Venue
The races were held in the Maty-ér, also known as the National Kayak-Canoe and Rowing Olympic Centre, an articifal reservoir which is situated two kilometres south of Szeged. It consist a 2400 metres long and 122 metres wide race track with nine lanes and a warm-up course, and is equipped with an automatic starting system and an electric time keeper with photo finish camera to meet all the criteria of the International Canoe Federation.
In preparation for the championship, the facilities of the Maty-ér were upgraded to become a state of the art sports complex. The Hungarian government allocated 450 million HUF (approximately $2.4 million) for the procedure, in which the whole sports center became accessible for disabled people, what was an important factor, since paracanoeists also participate in the competition. There was also constructed an 11,000-seat tribune, and the VIP-building together with the finish tower was also redeveloped. New racks were installed as well to be able to store the increased number of boats, and new catamarans were put into operation to assist the smooth conduct of the competition. Moreover, LED displays were erected on the island that divides the race course and the warm-up area, and two 36-meter-high cranes were set up, which hold and move the spidercams above the water. The complete refurbishment was finished and the facilities were delivered on 9 August 2011, eight days prior to the beginning of the championship.
Read more about this topic: 2011 ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships