The Lee Valley course, located in Hertfordshire, which was the first brand new London 2012 venue to be completed when it was unveiled by the Princess Royal last December, opened to both elite athletes and the general public earlier this year for rafting and canoeing and Luckes feels that it perfectly demonstrates a real legacy from the Olympics and Paralympics.

"The difficult thing with London 2012 is spending a lot of money on venues that must not only be up to elite standard but also accessible to the general public after the Games so there is a legacy," Luckes told insidethegames.

"This facility at Lee Valley has already done that and it is legacy in action.

"The feedback from the elite athletes has been amazing.

"They are all saying how superb the course is and the general public who have been on it say they have had a fantastic time.

"The point of this test event is really just to look at the technical aspects of the competition such as the time-keeping and judging by that it is so far so good and it really does tick all the boxes."

The test event, whose competitors included Britain's David Florence (pictured), the Beijing 2008 C-1 silver medallist, was closed to the general public although 120 young people from Hertfordshire and Essex were given the chance to attend.



Pupils from Turnford School and Sports College in Cheshunt, The John Warner School in Hoddesdon, St Marys Church of Englan High School in Waltham Cross, and King Harold Business and Enterprise Academy in Epping Forest, were invited after the Lee Valley Regional Park Authority (LVRPA) who operate the venue teamed up with London 2012 to offer an exclusive chance to watch the event.

The course will also host the 2015 International Canoe Federation (ICF) Canoe Slalom World Championships; meaning it is currently the only London 2012 Olympic venue scheduled to host a major sporting event after the Games.

It was built in just over a year at a cost of £31 million ($50 million/€35 million) and will have temporary seating for approximately 12,000 spectators but despite the praise being lavished on the venue Luckes promised that the London 2012 Organising Committee won't be getting complacent with less than a year to go to the start of the Olympics.

"It was great to have the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President and other senior IOC members over earlier this week for the one year to go milestone and praising preparations for London 2012, but that doesn't mean we can relax," he said.

"There is now less than a year to go and we will be working harder than ever during this test event series to make sure nothing is left to chance by the time we get to the start of the Olympics.

"We have done well up to this point but it all adds up to nothing if we don't get everything done properly in this final 12 months."

During London 2012, when there will be five days of canoe slalom competition for Olympic events, the main 300 metre competition course will be used for Olympic events while the 160m intermediate course will be used for training and warm-up.

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