Australian Rowing Championships

[Wayno]

Australia’s Olympic Rowing hopefuls gear up for the 2011 Australian Rowing Championships, to be held from March 7 to 13 at the world standard rowing course at West Lakes, Adelaide.

The event has already attracted a record 1291 crews consisting of 1649 individual athletes including representatives from the Australian Institutes of Sport, states, clubs, universities and schools.

The championships is a key stepping stone for Australia’s Olympic Rowing hopefuls, with Australian rowing selectors for the 2012 Olympic Games to be present and looking for talented and skilled rowers. Championships spokesperson, Mr Phil Mangelsdorf, says “the event represents a key opportunity for Australia’s Olympic hopefuls, with every race and training session likely to be closely scrutinised by national selectors.”

The event provides enthusiast rowers with a once in a life time opportunity to display their skills to selectors. Mr Mangelsdorf is expecting significant interest in the event from dedicated rowers nationally to represent Australia and put their absolute all into this opportunity.

A key highlight of the Championships is the duel for the Queens and Kings Cups- battles between the women’s and men’s “State Eights”. New South Wales have taken the King’s Cup home three years in a row and it is expected that the other States are keen to take the title this year.

Over 25,000 spectators are expected to crowd the West Lakes rowing venue over the five days of competition. Only recently being upgraded, the 2000-metre-long West Lakes course in now Australia’s only metropolitan rowing venue capable of achieving international authorization.

For Further Information go to: http://www.rowingaustralia.com.au

[crawf]

West Lakes to lure world rowing events
http://weekly-times-messenger.whereiliv ... the-world/
15 MAR 11 @ 04:54PM BY MICHELLE ETHERIDGE

SOUTH Australia will launch a bid to lure the Under 23 World Championships to West Lakes, following the success of the nationals last week.

Organising committee chairwoman Lisa Daw said Rowing SA was keen to host the event in 2013.

The campaign will be boosted by the success of the Australian Rowing Championships at West Lakes from March 7-13.

“We’re ... talking to people from interstate and asking them about what they think of Adelaide and the event and the feedback has been wonderfully positive,” Ms Daw said.

The National Rowing Championships attracted 1291 crews to the West Lakes course, which received a $2.4m overhaul last year including a new lane cabling system, start and finish pontoons and a judges’ tower. West Lakes had slipped off the radar for big events since 1999, because the course did not meet national standards.

Ms Daw said about 75-80 per cent of the expected crowd of 25,000 people had journeyed to West Lakes from interstate.

Among the west’s top performers at the event was James McRae, of Pennington, won four medals, including gold in the open men’s quad and gold in the interstate men’s single scull. Findon rower Alex Hill won gold in the under-19 men’s pair and a silver in the quad. The Australasian Masters champs will be held at the course in June

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