Sydney's 2000 Olympic canoeing and rowing venue could be stripped of hosting selection trials for next year's Rio Games after it was slammed for having too much weed in the water.
Champion paddlers Ken Wallace, Murray Stewart and Lachlan Tame refused to compete in last weekend's NSW canoe sprint championships at the Sydney International Regatta Centre (SIRC) because of the poor condition of the course.
"It is one of the best facilities going around but the water is atrocious," Tame said on Thursday.
"We dedicate our whole lives to racing and we always look for a fair race and it just wasn't fair, and it has never been fair from what I have heard across the last 10-15 years of racing."
Tame and his 1000m teammates returned to the western Sydney facility on Wednesday to train, but were left frustrated over the fact it had not improved.
"If I had to grade it out of 10 it was a two - you could not go more than 200m without getting weed," he said.
The Penrith site was home to the canoeing and rowing events for the 2000 Olympics.
It is set to host a number of selection races for the 2016 Games, but Tame has urged his sport's governing body to consider alternatives if the SIRC doesn't fix the problem.
Australian Canoeing (AC) chief executive Greg Doyle said AC was working closely with the centre to prepare and improve the course ahead of events planned for 2015.
"Furthermore, we are continuing to consult with the NSW Government for a sustainable solution involving major works at SIRC," Doyle said.
The CEO said AC would finalise the location of its 2016 Olympic trials at a board meeting on February 15, "including proposals to conduct the trials in Adelaide or Perth where there is not an aquatic plant issue on the course."
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