Hong Kong rowers aim to make their mark

With all of their rowers aged 21 or under, one of the youngest teams competing at the BearingPoint World Cup regatta – being held at Dorney Lake in Eton – is the 10-strong squad from Hong Kong.  And they hope the regatta will be their first steps en route to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

?Beijing is very big for us,? says Hong Kong head coach and FISA’s Development Consultant for Asia Chris Perry. ?All of our rowers are under 21 and of course our focus is for 2008 and preparing. This is part of our build-up.?

After racing in Eton, the Hong Kong team will move to Munich in Germany for a training camp before the season’s second BearingPoint Rowing World Cup in June. Their year continues with the World Rowing Under 23 Championships, held in Amsterdam in July, and concludes in November with the East Asian Games.

Perry says that rowing is a growth sport in the region. As well as Hong Kong’s 19 rowing clubs, rowers can be found in Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and also further west.

But for the rest of this week, Perry’s focus is on the BearingPoint Rowing World Cup, where he hopes his crews will race well against the international competition. The Hong Kong team expects to be back in the UK next August, when Dorney Lake hosts the World Rowing Championships.

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Thanks to 2005 RWC : ETON / Matchtight