Adventure Sports Center International is an Olympic standard white water rafting and canoe/kayak slalom center located on the mountaintop above the Wisp Ski Resort at Deep Creek Lake, McHenry, Maryland, United States. In addition to serving as a venue for slalom races and training, the center offers a range of services to the general public including guided raft trips, inflatable kayak rentals, and riverboard rentals.The center opened in May 2007, constructed at a cost of $24 million, and is the third pump-powered artificial whitewater facility built in North America. Its educational partner in water sports instruction is the Adventuresports Institute of nearby Garrett College, which offers degrees in outdoor adventure sports.HistoryThe concept of Adventure Sports Center International originated after the 1989 Whitewater Slalom World Championships on the remote Savage River in Western Maryland. Sergi Orsi, then president of the International Canoe Federation encouraged the organizers of the 1989 Savage River event to build a pump-powered artificial whitewater course in a more accessible location nearby. The Maryland state government supported the project to promote summer tourism in the region.Since the Wisp Ski Resort already had a pump-filled mountaintop reservoir to supply its snowmaking machines with water in the winter, the artificial whitewater course was sited next to this reservoir to make use of its water in the summer. The roads, motels, and restaurants which served the ski area in the winter made the location accessible to summer visitors.
