VENUE FACTFILE Events: Rowing, Canoe/Kayak flatwater racing Athletes: 800 Spectators: 14,000 Schedule: 15-28 August Paralympics event: None

The complex is 47km north east of the Olympic Village in the Marathonas region and will host 14,000 spectators.

Based on the Sydney Olympic rowing course in Penrith, excavation began in November 2000 before water was added from the nearby Makaria springs.

The main lake is 2,250 metres long and linked to a smaller auxiliary lake for training and warm-up purposes.

A test event in August 2003 raised concerns about the timing and location of the Olympic events as the "meltemi" - notorious north-westerly winds - saw rowers tossed about and thrown into the water.

A whole day of competition had to be cancelled but organisers, who had to shelve plans to plant a row of trees because they would only protect the outer lanes, insist the conditions were not typical.