Pau from 16th to 19th of June 2016. The big last world meeting, just one month before the Olympics. All best world athletes will be present to look for the victory, on their way to a Brazilian success.
Building on the success of the 2015 edition with more than 22 000 spectators, Pau2016 prepares you a magic programme with the presence of new sport events in Wildwater Canoeing.
The White Water Festival looks also extremely beautiful with new animations and free concerts of very high level in full period of the French music festival.
The world cup of Pau 2016 will look unforgettable, our objective is to propose you a unique experience in a festive and friendly atmosphere.
In the pleasure to share this 2nd stage of our trilogy Pau 2015, Pau 2016 and Pau 2017
François Bayrou, Mayor of Pau, President of the Agglomeration Pau Pyrénées 2017
Indicated to welcome the double world cup in 2016 and the world championship 2017, the Pau-Pyrénées whitewater stadium will live two exceptional moments, in the presence of the world elite of this discipline confidentially connected to our city. In 2017, they are not less present 40 nations, 5 days of competition, 500 athletes competing and 35 000 spectators who are expected!
I particularly welcome the triple Olympic champion Tony Estanguet, whose attachment to Pau and the Pau-Pyrénées whitewater stadium is illustrated once again through its involvement in the organization of this competition. He who cut his teeth in our turbulent waters is a passionate ambassador of this beautiful "béarnaise" adventure.
By a few months, we can finally offer a case at the Pau-Pyrénées whitewater stadium. Following the repurchase of the buildings which adjoin the equipment, we are going to be able to proceed to rubble and to qualitative arrangements of the neighborhoods, stayed as is of fallow land since its inauguration in 2009. It is for us a big satisfaction. A new district, as high as the pole of training of the whitewater stadium and the big competitions which take place there, is going to be born.
The Association Pau Pyrénées 2017, organizing three events, wishes to involve local associations and discover the site wider audience, through the creation of the Festival of While Water, which will usefully complement the spectacle offered by the competition offering plenty of entertainment.
All who have collectively brought this beautiful ambition give a striking proof of the commitment of an entire region to this discipline. These efforts are part of the drive to make Pau a reference in the world of canoeing. The three upcoming competitions will radiate the city of Pau and France on the international sports scene, the eyes of all sports fans of white water.
The organizers of these major sporting events can count on my support to make these events a success.
Alain ROUSSET, President of the Regional Council of Aquitaine Limousin Poitou-Charentes. Deputy of Gironde.
Welcome to Aquitaine Limousin Poitou-Charentes
After 2009, 2012 and 2015, the Region welcomes again the world elite of canoeing.
The Pau-Pyrénées whitewater stadium organizes for the 4th time of its history a round of the Canoe Slalom & Wildwater Canoeing World cups, while in 2017, Canoe World Championships (Canoe Slalom & Wildwater Canoeing) will take place in the capital of Bearn.
The choice of Pau by the International Canoe Federation constitutes an explicit gratitude of the capacity of the regional actors to organize the biggest events of this discipline.
In a context of strong competition between territories for hosting international events, having available at the same time a remarkable equipment and as well as people to the exceptional sport careers and to the recognized knowledges established constitutes a main advantage for the Region.
The closeness of the Olympics of Rio is for the organizers the certainty to have a beautiful tray. After the success of the first round in 2015, they are condemned to the success.
So, I send to the Organising Committee and to all the teams of volunteers my deepest encouragements and I wish to the kayakers who are going to be in confrontation for three days, welcome to Pau, in Aquitaine Limousin Poitou-Charentes.
That will be a wonderful celebration !
